The old-timers among us remember that in the 70's and 80's, a small and lovable Subaru mini car was common in Israel.
She had a rear engine and bore the name Rex.
A lot of time has passed since then, the production of the Herx was stopped, Subaru is no longer the car sold in Israel and today it stars mainly thanks to the crossover vehicles with dual drive that it produces.
These days, Subaru is introducing a new urban crossover in Japan that joins the company's portfolio, and yes, it bears the name Rex.
More from the Overdrive website >>>
Actually the new Subaru Rex is not really a Subaru.
This is Subaru's version of Daihatsu Rocky (another name remembered from the 80's) which has been marketed in Japan for several years.
And if you are wondering about the relationship?
So, as you know, Daihatsu is owned by Toyota, which also owns part of Subaru's shares, and serves as the manufacturer of the group's small cars and micro cars for the Japanese and Eastern markets.
As part of the cooperation between Subaru and Toyota, which gave birth to, for example, the sporty BRZ/GR86, Subaru uses Daihatsu to spare it the development and production of small cars that will complete its model range.
By the way, Toyota also has its own "Rex" and it is called Raize.
The new Herx fits exactly into the sought-after slot of recreational vehicles for use in crowded cities.
Its length is exactly 4 meters with a handsome wheelbase of 252.5 cm and a width of 170 cm, not far from the dimensions of the European super mini cars.
The height, on the other hand, rises to 162 cm, which allows not only an upright sitting position, but also an abdominal space of 18.5 cm for climbing on sidewalks.
A 1.2-liter atmospheric three-cylinder engine providing 87 hp and mated to a continuous automatic transmission is responsible for propulsion.
Exciting performance is not here, but the declared fuel consumption is more than 20 km per liter, and that is without any hybrid assistance.
By the way, contrary to what is customary in Subaru, the Rex has front-wheel drive without a dual-drive option at the moment, although Daihatsu does offer this option in the Rocky.
Although it is a relatively cheap city car, Subaru will market the Rex in two trim levels and with a full active safety specification, where the high level also has adaptive cruise control.
The Subaru Rex does have a recipe that can make it a success in Israel, but as of now it will only be produced with right-hand drive and is not planned to leave the borders of Japan at all.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us
