1989 Subaru Justy ECVT | Retro Review
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- the origin story of Subaru's love it or hate it ECVT transmission.
Show 820 | Original Airdate 02-10-1989
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33 years later and most people still hate CVTs.
Owned 5 cars with CVTs and it never gets better. Hoping the next has a basic auto transmission.
@@barron204 owned 4 cars dating back to a 1996. All autos. Keep CVT tech to motor sports like my snowmobile!
Nissan’s given CVTs a bad name. Had them in an Audi and a Dodge and they were both fine, family member had a Nissan though and the CVT went after 59k
@@Poopsticle_256 if that Dodge was a Caliber, you had a Jatco CVT just like any Nissan.
@@themanthemyththebanger Huh, never knew that, still didn’t have any problems until 130k, odd.
Special thanks to Motorweek for posting vintage car reviews like this
holy crap @ 5:17 in 1989 this vehicle at 7251 dollars adjusted for inflation in 2022 would be worth just shy of 20 grand today!
@@battosaijenkins946 That's about what a well equipped 2022 Mitsubishi Mirage would go for. It's in about the same league as the Justy.
@@battosaijenkins946 for $20k you can buy used Cadillac that was always factory serviced and basically in like-new condition -- and you don't have the shame of being a peasant driving a crappy econobox.
@@battosaijenkins946 for $20,000 you can buy a brand new Toyota Corolla
I remember when ECVT was first released and explained, it did make us say:
'''' wow! no more automatic gear change shudder, no more gear change engine noise differences? ''''
66 hp from a 1.2L 3 banger at this time is honestly pretty decent
Yep. That 1.2 fuel injected 3 cylinder Mitsubishi uses on the Mirage makes 78 HP and performance isn't that much better than this old Justy.
I've test driven many of the CVTs available in the US and believe it or not, the Justy's was the best. I definitely prefer the CVT as it was intended---truly variable without programmed shift points.
I was in my early 20's when this came out and in college in Colorado. Subaru tested these extensively in the Front Range and gave several to us kids for testing and data collection. It was remarkable how smooth these were, but were complete garbage for longevity. We managed to burn up the ecvt's in several of our test mules. Subaru never told us if they fixed the overheating issues, but fast-forward 30 years and Subaru's cvt's are still overheating pieces of garbage. lol
Doesn't shock me, most modern CVTs are crap.
The Honda Fit from all generations behaves like this too, holding the revs to deliver efficient drive. The US missed out on the CVT In many cars
@@haroldbeauchamp3770 only a few years after this, automatics were actually getting pretty good, and by the late 90s, and certainly by the early 2000s, automatics could outperform humans and get you better performance and better gas mileage. CVT just isn't needed anymore when you got 10-speed automatics in Camaros.
@@jkeelsnc reliability issues were much overstated. The CVT in the earlier Honda Fit delivers the same fuel efficiency and acceleration figures as the manual variant. The auto was slower and thirstier
I went into this expecting a lot of negativity on the ECVT, but it came out surprisingly positive. If only they knew the horrors of reliability on those things when they made this. I'm glad I have a 5 speed manual in mine!
//" If only they knew the horrors of reliability on those things when they made this."//
It's not a problem inherent to the CVT design. Some made them good, others less so.
If by "CVTs" you mean Nissans, then yes I would agree
Folks surprised at how well received the ECVT was, should remember that most cars in this class came with a 3-speed automatic at the time. With such small, low-torque engines, they always jerked the car around when they shifted, and always felt like they were in the wrong gear, yielding significantly reduced mileage as well.
The ECVT really was a massive improvement over other subcompact automatics at the time.
For it's time, yes. But these days, CVTs are an eyesore for enthusiasts for their lack of performance and poor reliability.
I once owned a 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer ES with a CVT. It was pretty reliable for a time, but after almost 150k miles as the first owner, the transmission was starting to croak, and I didn't want to spend almost $9k to rebuild or replace it when I was almost done with the loan, so I traded for a 2016 Kia Forte Koup SX turbo with an ordinary auto. Maybe that CVT was ok, but I still have reservations for buying one today...
@@LoyalmoonieProductions plenty of reliable CVTs as well
My Uncle had a white Justy, 5 Speed with 4WD, he drove that car for years til it finally succumb to the New York rust and fell apart. R.I.P Subaru Justy and R.I P Uncle Dennis.
It gives me much more confidence in Subaru knowing that they have been doing CVTs since 89
Yet, they seem to have as many or more problems with CVT's than other manufacturers like Honda that started using them much later.
