The more we go on, the more I begin to feel that cars reached the peak of design in the 90s/ early 2000s, and since then cars have just got worse - more complex, less fun, full of superfluous tech you don't need and hideously expensive.
Around 2002 my Dad bought one of these second hand as it was the most unloved car on the forecourt and it was affordable. Seven years later he was distraught when it finally wore out. A great car.
My uncle had one back in the day. The manual version. On top of the gear knob on the manual version had a red button on top of the gear lever. He told me it was button for the ejector seat if people annoyed hit. 😅
Good memories of the mid 90’s when my dad had one as a courtesy car. I remember the engine sounding really cool being a 3-cyl, which were not as common as they are now. I can see why they would be popular now.
My Dad had an older 3 door Justy ECVT Automatic 4x4 1200cc 3 cylinder of I remember correctly, in farmers Moss Green. Very solid little car, the seats were a little lacking in support & padding from what I remember. The ECVT was the known weak link on these Justys many not making it past 20,000 miles ! The torque converter was had iron filing in it and a number of mechanics were known to have emptied out these working iron filings!
Miss my wee Justy. I had a 1.2l 3 door back in the 90's. Fantastic little car with plenty of punch and a cracking sounding 3 cylinder engine. Enough room inside for my 6ft 3in frame!
Those strange cubbies behind the rear seats, my grans mk1 Micra had the same when she was clearing it out one day in about 1994 she found a bag of foam teeth sweets that had been there for goodness knows how long. She gave them to me, they tasted fine. So those cubbies are great for storing and forgetting about sweets. 🙂
Friend of mine had one when he got 18 (26 years ago). 1500 DM for the car. He installed a huge HiFi system in it with woofers and all that stuff The car was not cool back then, but now it looks pretty different. Nice one.
Finally, Matt you are sitting in my ideal family car. I have actually had a drive in one of those and i was mighty impressed. If it wasn't for the fact that it is at the other end of the country i would be seriously interested in it. As it happens i was looking for a replacement for my daily and this would have done me nicely. Anyways thanks for the vid. See you in the next one. Later
I drove one of these briefly in 1992, a one liter manual, and I must say it was one of the most enjoyable smaller cars I have ever driven. Haven't seen one in the wild for years.
My Dad had a manual one back in the day. It was so much fun to drive, and it literally would go anywhere! It's such a shame that so many of them have rusted away. I had one of the later Swift based ones, but they weren't as good.
Ive had a few of these and they are awesome in the snow. Just be aware that ECVT goes wrong at about 30k miles and you are left with no drive. Brill car but id go manual gearbox.
I absolutely LOVE these. Had a P reg one I bought in about 2010 and I was devastated when we eventually had to part company. It did everything from taking loads of kit all over the UK to making it off muddy fields when Landrovers couldn't 😅 RIP lil Justy 🚗
If I had the money and the space I would love one of these, like the spiritual ancestor to my Suzuki Ignis. Small rurally useful cars are just lovely things.
Back in the day my brother and had the use of a press car for a weekend, to write a report for the DAF Club Nederland magazine. This was, with the Uno Selecta, one of the first production cars with a modern compact cvt as invented by Hub van Doorne, founder of DAF and inventor of the Variomatic. We also 'tested' the Uno Selecta in that period and visited Williams F1, as they were also experimenting with cvt.
A small car we did get in the USA although in my neck of the woods (Kansas) I didn't see many. But my conformation teacher had one like this, a red facelifted one. I got a ride in it once, it seemed small but well built. I'm sure in the mountains these were more popular.
Great review. My second car was a 3 door mk1.5 ecvt. It was awesome, and if it hadn't put a conrod out of the front of the engine block at 70ish mph on the M4 I would probably still have it now. The 'box failed at about 30k and despite having patchy service history from the previous owner subaru replaced it no questons asked and it went on past 75k. The 4WD system was amazing but was fussy about having matched tyres, and even sometimes refused to engage if one corner was a few psi different from the others. I 'modded' mine a fair bit, with some nice 14" alloys, body coloured bumpers, debump stripped, and the most ridiculous ott sound system requiring a new mdf parcel shelf. Those front ones were a complete pita to chaange and a really wierd sized oval too. Happy days.
