Car reviews

Introduction

The Subaru Justy is not an original car, depending on the year of production it is a rebadged version of either: Suzuki Swift, Daihatsu Sirion or Toyota Passo. But, there is something that sets this particular generation of Justy apart from its donor-vehicle the Swift. The Justy is an all-wheel drive car, which means it is much more capable than any other subcompact vehicle. The little Subaru, just like the Swift is based on a well-designed General Motors platform and built in the same Hungarian factory – ensuring a very high-quality assembly.

Exterior & Interior

There’s not a lot to say about the design of this car. After all it’s a Suzuki Swift with a slightly different grille and a different badge. Unless you’re interested in the all-wheel drive mechanism, you just have to decide which badge you like better. And be prepared to pay around one fifth on top for the Justy.

Although in the early 1990s the car looked fresh, it’s very outdated and simplistic. The interior is dominated by the usual hard plastic and although some Justys come with bi-colour and patterned seats, the overall impression is not great. It’s not horrible, though. You can still seat 4 people in the Justy and although the seats are hard, they do offer decent amount of comfort.

The 3-door model has a restricted access to the rear seats, so if you don’t drive on your own, better choose the 5-door version. The equipment is very limited. Central locking comes only with the 5-door model, but that doesn’t mean that the car alarm is included. No, you had to pay extra for that. So, you’ll find that the majority of Justys will lack even the basic security features, lucky they are not desirable enough to be stolen very often.

Drive

The question is why would anyone want an all-wheel drive subcompact? There are only a certain number of people taking part in amateur rallies, so who’s going to by the remaining Justys? Neither the power output nor the handling abilities are good enough to get the most out of the all-wheel drive system. Yes, the car may have an excellent grip and it will act confidently on a slippery road, but you certainly wouldn’t want to attempt sporty driving with a Subaru Justy.

The engine is noisy and if you rev it too high, it will tell you to stop. It’s not very exciting to drive, but may prove handy if you anticipate regular detours on slippery and uneven roads. Don’t attempt serious off-roading though, the car has a very low road clearance and you could get it stuck even on a muddy country road.

Faults & Repairs

Although it remained in production for almost 10 years, there are not that many Justys around (for obvious reasons). Similarly scarce are the spare parts needed to fix the drive system. Everything else is quite easy to source, simply take it off a Suzuki Swift. The Justy is affected by the same niggles as the Swift – body rust and issues with steering and suspension.