Justy · 1987–1994
The first CVT sold new in the US — but maybe not the first CVT-and-AWD combination.
The Justy's ECVT (electronically controlled continuously variable transmission) launched in Japan in February 1987 and reached the US in 1989; multiple independent enthusiast outlets agree this made it 'the first production car in the U.S. to offer CVT technology' — a reasonably well-corroborated claim. Whether any US-market Justy could be ordered with both AWD (optional from 1988) and the CVT together is genuinely unresolved: a Curbside Classic comment thread shows readers disputing each other directly, and this project treats that as forum-level evidence, not a settled fact. Wikipedia's own Justy article does not itself make the 'first CVT+AWD' claim — that framing comes only from secondary retrospectives.
US sales 1987–1994, plus one Canada-only 1995 model year; described by its own source as 'a widened and stretched version of the Rex kei car' despite being sold as a genuine subcompact (not a kei car) in most markets.
CoverageGeneration tracer-bullet · 23 July 2026
Powertrain
Engine options
Per-generation engine specs aren't sourced yet for this profile — see the engine genealogy page for the family-level boxer engine history.
Configuration
Trims and transmissions
Post-1994, the Justy name was reused for badge-engineered European-market cars unrelated to the original Subaru-built model — a rebadged second-generation Suzuki Cultus (1994–2001), then a rebadged Suzuki Ignis (2004+). Their specifications should never be attributed to the original Subaru-built Justy covered by this profile.
Identify & buy
Identification and ownership notes
A 5-door Justy variant (1990–1994) was 4WD-only; the CVT itself was 'considered unreliable' in North America per the source Wikipedia article — a period reliability caution worth preserving alongside the 'first CVT in the US' claim.