It is common that you can choose from several body styles when purchasing a car. What actually never happens with passenger cars is that you also have the choice of a high or low roof. In this edition of De Vluchtstrook, the exception to that rule shines: the first generation Subaru Justy, where the height of the roof depended on the motorization.
The first generation of Subaru Justy was born in 1984. The Japanese hatchback was available as a three-door DL ​​or SL, or as a five-door GL. The three-door was also available as a delivery van. Unique (then) in the segment was the four-wheel drive 4WD, which was only available as a SL. In terms of motorization, the customer had a choice of two three-cylinders: a 1.0 with 55 hp or a 1.2 with 68 hp. In conjunction with the 1.2, the trim levels were called SL-II, SL-II 4WD and GL-II. The most curious thing about the Justy, however, was that the height of the roof depended on the chosen engine. With the 1.0, the car height is 1,390 mm, while the 1,2 is 1,420 mm high. For the less fast calculators: that equates to a difference of 3 centimeters and those centimeters are at the very top.
If you put the two different Justy’s next to each other, the difference between the two roof heights is clearly visible. The high roof starts higher at the windscreen and ends in a small roof spoiler at the rear window. On the side of the high roof a subtle striping has been applied above the rear window. Both the three-door and five-door Justy were supplied with a low or high roof, depending on the chosen motorization. Remarkably enough, the van version of the Justy had to do without the high roof, because it was only available in combination with the 1.0. It is often customary for van versions of passenger cars to have a higher roof in order to comply with Dutch tax rules.
That’s bad luck …
… roof gone. With the facelift of the Justy in 1989, the hatchback was only available with the high roof and the variant with the low roof disappeared from the range. Why Subaru initially delivered the Justy with a high and low roof is unclear. In any case, it has nothing to do with the regulations for the kei-cars in Japan, because the Justy did not qualify for that anyway, given its dimensions and engine capacity. The sunroof was also available on both the 1.0 and the 1.2, so Subaru did not have to raise the roof for that. In any case, a clearer distinction between the different motorizations could have been made.
Tutto
The Subaru Tutto, exclusive to Taiwan. (Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Subaru_Tutto_003.jpg)
In Taiwan, the Justy was launched on the market in 1989 as a liftback: the Tutto. It was developed by Ta Ching Motor Co., a Taiwanese car manufacturer that had a contract with Subaru for the production of various cars. Since the Tutto is based on the Justy’s facelift, it is also only available with a high roof. Compared to the Justy, the Tutto has gained a few centimeters at the rear and therefore has a somewhat similar shape to a sedan. Another aspect that distinguishes the Tutto from the Justy are the rear lights, which are optically linked by a red reflector. The name ‘Tutto’ is written in it. It was never delivered outside of Taiwan, so the chance that you will encounter it here in the street is really nil.