Thanks Matt for a lovely video and for reviewing the Justy! I had the opportunity to buy a manual one of these as my first car, back in 1999. It was a white F-reg for £795 but had quite a lot of rust, and I rather boringly decided it was too much of a risk. In hindsight I so wish I'd been less sensible and just gone for the rusty Justy! It probably would have been fun (until it disintigrated).
My sisters first car was a 1984 Subaru Sherpa (here in Oz) with a 665cc two cylinder engine and 4 speed manual, and I can tell you that it was an absolute hoot to drive, and could hit 140Kph (don't ask how I know I know) if you had a decent straight, as it ony weighed 650Kg. Too bad such simple, affordable and fun to drive cars are a thing of the past. Love this review, thanks Matt. Cheers!
Your note on important consumer advice re loading washing machines was amusing, a Ray of sunshine on an overcast autumnal day here in the north. Thanks 😊👍
An ex girlfriend had one just over twenty years ago. It was a capable all wheel drive vehicle ideal for rough private roads in the Highlands of Scotland where we both lived. The only downside was like all Japanese vehicles of the era they were very rust prone. Hardly any left anywhere in Scotland now, corrosion claimed most of them.
Great review Matt To enlighten you on the storage dimples next to the parcel shelf - their so the diminutive rear seat passengers can safely keep their cigarette packets ... ;-)
These were everywhere on Exmoor growing up. Probably helped by the fact there is a Subaru dealer in the heart of Exmoor. I nearly had acouple as field cars. But went with 2 Lada Nivas then a defender instead.
I got to travel in a later model (mid 90s), with a 1.2 injection petrol, CVT auto, electronic switchable 2/4 wheel drive. It also had a lovely interior quality-way above what I was used to. I thought it was amazing…not the fastest, but very refined. I would have been very happy to own one back then. I think in more modern times they are a clone of the Toyota Aygo……to save money.
We never got these in Australia and of course from the greatest decade for vehicles the 1990s and this Subaru Justy a fine example of a 1990s car and selectable four wheel drive and we did own a Suzuki Swift from the 1990s
Wished Subaru developed a unique Justy replacement in the early-1990s that styling wise was essentially an enlarged supermini-sized Subaru Vivio with shades of mk1 Impreza instead of a rebadged Suzuki Swift. Especially if the 1.0-1.2-litre EF 3-cylinder motor grew to become a 1.3-1.6-litre 4-cylinder. It would have likely been very well-received with the motorsport antics of the Impreza and Vivio during the 1990s given it the rub and further enhancing its image as a left-field choice, similar to what SEAT experienced with the mk2 Ibiza or Skoda with the Favorit/Felicia in rallying.
I don’t understand why we don’t buy small cars anymore,as soon as young people have a child they buy a horrible suv ,I went to the south of France with my wife and two children in a mk 2 950 cc fiesta popular with a tent on the roof rack 😂
You’re correct….its 4WD! This was my car until I recently sold it to Stone Cold Classics and I replaced those decals on it too, as the originals were tired 👍
The more we go on, the more I begin to feel that cars reached the peak of design in the 90s/ early 2000s, and since then cars have just got worse - more complex, less fun, full of superfluous tech you don't need and hideously expensive.
Around 2002 my Dad bought one of these second hand as it was the most unloved car on the forecourt and it was affordable. Seven years later he was distraught when it finally wore out. A great car.
My uncle had one back in the day.
The manual version.
On top of the gear knob on the manual version had a red button on top of the gear lever.
He told me it was button for the ejector seat if people annoyed hit.
😅
I used to work in the dealer network back in the day, loved these things!
Good memories of the mid 90’s when my dad had one as a courtesy car. I remember the engine sounding really cool being a 3-cyl, which were not as common as they are now. I can see why they would be popular now.
My Dad had an older 3 door Justy ECVT Automatic 4x4 1200cc 3 cylinder of I remember correctly, in farmers Moss Green. Very solid little car, the seats were a little lacking in support & padding from what I remember.
The ECVT was the known weak link on these Justys many not making it past 20,000 miles !
The torque converter was had iron filing in it and a number of mechanics were known to have emptied out these working iron filings!
Miss my wee Justy. I had a 1.2l 3 door back in the 90's. Fantastic little car with plenty of punch and a cracking sounding 3 cylinder engine. Enough room inside for my 6ft 3in frame!
