The Subaru Trezia was a five-seat mini MPV built by Toyota and sold by Subaru from 2010. It was a rebadged Toyota Ractis, replaced the Justy in Subaru’s range and carried unique bumpers, grille, bonnet, front wings and lights.
Subaru Trezia at a glance
| Maker | Subaru, built by Toyota (Kanto Auto Works) |
|---|---|
| Announced | 29 November 2010 |
| Class | five-seat mini MPV |
| Based on | Toyota Ractis |
| Engines | 1.3-litre 1NR-FE and 1.5-litre 1NZ-FE |
| Gearbox | CVT |
| Drive | front-wheel drive; all-wheel drive on the 1.5 |
| Replaced | Subaru Justy |
| Unique parts | bumpers, grille, bonnet, front wings, headlights, tail lights |
| Name | from the English word treasure |
| Show car | Trezia STI at the Tokyo Auto Salon, January 2011 |
| European sales | left-hand drive only, not Britain or Ireland |
Based on one source; the Trezia is described in the English Wikipedia article on the Toyota Ractis it was derived from.
History of the Subaru Trezia
Subaru announced the Trezia on 29 November 2010 as an OEM version of the Toyota Ractis for the Japanese market. The badge-engineered car received its own bumpers, grille, bonnet, front wings, headlights, rear finisher and tail light lenses, and its name comes from the English word treasure. The Ractis itself was introduced in 2005 as a five-seat mini MPV based on the Vitz, its name made from “run”, “activity” and “space”, and was sold in New Zealand and parts of Europe as the Verso-S.
Engines and layout
The Trezia came with a 1.3-litre 1NR-FE or a 1.5-litre 1NZ-FE engine, both with a CVT. Front-wheel drive was the entry-level layout for both engines, and all-wheel drive was available as an upgrade on the 1.5-litre version. In January 2011 Subaru showed an STI-tuned Trezia at the Tokyo Auto Salon. The car was sold in Europe in left-hand-drive form only, not in right-hand-drive markets such as Britain or Ireland.
Why it mattered
The Trezia replaced the Justy, which by then was also a rebadged model, a Daihatsu Boon. Its arrival broke a Subaru tradition: apart from the diesel Justy, Subaru’s European cars had all been four-wheel drive, and the Trezia offered no all-wheel drive in most versions. The Ractis it was based on stayed in production in Japan until 2016, while European Verso-S sales ended in 2017, and the model was succeeded by the Toyota Tank and Roomy. In Subaru’s own range the small-car role passed to rebadged Toyotas again, with the Justy name returning in 2016 on a version of the Toyota Tank.
Design and features
- Rebadged Ractis: Toyota engineering with Subaru badges and its own front end.
- Two petrol engines: 1.3 and 1.5 litres, both with a CVT.
- All-wheel drive option: available on the 1.5-litre car.
- City-friendly size: a five-seat mini MPV based on the Vitz.
- Trezia STI: a tuned show car of 2011.
Subaru Trezia versions
- Trezia 1.3: 1NR-FE engine with front-wheel drive.
- Trezia 1.5: 1NZ-FE engine with front- or all-wheel drive.
- Trezia STI (2011): show car from the Tokyo Auto Salon.
The Trezia replaced the Justy at the bottom of Subaru’s range. More Subarus are in the Subaru collection.
Video: Subaru Trezia 1.4D S 90 CV test
Video by berkonte on YouTube.
Sources
- Toyota Ractis, English Wikipedia: development, engines, Trezia version
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