Car Lust--Subaru Justy
In the Subaru XT Car Lust post, I mentioned that if you blur your eyes a little, the Subaru XT's spec sheet looks a little bit like that of the legendary high-performance WRX. Well, if you verge on complete myopia, as I do, the same could be said about the Subaru Justy.
Here, let's give it a try. The WRX and Justy are both scrappy little economy cars, fortified with the traction of all-wheel drive, a high-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine, a sporty look, and the legacy of international rally-car championships.
The Justy fits that description to a tee--once you deduct the turbocharger, the horsepower, one of the cylinders, the rally-car championships, and the sporty look (though it still looks pretty nice to my demented mind). This leaves all-wheel-drive and a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine, but the Justy did have one piece of trick hardware the WRX can't boast--the first mass-marketed continuously-variable transmission (CVT).
Rather than fixed gear ratios like traditional gearboxes, which require the engine to increase and decrease its RPM to change vehicle speed, the CVT allows the engine to operate at its most powerful and efficient RPM, and the gear ratios change. It's a much more effecient way to go, even if it feels a bit odd when the car accelerates without the engine note changing. This was very exotic stuff in the late 1980s. Even now, two decades later, CVTs are pretty uncommon.
All of this comparison with the WRX is of course a red herring. The Justy was a 75-horsepower economy call, after all. Given the Justy's honest, cute looks, its rugged dependability, its bare-bones interior, and its cheerful willingness to go everywhere (albeit slowly), I've always thought of the Justy as reminiscent of a much more famous car than the WRX. Forget the big, posh, expensive Volkswagen New Beetle--in terms of philosophy and execution, the Justy is a much more direct descendant of the original Volkswagen Bug. All it's missing is a series of Disney movies and a vague counterculture aura.
The Justy wasn't a rally car, but it's an endearing partner of a car, an eager dog happy to please its master. I've always liked Justys; they're good-looking in a basic way, and I admire the chutzpah involved in bringing a three-cylinder car with a CVT to the United States in the 1980s. As a beater, I think the Justy would be hard to beat (ha!).
Both of these photos are from Flickr user Yocoo, who owns and enthusiastically uses this nice silver Justy. It's not the black-and-silver color scheme I prefer, but it's still a pretty little thing. Yes, I'm sick.
--Chris H.
Brian on June 20, 2008 at 05:20 PM
Hell yeah!!
Mochi Mochi on June 21, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Sweet - in every sense of the word. What a great car. Quirky. Little. 4wd. Cute. And a drive train that is both advanced and odd! With only 3 cyl!!
Who needs an SUV? This baby can climb trees.
Gas prices got you down? 3 Freaking cylinders in a light and crisp package.
It's a Subaru - so it keeps running.
It reminds me more of a Rabbit than a VW Bug, but either way is ok - they are both great cars.
The best ( and saddest part ) is Europe gets the new ones for 2008! And they look niiiiice !
http://www.autospies.com/images/users/carfan01/2008%20Subaru%20Justy%20Announced%20for%20UK5.jpg
Personally I'll take either - the old one really rocks.
Brian on June 21, 2008 at 04:22 AM
There's a guy at work who has one, I usually tease him about driving the "electric car." Really, I can't think of anything more practical than a car that gets 35+ MPG with 4-wheel drive. They're getting a little hard to find these days. Might make an interesting 'lectric conversion. The horror, the horror...
Cookie the Dog's Owner on June 21, 2008 at 07:29 AM
I remember the commercial: "Does it have a motor?" "Does it have a motor?"
I agree, Chris, it's a 4WD Beetle.
Rob the SVX guy on June 22, 2008 at 12:34 PM
I've always wanted one of these with an SVX engine shoved into it, between the rear wheels. :)
David Colborne on June 22, 2008 at 09:10 PM
Ah, one of these was my first car in high school. It was originally my mom's, was white, and was the "DL" package, which meant no radio, no air conditioning, no ECVT, and no 4WD. Not that it stopped me from throwing it around various dirt roads or anything. I ate CV joints for lunch in that thing. I could also get it to do 80, which, to put it politely, took a while.
The craziest part about that car was that, though it had advanced features like the 4WD and the ECVT, it was also the last car sold in America with a carburetor. That whole car was quirky from bumper to bumper.
Rob the SVX guy on June 23, 2008 at 06:33 AM
Nice. I thought my 89 accord was, but I guess not. I hate carbs. argh.
DaveP. on June 23, 2008 at 03:05 PM
My lady bought a base-model Justy brand-new the month we first met, to replace her Legacy that had gotten crushed in an accident; it was the only Subaru model she could afford brand-new. That Justy was a primary driver and then a backup car for over ten years, and we never had a major problem out of it.