Those strange cubbies behind the rear seats, my grans mk1 Micra had the same when she was clearing it out one day in about 1994 she found a bag of foam teeth sweets that had been there for goodness knows how long. She gave them to me, they tasted fine. So those cubbies are great for storing and forgetting about sweets. 🙂
Friend of mine had one when he got 18 (26 years ago). 1500 DM for the car. He installed a huge HiFi system in it with woofers and all that stuff The car was not cool back then, but now it looks pretty different. Nice one.
We def need to bring back 90s fabric designs.
Finally, Matt you are sitting in my ideal family car. I have actually had a drive in one of those and i was mighty impressed. If it wasn't for the fact that it is at the other end of the country i would be seriously interested in it. As it happens i was looking for a replacement for my daily and this would have done me nicely. Anyways thanks for the vid. See you in the next one. Later
I would rater have a car from the nineties than just about any new one. Definitely the peak era for me.
I drove one of these briefly in 1992, a one liter manual, and I must say it was one of the most enjoyable smaller cars I have ever driven. Haven't seen one in the wild for years.
My Dad had a manual one back in the day. It was so much fun to drive, and it literally would go anywhere! It's such a shame that so many of them have rusted away. I had one of the later Swift based ones, but they weren't as good.
Ive had a few of these and they are awesome in the snow. Just be aware that ECVT goes wrong at about 30k miles and you are left with no drive. Brill car but id go manual gearbox.
Looks in as you say, new condition! Original unbranded wheel trims too. Very nice.
So glad to see it has a CVT.
My mates mum had one of these (but in mk1 form) back in the day, i loved it and have always wanted one
Ohh and they were farmers and bought it and the subaru pickup from the agricultural dealers, they sold them alongside the tractors!
An excellent road test Matt, was great to have a look at this at Rustival.
What a charming car, someone's going to get a little gem! Great video, thanks Matt.
I wanted the purple 1998 Justy in the concurs section at FOTU .
I absolutely LOVE these. Had a P reg one I bought in about 2010 and I was devastated when we eventually had to part company. It did everything from taking loads of kit all over the UK to making it off muddy fields when Landrovers couldn't 😅
RIP lil Justy 🚗
A colleague had one and it was superb in heavy snow being the perfect combination of auto and 4wd
We need automakers to bring back proper decals on the side
If I had the money and the space I would love one of these, like the spiritual ancestor to my Suzuki Ignis. Small rurally useful cars are just lovely things.
Back in the day my brother and had the use of a press car for a weekend, to write a report for the DAF Club Nederland magazine. This was, with the Uno Selecta, one of the first production cars with a modern compact cvt as invented by Hub van Doorne, founder of DAF and inventor of the Variomatic. We also 'tested' the Uno Selecta in that period and visited Williams F1, as they were also experimenting with cvt.
A small car we did get in the USA although in my neck of the woods (Kansas) I didn't see many. But my conformation teacher had one like this, a red facelifted one. I got a ride in it once, it seemed small but well built. I'm sure in the mountains these were more popular.
Great review.
My second car was a 3 door mk1.5 ecvt.
It was awesome, and if it hadn't put a conrod out of the front of the engine block at 70ish mph on the M4 I would probably still have it now.
The 'box failed at about 30k and despite having patchy service history from the previous owner subaru replaced it no questons asked and it went on past 75k.
The 4WD system was amazing but was fussy about having matched tyres, and even sometimes refused to engage if one corner was a few psi different from the others.
I 'modded' mine a fair bit, with some nice 14" alloys, body coloured bumpers, debump stripped, and the most ridiculous ott sound system requiring a new mdf parcel shelf. Those front ones were a complete pita to chaange and a really wierd sized oval too.
Happy days.
Great review of a great car! Enjoyed it Matt 👍
Thanks! 👍
Thanks Matt for a lovely video and for reviewing the Justy! I had the opportunity to buy a manual one of these as my first car, back in 1999. It was a white F-reg for £795 but had quite a lot of rust, and I rather boringly decided it was too much of a risk. In hindsight I so wish I'd been less sensible and just gone for the rusty Justy! It probably would have been fun (until it disintigrated).