Their CVTs are made by JATCO, the same company that makes Nissan's horrible transmissions. Lots of bad reviews on Subaru CVTs, too, yet they seem to not be as much in the public eye.
@@sc3034 Fake news. Jatco has never made a CVT for Subaru. Jatco made some traditional automatics for them at some point but that's it
Can’t believe ECVT was available 33 yrs ago let alone in an economy car
CVT was available twenty years before that, in the European DAF Variomatic; although back then the belts were rubber, and the cones pulled rather than pushed them - even simpler, but far less efficient.
Harley Davidson also had CVT's in the '60s
Economy cars are where CVTs belong, and where they should stay.
@@tedschmitt178That's where you're wrong
My parents had a burgundy 4 door Justy. Loved that thing. It was awesome in the snow.
The 2022 Mitsubishi Mirage is the spiritual successor to this car with a 1.2 L 3-cyl and CVT also!!
Today, vehicles equipped with ECVT's, or electronic continuously variable transmissions, are quite commonplace on our roads. THIS was the first mainstream vehicle to have one, though.
Yes.
Yep.
As someone who is fascinated with CVTs, this review was equally as interesting.
Why do you like them
@@tientrinh943why not?
This is my favorite car of all time. Not this model, but the boxy model from the year before with 4WD. I just recently shipped mine across the country and it has been a daily driver. I hope they find the 1988 tape
"The automatic transmission of the future"
Well, they weren't wrong about that. Chances are, this Subaru transmission lasts longer than Nissan's unit.
That's how a CVT should work. Get to peak efficiency or peak power rpm and stay there, depending on driver demand. This fake gear shifts that Nissan does on their CVT is nonsense.
Yup its supposed to be smooth, that's what they are for and work very well for that purpose. The reason for the fake gear shift is to make the transmission respond quicker to throttle changes but then it behaves like a traditional automatic transmission, which people are used to....
That is how Nissan CVTs were before, but people complained about the droning sound, or thought it was slipping. So they added fake shifts for that "sporty" feeling.
The trend was actually started by Toyota and Honda. Nissan tried to fight the good fight but caved in cause people are stupid.
@@yessitsme6884 my Caliber has said Nissan CVT , I don't mind it at all
People complain about the 8 speed and 10 speed automatics now too
Original Nissan CVTs were like this before people complained and they changed it.
A girl I knew in college had one of these. The first time I saw her driving it I had no clue what it was since I had never seen one on the road before. She seemed to really enjoy hers. It's interesting that it basically took other manufacturers about 2 decades to catch up and start using the CVT technology. I have a feeling the development cost and government fuel economy regulation played roles in this.
Was she cute
Brings back memories seeing these things driving around. Very fuel efficient things
This is a good commuter car....if i was driving into the city every day from my suburban home, i'd buy one of these with this transmission. For my personal preferences i might make it comfier inside, depending on if i want to spend the time on it over my other, more enjoyable to drive build projects.
Its compact, fuel efficient, smooth, has that blocky look that appeals to me, and enough cargo space to stop for groceries and/or at Savers on the way home.
@Scott Munczenski people truly want big American rear-wheel drive V8 sedans and coupés (not SUVs or "crossovers" or pickup trucks full of ridiculous netflix star trek tech which they buy only because of online influencers), in addition to some additional simple-to-operate body-on-frame rear wheel drive V8 body styles
That said, another type of vehicle people want to buy - typically as a secondary vehicle - are uncomplicated, proficient and relatively compact vehicles that require very little maintenance or money to be spent on them during or after purchase.
@Scott Munczenski the Volvo 740 is a smaller 4 cylinder sedan that i have personal experience with and very much liked, and for the record i do not care for SUVs much either, nor crossovers or modern pickup trucks.
I remember an ad for Subaru and its subcompact Justy. They did a comparison test between 2 other vehicles with manual transmissions and won the contest with its CVT. And illustrates it by saying, “We beat the competition with one arm and one leg tied behind our back.” The ad is somewhere here on CZcams.
Wow, that's a quick car considering the times and the engine displacement. Looks quite decent and it was indeed a precursor of things to come in the transmission department. I'll bet it was "droney".
definitely droney hahah. Their newer ones don't drone much at all unless you drive with a very light throttle.
Droney. And at 3k rpm? Yikes! 4k sounds like torture.
It's really not 'quick' for 1989. For 1982, yes, but by the late 80s, this was on the slower end of cars, and by the early 90s, this would be a very slow car.
No mention of DAF? The Dutch invented the CVT in the late 1950's.
