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This one may look familiar, since the new Subaru Justy is essentially a re-badged Daihatsu Sirion.

Adding the supermini to Subaru’s range may appear odd, until you consider forthcoming European emissions legislation. Suddenly, adding a frugal hatch to the line-up - thus reducing the company’s overall fleet emissions - makes perfect sense.
Only one model of the totally new five-door 1.0 litre Justy supermini will be offered. Naturally the Justy is all about economy, and the figures don’t disappoint: the Extra Urban figure of 64.2 mpg and CO2 emissions of just 118 g/km mean that the car may even be London Congestion Charge-free and subject to only £35 annual road tax.

The new Subaru Justy has wide-opening doors and 590 mm seat height allowing easy entry and exit - especially appreciated by older customers. The rear doors, for example, open to 80 degrees. Luggage space measures 225 litres with the rear seat up and 630 litres (VDA) when folded, making it a practical small family car. Its turning circle is an especially tight 9.4 metres.

Standard equipment is comprehensive for a small car and includes ABS with EBD, driver, passenger, side and front and rear curtain airbags, alloy wheels, air-conditioning, radio/CD player, rev-counter, fuel-economy read-out, four electric windows, reversing sensors, remote central-locking with alarm and ISOFIX child-seat mountings.

The five-door body offers interior space from the next class up while the efficient, 69 PS three-cylinder 1.0 litre engine offers sufficient power for long-distance driving. Top speed is almost 100 mph and the 0-60 mph time is 13.5 seconds. The punchy 1.0 litre twin-overhead camshaft petrol engine - mated to a manual five-speed gearbox is not only economical but also well-proven. In fact, the same three-cylinder engine not only sees service in the Daihatsu Sirion but also in the Toyota Yaris and Aygo, Citroën C1 and Peugeot 107.

Subaru has tuned the Justy for European tastes, creating a chassis which has long suspension-travel for a smooth ride. Unusually, anti-roll bars are fitted at the front and rear which combine with firm damping to aid agility.

The new Subaru Justy also carries a peace-of-mind five-year/60,000 mile warranty backed by five-years’ UK and European roadside assistance. The car will be limited to only 6,000 units per year throughout the whole of Europe and 1,000 sales in the UK, ensuring strong residuals.