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Subaru has revealed a new compact SUV for Japan that wears a badge unseen in showrooms for three decades.
The Subaru Rex, which was introduced in the early 1970s as a kei car and discontinued in the early 1990s, was originally a kei car and even made its way to Australia in its the third-generation form as the Subaru Sherpa.
Now, three decades on, the Subaru Rex is back as a compact SUV that shares the majority of its parts with the Daihatsu Rocky, another car we don’t see in Australia.
The Rocky has been around in Japan for a couple of years, even having been used by Toyota as the Toyota Raize, though that version has some design tweaks to give it a more Toyota look.
For the Subaru Rex, the design remains the same, which interestingly fits in relatively well with Subaru’s design language - the Rex looks a little like a shrunken Subaru Forester.
As the Rex isn’t a kei car anymore, it’s not beholden to the engine size rule that dictates its capacity must be below 660cc, meaning it’s able to house a stonking 1.2-litre naturally aspirated three-cylinder engine making 64kW and 113Nm.
This drives the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission (CVT), but only has to lug around about 970kg of Rex.
It shouldn’t be surprising that the Rex is only 3995mm long, 1695mm wide, and 1620mm tall, while its wheelbase is 2525mm. The Rex can turn within a 5.0m turning circle, too.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Subaru Rex won’t be sold in Australia but that shouldn’t make you feel jealous of Japan. It’ll barely even be sold there.
In the press materials provided by Subaru, the company claims it only expects to sell about 150 Rexs each month, which even in the smaller Australian market would put it towards the bottom of the Light SUV sales category as defined by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).
For reference, Toyota sold 1019 Yaris Crosses in October 2022, while lower volume rivals like the Ford Puma and Volkswagen T-Cross sold a little over 270.
In Japan, the Rex would likely be a fun rarity to spot on the street, as its Daihatsu Rocky twin sold 2238 units in October 2022, and almost 19,000 this year so far.
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