My sisters first car was a 1984 Subaru Sherpa (here in Oz) with a 665cc two cylinder engine and 4 speed manual, and I can tell you that it was an absolute hoot to drive, and could hit 140Kph (don't ask how I know I know) if you had a decent straight, as it ony weighed 650Kg. Too bad such simple, affordable and fun to drive cars are a thing of the past. Love this review, thanks Matt. Cheers!
Your note on important consumer advice re loading washing machines was amusing, a Ray of sunshine on an overcast autumnal day here in the north. Thanks 😊👍
Enjoying the content on the channel keep up the good work 👍👍👍
An ex girlfriend had one just over twenty years ago. It was a capable all wheel drive vehicle ideal for rough private roads in the Highlands of Scotland where we both lived. The only downside was like all Japanese vehicles of the era they were very rust prone. Hardly any left anywhere in Scotland now, corrosion claimed most of them.
Great review Matt
To enlighten you on the storage dimples next to the parcel shelf - their so the diminutive rear seat passengers can safely keep their cigarette packets ... ;-)
These were everywhere on Exmoor growing up. Probably helped by the fact there is a Subaru dealer in the heart of Exmoor. I nearly had acouple as field cars. But went with 2 Lada Nivas then a defender instead.
I got to travel in a later model (mid 90s), with a 1.2 injection petrol, CVT auto, electronic switchable 2/4 wheel drive.
It also had a lovely interior quality-way above what I was used to.
I thought it was amazing…not the fastest, but very refined. I would have been very happy to own one back then.
I think in more modern times they are a clone of the Toyota Aygo……to save money.
We never got these in Australia and of course from the greatest decade for vehicles the 1990s and this Subaru Justy a fine example of a 1990s car and selectable four wheel drive and we did own a Suzuki Swift from the 1990s
The bottom half the dashboard looks like the Vauxhall Nova one (Opel Corsa A), especially the glovebox lid.
11:35 speaker mounting area?
Im old fashioned in that i believe the indicators should be on the right in a right hand drive car.
ive owned a couple of these in the past ,,great little cars..
I reversed badly out of a friend's drive in 1985 in my mother's brand new justy - yeah I was homeless for a week or two after that
Nice little car
Another great video has always Matt 👍
Thanks 👍
Wished Subaru developed a unique Justy replacement in the early-1990s that styling wise was essentially an enlarged supermini-sized Subaru Vivio with shades of mk1 Impreza instead of a rebadged Suzuki Swift. Especially if the 1.0-1.2-litre EF 3-cylinder motor grew to become a 1.3-1.6-litre 4-cylinder. It would have likely been very well-received with the motorsport antics of the Impreza and Vivio during the 1990s given it the rub and further enhancing its image as a left-field choice, similar to what SEAT experienced with the mk2 Ibiza or Skoda with the Favorit/Felicia in rallying.
Wonderful video! Thank you!
That particular one with its cvt might be really good off road.
Excellent review 👏
What a great little Car.
My mum had one it was epic car and it was an auto too
I don’t understand why we don’t buy small cars anymore,as soon as young people have a child they buy a horrible suv ,I went to the south of France with my wife and two children in a mk 2 950 cc fiesta popular with a tent on the roof rack 😂
Is it AWD on the side...or is it 4WD? I'm in the 4WD house myself😅
You’re correct….its 4WD!
This was my car until I recently sold it to Stone Cold Classics and I replaced those decals on it too, as the originals were tired 👍
Did u use the tea shelf?😊
I wouldnt dare mark it!
Reminds me abit like Toyota Starlet also.👍
Probably the best car I've owned. If you want to sell im interested
I've always wondered, what are "very eyes"?
Yes please, proper old skool cool Subaru, my cars are Subaru, TVR and French, but am due a Mazda,
That's a really nice car ☺️
come peebo and drive my svx m9
I’d ruddy love to, been waiting for it to be on song
i owned one lots of fun parts dont exist anymore
years and years ago i almost bought one.. i got a suzuki swift though 🤣
Is there also a car sort of like this and perhaps made by Mitsubishi, called a Pony?
Hyundai Pony
Virtually extinct in US, the few that sold mostly rusted away. ) =
Yipee I'm 4th today
Nice car old school
Looks like a nice car, but it's automatic 🤢
first
I started driving in 77 that was a pile of crap