Review of the new Subaru Justy 1.0R

There's a guy in our office who has an uncanny knack of buying the wrong car. You know the type. He'll sometimes choose an ostensibly OK car and then foul things up with the wrong trim level, a nasty colour, an underpowered engine or an inappropriate transmission choice. At other times he'll just buy a car that'll leave you scratching your head. He used to own a Subaru Justy. That was the old Justy though, a vehicle that differentiated itself by offering four-wheel-drive. Dave thought this traction would come in useful. It didn't. The latest Justy is undoubtedly a better car than its predecessor but will have to work a whole lot harder to worm its way into the consciousness of the Daves of this world. It's probably too good, too mainstream to appeal to those with quirky tastes.

I've come across some soft drink vending machines that are more complicated to operate than the Subaru Justy. All the controls are legibly marked, the steering is light and the ride is surprisingly supple for a small car. The manual gearbox probably isn't as direct as it could be and the windscreen pillars can be intrusive when negotiating tight roundabouts but other than that, this is an extremely easy car to drive. Performance from the 1.0-litre engine is best described as unhurried, the 68bhp unit getting the Subaru to 60mph in 13.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 99mph. The off-beat three-cylinder thrum is quite characterful though and is one of the car's few ties with what one would describe as a typical Subaru feel.

The ride is accommodating thanks to extremely compliant suspension and balloon-profile tyres but handling is a little marred by body roll. The engine is vocal when you press it hard, as you'll need to in order to make progress. The gear lever also has a significant vibration running through it. Despite, or perhaps because of this, the Justy always feels puppyish and alert.

"Subaru has packed it full of kit"

Moving past the rather odd pair of badges on the Justy's front end, the car has been designed to do well in pedestrian safety tests, the deformable bumper and nose cone section along with the ample space below the domed bonnet being a whole lot friendlier than many rivals. Front, side and curtain airbags are standard on all models, there are ISOFIX child seat fixings in the outer rear seats and a trio of three-point seat belts in the rear. Anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution are also included.

There's certainly no shortage of headroom inside the Justy. Six footers should find no issues in either the front or the rear and legroom is also surprisingly good. It's even possible to adjust the rake of the rear backrest. Naturally this abundance of cabin space comes at a price and rear luggage space isn't the best. Like most modern compact cars, the Justy features a multitude of cup holders, stowage spaces, trays and cubbies. Rather surprisingly, the seats are firm and give good support, even to broad shouldered drivers. Materials quality inside the car is about five years behind the current class leaders.

The Justy model range doesn't require much processing power to get a handle on as there's just one model, the 1.0R. This costs £8,495 on the road and comes reasonably equipped. Air conditioning, rear parking sensors, a CD stereo with auxiliary input for MP3 players, 14-inch alloy wheels and remote central locking are all standard. There's also speed sensitive power steering, twin front, side and curtain airbags and anti lock brakes. That's not a bad kit list for under nine grand.

Obvious rivals include the Honda Jazz, the Fiat Panda and the Mitsubishi Colt. The truncated nose and nicely contoured rear wheelarch and wing combination are redolent of the sharply-styled Mitsubishi, although the Subaru family face gives it a bit more road presence. Given that there's an all-wheel drive version of the Daihatsu Sirion available in Japan, perhaps we can look forward to Subaru adding this model to the line up in due course.

The Justy certainly isn't going to send you to the wall in terms of ongoing running costs, the 1.0-litre petrol engine managing a combined total off 56.5 miles per gallon. Carbon dioxide emissions are pegged at a lowly 118g/km. which will put it onto the radars of canny urban buyers. Pricing is not overly competitive to begin with, although respectable discounts can be negotiated if you're a hard-nosed haggler. The equipment list makes up for this in some respects but the Justy is still priced uncomfortably closely to the very good Mazda2.

Expect to pay group 5 insurance premiums and costs per mile work out broadly on a par with something like a Ford Fiesta 1.25. Where the Justy might puzzle some buyers is that in many ways, it falls between what we'd expect from a citycar and what we'd see as a supermini.

Subaru has never taken the obvious route to building cars and just when it appears that the company has gone mainstream, it tweaks the proposition just far enough to leave you feeling a little off kilter. By all received wisdom, a rebadged Daihatsu Sirion should be fairly conventional, but Subaru has packed it full of kit and is charging a fairly high price for what remains a fairly modest 1.0-litre supermini. Most will feel that the Mazda2 or the Fiat Panda offer more competitive value for money.

Perhaps its low-key introduction to the British market is indicative of Subaru's modest aspirations but there will be some that appreciate its individuality, its fresh design and its willing engines. If you can negotiate a decent discount, then the Justy represents an interesting and beguiling alternative to more commonplace cars. Chances are it'll be a very long time before you see another one coming the other way.