Start with what the Subaru Rex is: a 2/4-door sedan / 3-door hatchback (Van/Wagon) / 3-door hatchback (Swingback) with 356 , built from 1972 to 1992, as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry. What it meant takes a little longer.
The story
The Subaru Rex (Japanese: スバル・レックス, Hepburn: Subaru Rekkusu) is a kei class automobile manufactured and marketed for model years 1972–1992 by Subaru primarily for the Japanese Domestic Market, although it was also sold in Europe, South America, Australia and the Caribbean — variously as the Ace, Viki, Sherpa, 500/600/700, Mini Jumbo, or M60/M70/M80. The Rex superseded the R-2 as Subaru's kei car, and was available in commercial use versions as well as in a passenger car version. It underwent major changes in 1976, in fall 1981, and again in late 1986. The second generation Rex (1981–1986) also formed the basis for the larger Subaru Justy.
The name "Rex" comes from the Latin word for "king". This was possibly a response to Suzuki, who referred to their LC10 Fronte as the "Queen of the keis" in their period marketing. In some export markets, the Sambar microvan was marketed as the "Rex Combi". The "Rex" nameplate has been reused since 2022 as a subcompact crossover SUV based on the A200 series Daihatsu Rocky.
What is underneath
The engine is 356 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. On the scales it comes to 480 -. Drive goes through a Four/five-speed manual, / optional "Autoclutch" in 1980-81. The wheelbase is 1920 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
In the Subaru line-up the Subaru Rex has a clear place: it replaced the Subaru R-2; it handed the line to the Subaru Vivio; the factory was Subaru-chō Plant, Ōta, Gunma, Japan. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Renault 5, the Mitsubishi Lancer, the Lancia Stratos. Nearby in the Subaru catalogue sit the Subaru Chiffon and the Subaru Lucra.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Subaru Rex has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.
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