Subaru Justy Review

Here we have the new Subaru Justy - a supermini that offers good fuel economy along with low emissions and a surprising amount of space.

The re-use of the name, Justy, for Subaru’s new entry-level car, provides a sense of continuity but it also carries the ghost of a chequered history, which takes so-called, ‘badge engineering' to a whole new level.

The original 80s Justy was Subaru-designed and had the status of being the only All-Wheel-Drive car in its class. Some say that it was more of a hindrance than a benefit, unless you lived out in the sticks. Nevertheless, the AWD system was carried over to the 90’s car, when the Justy became based on the old Suzuki Swift. This came about because, at the time, both Suzuki and Subaru had links with General Motors, which made sharing easier.

Subaru eventually dropped the Justy in the late 90s and more recently tried to entice former owners over to the smaller-engined, Impreza, the 1.5R.

But now the Justy is back and it is nothing like the old one. However, the body-snatching continues, and it is now based on the Daihatsu Sirion as both companies currently have links with Toyota.

It has lost the AWD and is now simply, front wheel drive and the only one in the Subaru stable to be so. It doesn’t even have the ‘boxer’ engine, for which Subaru is famous. Instead, the Justy houses a 1.0-litre Toyota petrol engine; the same one that powers the Yaris and Aygo, as well as the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107.

In terms of looks, there is little to choose between the two cars. In fact they are almost identical with the only differences being evident in the front grille, bumper and, of course, the badges.

That aside, the Justy is a classic, entry-level supermini, designed for European roads and tastes, with four doors for easy access and compact dimensions for city streets.