I bet the Subaru can't go as fast in reverse as going forward like the Dafs could
I kinda wish CVTs were still like this. Seems like every CVT I've ever used has fake shift points to feel like a traditional automatic. Always felt terrible and I'd rather just remove the complexity of that and use it as, well, a CVT lol. Just hold the powerband when needed and low RPMs when not needed.
That's how Nissan's CVTs acted until people who couldn't wrap their heads around how a CVT works all complained about "droning" acceleration sound. Among those people were a lot of the automotive press. My 2010 and 2014 Nissan cubes have none of that fake shift nonsense, and the driving experience is better for it. Very smooth and, for something shaped like a brick, fuel-efficient.
My 2017 lancer has fake shift but it only works in manual mode (they knew it would be kind of a gimick but fun to use so they threw in paddle shifters).
In its normal mode (when transmission is in Drive) it drives like a CVT should, very smooth.
I disagree. I much prefer my 14 Accord over our old 2009 Civic Hybrid regarding the transmission shift points
gotta give credit to the CVT for the smoothness it gives though, it's unreal how my 2013 toyota noah can go from 0 to up to speed 100+ km/h with ease at 1000-2000rpm powerband MAX (the RPM can go up to 8k)
Wow. This brings back so many memories! My parents had a 1989 Subaru Justy base model with a 5 speed manual from 1996 to 1998. I always liked that car. It was a silver metallic one with the gray interior, pretty much identical to the one in the video.
Wow, have cars changed over the years, and sometimes things come back in different forms.
I worked in a Subaru dealer during the Justy years it was sold in the US and it really was a decent vehicle. Evct, though, required continuous brake and throttle adjustments to avoid burning up what was called the power clutch assembly. It wasn't difficult, but if not done once a year or 15k miles, the evct would fail before 80k miles.
With 4x4 and 5 speed manual, a good car to commute in. And in either 91 or 92, (I don't remember which), fuel injection became standard and horsepower jumped over 10% to 73!, with no loss in fuel economy.
Amazing to think that the midsized Camry hybrid, which also has an ecvt (although e stands for something else) gets 20mpg more than this tissue box. Technology is amazing 🤩
Well, the Camry is a hybrid....a technology that wasn't on any car buyer's horizons in the 80s. Which is why I consider the original Prius a future classic because it was a game changer for the entire industry.
People can dislike CVT's all they want, but my 2020 Civic wit the K20C2 can get as good as high 40's on the highway, while the acceleration is butter smooth.
My grandfather's 2008 civic with the manual transmission got 43mpg going 80 mph to his mother's house
@@michaelvaus Honda Civic's have always been known for very good fuel economy, though the first generation was the most amazing, getting around 50s even without a catalytic converter.
The Subaru Justy is an underrated small car.
Ahh Yeah, I remember wanting to buy one in 1990 as it was nice and small. Thanking of trading my 4x4 Truck in for it. Ahh those were the days...
I had an 88 justy 5spd manual non-4wd. That car would go through mud as good as 4x4 trucks..and when it finally did get stuck, just pick up the front end and stuff something under the wheels and power outta there. Good times.
I had a 00 civic HX with the CVT. Still have the car but engine swapped it due to CVT failing and rarity of finding a used one it decent working condition. Car was slow and took it to the drag strip for giggles. 17.8 1/4 mile time but the gas needle didn’t move all at. The 45 min drive, 5 track runs, and 45 min drive back home. Hahaha. I average about 37mpg even living here in hilly SW Penn.
I just saw one of these on the highway yesterday. I had no idea that it has a CVT. Still running strong!
I am stunned that I never heard of this car. Its not that its remarkable, it isn't, but I would have thought I had heard of all cars made by mainstream manufacturers in 1989. According to what I could find, sales peaked at 27k per year but that was an anomaly. Still, that should have been enough to have a seen a few driving around ind the 90s.
I still see one park near me on Charles St in Boston. It’s very tired looking. Kinda rusty, too.
Now year 2022, cvt trans still have not replace auto trans. 35 mpg very low for such a small car. But to me, i like the way the subaru justy look.
Had an '84 special edition with a 5 speed. Loved having 4WD in such a tiny car. 3 cylinders and 9 valves.
They were correct about CVT being the transmission of the future.
I like how MW transfers old videotape so it looks like video but I wish they could solve the ghosting
They can make them as sophisticated as they want..... I still wouldn't want to listen to a CVT drone on and on and on at the same RPM, like a front-wheel-drive bladeless lawnmower.
Since the 2010s, Subaru's Lineartronic CVT is one of the best because it uses a chain, instead of the belt found in the Subaru Justy in the 20th century. It took nearly 2 decades for Subaru to get the CVT just right.
