While this early drive didn’t include any on-road mileage, we put the car through a series of tests at the Jerez race circuit in Spain, beginning with an off-road driving course. Here the 338bhp dual-motor AWD model proved to be competent and controlled on the steep terrain surrounding the track.
This range-topper gets the same X-Mode off-road system and Grip Control system (which acts like off-road cruise control) as the combustion-engined Forester SUV, meaning it does all the hard work for you.
The Uncharted’s Multi-Terrain Monitor gives you a clear view of the surface below. This came in handy when I was navigating the tight course, helping me avoid the most severe rocks and crevices.
Thanks in part to its short overhangs, the Uncharted climbed and descended some seriously steep gradients with ease, its hill descent control automatically braking the wheels when going downhill.
Grip Control allows you to set your speed for off-roading, and it works impressively. I parked the Uncharted on a slab of rock on a steep bank, I set the Grip Control to its medium-speed setting and it pulled away just as it would from a simple set of traffic lights.
Short stints on the circuit’s access roads hinted at a car that is composed, pliant and softer than you might expect. Aggressive imperfections could unsettle the ride, but we will need some time on UK roads for clarity.
A few laps of a go-kart track and a slalom course revealed the Uncharted to be surprisingly agile. There’s some body roll in corners, and while the steering is light, it’s also precise, gaining some additional weight in Power mode.
A short go in a cheaper, single-motor, front-wheel-drive version (of which there are two) showed it to be broadly similar, although less nimble through the slalom, with less traction out of corners.
