Compare the2026 Kia EV6VS 2026 Subaru Uncharted

Both the EV6 and Uncharted have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The EV6 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Uncharted’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the EV6 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Uncharted doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Kia EV6 achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Subaru Uncharted has not been tested.

The EV6 has standard 911 Connect, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Uncharted doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the EV6 and the Uncharted have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The EV6 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Uncharted’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the EV6 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Subaru covers the Uncharted. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Uncharted ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

There are over 24 percent more Kia dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the EV6’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in initial quality. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated lower.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Subaru is rated below average.

The EV6 has more powerful engines than the Uncharted:

The EV6 can travel longer on a full charge than the Uncharted on a full charge:

For better traction, the EV6 GT-Line e-AWD’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Uncharted (255/45R20 vs. 235/60R18).

The EV6’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Uncharted Premium’s standard 60 series tires. The EV6 GT-Line e-AWD’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Uncharted Sport/GT’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the EV6 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Uncharted Premium.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the EV6’s wheelbase is 5.9 inches longer than on the Uncharted (114.2 inches vs. 108.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the EV6 is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Uncharted.

The EV6 has 9.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Uncharted (103 vs. 93.6).

The EV6 has .3 inches more front legroom, .4 inches more front hip room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 6.8 inches more rear legroom, 8.4 inches more rear hip room and .9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Uncharted.

The front step up height for the EV6 is 1.3 inches lower than the Uncharted (16.6” vs. 17.9”). The EV6’s rear step up height is 1.2 inches lower than the Uncharted’s (16.8” vs. 18”).

The EV6’s cargo area is larger than the Uncharted’s in almost every dimension:

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the EV6’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Uncharted doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The EV6 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Uncharted uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The EV6 GT-Line has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Uncharted doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The EV6’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Uncharted’s power window (except driver window) and power lock switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The EV6’s standard GPS navigation system has a real-time traffic update feature that plots alternative routes to automatically bypass traffic problems. (Service not available in all areas.) The Uncharted’s navigation system doesn’t offer real-time traffic updates.

The EV6 GT-Line’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Uncharted doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The EV6 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023. The Uncharted has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the EV6 as the 2023 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Uncharted has never been chosen.