It would sell like hot cakes today. Nice looking car. Clean design.
Sadly, it wouldn't. Everyone wants a gigantic vehicle with lots of gadgets. Small doesn't sell well in the US and thats why we see so few choices available.
@@arevee9429 I have to agree. So much for the college 🙄 crowd. It would have been a neat run about though.
I prefer small simple cars. We have only Sparks (almost gone) and Mirages, now (Nissan, please don’t Nissan Them Up!). VW, Honda, Toyota, Subaru.. need true entry level cars, again.
@@djkenny1202 I agree. I still like the last the Toyota Yaris (Toyota and Mazda based versions).
@@dohc1067 ia was Great! I almost bought a 17 manual one end of year for $13,500. Instead I bought a 15 XB manual (needed more space for kids in back seat) with only 31k miles for even less $. But yeah, they were pretty great fun simple enough cars for under 17k.
Damn the CVT has been around for 30 years I'm shocked
I remember this episode like it was yesterday ☺️ we miss you Mr.Goss 🥺💐😔
i had Justy is college, hell of a machine.
Not mentioned is whether the car would hold a complete stop on level ground in D like an old DAF, or whether it would "creep" and encourage the driver to hold it on the service brake like most modern CVTs(which strains the belts) or a traditional auto (which is a design limitation of their planetary gearsets).
Found myself wondering this and now want to search out an answer. The programmed-in "creep" you speak of is why I often put my CVT Nissan in neutral at long lights and drive-thru lines.
Every CVT I've ever driven has been hot garbage, I can't imagine one from 35 years ago would be any better.
35 years ago it was all mechanical mostly. There may have been a few electronic components but they probably really didn’t do a whole lot
Believe it or not, I still consider the Justy's ECVT as the best CVT I ever tested.
As I recall this wasn't on sale very long; and the few that were sold ended up being recycled fairly rapidly
Rust was a major issue with older Subies
They were on sale from 88 to 94, not many are still around though.
Its funny because all Justy's with the ecvt had or will have complete transmission failure lol. If you can find one of the gems with a manual you have one of the best!
Please @motorweek upload the video(s) of the pre-facelift model (1988).
I'd love that.
Wow. I thought CVTs were new. Stepped
Into the auto vs CVT when I bought a crosstrek in 2019. I remember the Justy. Subaru was pretty weird back then
Mother used to have one around 20 years ago. Had to scrap it because the transmission failed. Rare sight in Greek roads. It was build to last though. My father tried to change a lightbulb and realised that all screws were of inox and he wouldn't be able to catch them with a magnet. Ah, childhood memories...
The muffler was also stainless steel. Lasted me 10 years, just about when I got a recall to replace it. What a great car!
I was going to buy this car back in the day but chose a Ford Ranger instead. I really miss simple & small vehicles like these. ....
That's about all the power you can use with the CVT back in those days. I'd love to have one of these today though!
I wish Subaru would bring back the Justy. A small affordable AWD car would be nice. I know Suzuki failed with the SX4 but their dealer network was no where near Subaru's.
Adjusted for inflation the Subaru Impreza is almost exactly the same price as the Justy was.
I had two Manual Justys (FWD and 4WD) even if the yaris came back as a rebadged justy i would go nuts, miss those cars hard.
I do Rember this cute cheap car very much it's a sad shame they will do well about right now how gas price raise now! That car wasn't as fast as WRI or STI is but was great on the money you save! If Subaru did bring it back again, they will do well in!
Theres quite a few manual 4x4 justies left but nearly all the garbage CVT ones are gone.
The Justy was the car the Chevette should have been and wasn’t. This was a slap on the face for GM who thought mediocre was a great concept for designing cars.
GM was, and still is, uninterested in small, low-margin economy cars. They would rather outsource to Korea.
12.5 zero to 60, 35MPG, handles like a go-kart...sign me up
CVT, the three letters that makes car enthusiasts nauseous.
Nowaday,s CVT transmissions get hated on in favor of automatic transmissions by car journalists
MW HITS:
-- ECVT
-- PERFORMANCE
-- STYLING
-- INTERIOR
-- MILEAGE
1/4 MILE:
19.4 SECONDS 70 MPH
Amazed at what they had in '89. :o
MORE MOTORWEEK RETRO REVIEWS ...
....................... JUST AROUND THE BEND
Thanks alot Suburu.
im glad me and my brother own 2 justys! both are manuals though!