I still remember getting into an arguement with the aged mechanic/fart when I went to get the 1998 inspection done; he was darn sure that the headlights didn't work and the car needed to be (expensively) rewired and darn tootin' annoyed to be told that on Subarus, they don't come on until the ignition key is turned... nothing like spoiling a ripoff artist's day to put a smile on my face.
I always thought of my lady's base-model Justy as the SIG P230 of subcompacts: it was the absolute best thing you could get within its design niche, and in order to make any serious improvements you'd have to bring it into a completely different niche.
Adam Maas on June 27, 2008 at 02:10 PM
I had one of these. The early ('88 1/2) 66HP 3-door version with a manual tranny. Great little car while it ran, but a blown motor put an end to it as a new block cost more than I payed for the car.
The ECVT sucked. It turned a light, reasonably peppy little gem of car into a complete turd. But with the manual box it was a ton of fun to drive. I still miss mine.
Maverick on July 01, 2008 at 08:06 AM
Great story! Way back in 88 or so, I had a coworker who bought a 4wd Justy brand new, and we laughed.. allot... The majority of us were still into American muscle, in our group we had Hurst Oldsmobiles, sleeper Malibu's, hot rodded Mavericks and Cutlasses, 5.0 Mustangs, etc. So this guy shows up with a brand new Justy, and we all get a good laugh out of it, but he expected it and took it well. Well, we all lived in a town 60 miles away from work, and a few times a week, it was a literal road race/rally home, last one back to town bought the beers. It was a totally irresponsible, no holds barred event in an isolated area and we figured this guy would be buying the beer from then on... we were wrong.. While he had no chance on the straightaways, he could and did take dirt road short cuts we wouldn't even think of, he could zip around turns at speeds we couldn't in our more powerful, but poor handling cars. He hardly ever had to stop for gas... except to taunt us "got any change, my tanks a little low.." when the state troopers got involved, and they did on occasion, he'd just go off road , we'd get tickets (but usually only warnings, they enjoyed our antics as much as we did i think)and we'd see him off road motoring away flipping us the bird, and curse him ...
By the end of the first year , hed added skid plates, rally lights, ect, and much to our dismay, bought very few beers. Mad Matt and his little Justy taught me allot about what you can do with a low powered but very capable car, and changed my entire outlook on what a really good vehicle can be.
senaD on July 03, 2008 at 02:40 AM
i live in bosnia and hercegovina and i have subaru justy 1.2 4wd,that is the amazing machine and litle monstrum with 50kw,he can everything .
Ken on December 10, 2008 at 11:11 AM
We had a 1991 Justy, 2-door std transmission, 4wd. We took that thing far more places than it ever should have gone, jammed more people into it and loaded it down for camping.
With good tires on it, it was a little sharp handling rig! You could drift all day in it on pavement, no parking brake antics needed.
In the winter is were it excelled, 40 mpg with true 4x4 on demand. Only downfall was the heater, the hose would always come off the core and blow cold air on the passengers feet!
Couldn't tell you how many 4wd trucks I surprised off the lights in the winter!
mustang on January 15, 2009 at 05:02 AM
I bought a 1984 Justy, for 500EU. I paid extra 1000 to get it fixed and it's a beauty now. No power anything but brakes, but it climbes the hills and goes through the snow wit a lot of power. Not to mention, since it's a 1984, it has a FIVA certificate, so registration&insurance is @ 35 EU per year...
ezTIPS on January 23, 2009 at 09:27 PM
I've got a 1991 Justy 4-door... LOVE IT! In 17 years it only broke down twice, the second time putting it in it's final resting place (the parking lot of my apartment complex right now). I'm actually looking into getting the 2008 here in the US, but I'm having doubts considering the limited production.
Funny thing about the Justy--people still try to buy it even though it doesn't run. I'm contemplating selling it, but I'm just as tempted to find another one to gut for parts!
Mike The Car Guy on February 16, 2009 at 01:15 AM
To clarify, the last carbureted car (not truck or SUV) that rolled off any assembly line, was the 1994 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser. It was also the last hurrah for the 307 cubic inch Olds V8. The Justy fell short by a year or two.
ivy on October 05, 2009 at 02:31 PM
i'm lusting over a little justy i found...4dr. 4wd...it's in nearly new condition--only problem is it needs new transmission...where could i find one and about how much would that be?
it's beautiful...black with white stripes...it needs to be saved.
drift king on October 19, 2009 at 01:03 AM
bad car very old out fashioned