TEST MILEAGE:
35 MPG ⛽ ⛽ ⛽ ⛽
MW MISSES:
-- SHIFT LEVER
-- ENGINE NOISE
-- BRAKING STABILITY
A long and happy life.....lol most didn't make it to 100K miles, now the 4sp manual and 4x4 was nice
I had a cvt in my 04 Honda Civic Hybrid. It was a bit droning, but i get it was trying to eek out whatever power it could out of that power plant.
I want one of these now
MotorWeek please upload one of the Ford Freestar/ Mercury Monterey minivan
I love quirky Subaru products like this except that CVT is something I can’t wrap my head around. I tested it on the CrossTrek and absolutely hated it
I have no problem with the CVT in my Crosstrek Sport
@@MyerShift7 if you put on that many miles in 7 years, my hat's off to you. My Nissan turns 13 at the end of this year and probably won't be to 180k by then. Like you, though, I've been a stickler for maintenance. Fluid changes every 30k. I figure a lot of CVTs die early deaths due to neglectful owners, just like the transmissions in a lot of the three- and four-speed torque converter Fords and Chryslers of my youth.
My sister inlaw had a 1994 4wd she loved hers it was a manual
Man I miss subcompacts Japanese card like this. We need more of it instead of bloated crossovers and bigass bro-trucks for the men with 3” peepees
Love it or hate it, it certainly was a game changer.
I would like to see a video on the first generation of the Toyota Camry sold here in the United States.
3:23 34 city and 35 highway mpg, huh... Honestly I thought this car would get a little bit better mileage considering it has a little 1.2 Liter three-cylinder motor putting out 66 horsepower. 34 city Seems reasonable but that vehicle should easily get 40+ plus highway or more considering its front wheel drive light weight body and under powered 3 cylinder motor. 🤔 who else agrees?
I bet it has something to do with how the EPA tested them at that particular moment in history. A little earlier in that decade there were some pretty unrealistic ratings. Consumers complained alot.
Subaru's never know to be fuel efficient vehicles.
That's true to some extent, but my point is This Subaru has a little 3 cylinder motor and it's only getting 35 highway? Well's the 1989 geo metro gets 50+ plus highway mpg and it's also a 3 cylinder too, That's what's making my head scratch 🤔
@@Mystery07988 so I checked and you're right. Metro EPA rating was 43/52. Quite a difference.
I was surprised too. My justy gets mid 40s on the highway
From what I understand, they don't last as long as geared transmissions, cost the manufacturer less to put in but the customer astronomically more when they go out! I wouldn't buy a car with anything over 50,000 miles and a CVT transmission unless it is a hybrid like a Toyota Prius or something. Those last a long time. The more power the engine has attached to that CVT, the less probability of it lasting from what I have read.
Despite being fuel efficient, most 3 cylinder engines are not known for smoothness. That's why when Ford started using 3 cylinder engines on some of their vehicles a few years ago like on the Escape and Bronco Sport, said no thanks Ford, even if the 3 cylinder is turbocharged.
I find the 3-cylinder Fords to be no less smooth than many 4-cylinder engines and I think they sound cool - kind of like a mini inline-six. :)
Good luck getting parts for that today.
MW SAFETY CHECK ✔
F - FRONT PASSIVE RESTRAINTS
F - ANTI-LOCK BRAKES
P - REAR SHOULDER BELTS
BRAKING - 60 MPH:
125 FEET
I always thought that Nissan was the first with a CVT 🤔😬
Gotta love Subie innovation!!
I use to work for bayridge Lexus when they first came to America in 1989 and we had one of these in red as a parts car it was manual we beat the shit out of that little car with no problems and that little justy use to do some decent burnouts lol what you heard didn't match what you saw while doing it lolololol... good times👍🏼
I have a '14 Corolla with a CVT....dead reliable so far
At least it's not a Nissan
INTERIOR NOISE:
67 dB
I miss seeing Justys on the road.
MW '89 ROADTEST
SUBARU JUSTY ECVT
Show 820 | Originally Taped 02-10-1989
Makes me curious what this little guy drove like with the cvt
BASE PRICE:
$7,251 (1989) 💵 💵 💵 💵
If the CVT was used like this, there wouldn't be so many problems and complaints. CVTs were designed for small, light cars with small engines. Putting them in big, heavy vehicles with bigger engines is just asking for trouble. And trying to make them feel like a regular automatic transmission just defeats the purpose. I wouldn't own a modern CVT vehicle. But I would definitely drive this old Subaru
👍
I didn’t know CVTs were around since the 80s
“Larger” tires 🛞 !?!?! 😳 Were the previous ones off a go kart ? And that breaking ! 🤣
Lol, those tires still look small