The Subaru BRAT: Everything You Need to Know

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Here's a comprehensive look at the Subaru BRAT.

(Doug DeMuro)

[matthewturley]

My uncle had one of these when I was a kid. Sitting in those back seats was about the most fun thing ever.

[Basheer]

When “quirks and features” was merely “key details”.

[chieftp]

Americans don't want things that are small and affordable. we like army tank sized trucks that cost as much as a medium sized house and are capable of hauling/towing things we'll never haul/tow.

[skunkbucket]

When my wife was still a child, her dad had a couple of seats from a BRAT in the back of his sixties vintage Chevy pickup. She and her little brother would ride in them when they went out on the highway, which wasn't terribly safe to start with, but what made it worse was that the seats weren't bolted in. The kids and seats kinda just flew around back there. Things were different back in the seventies.

[erics]

I can imagine my dad saying "I love this thing, it's so old and little"

[Gizadrum]

As a proud BDRAT owner, I must add a few key & interesting points. First is that in addition to the rear facing "jump" seats as we BRAT owners call them, they also installed a weatherproof carpet in the bed which was added proof to the tax-man that it wasn't designed to function as pickup truck. Also the air vents aren't really full lenght lol! That's because about 8 inches of the "vent" section right above the glove-box area was a center mounted 25w speaker. Also offered in the later years(83/84) was an optional 94hp Turbocharged & fuel injected BDRAT!! sadly though, it was only offered in an automatic transmission that had a push-button single-range 4WD, unlike the more versatile dual-range 4spd manual offered in the standard production vehicles.

[RonJohn]

This isn't a "pickup truck", it's a pint-sized El Camino.

[free_spirit]

At 4:48, the white one, if you squint, the front almost looks like a delorean.

[nicholasw.]

3:46 He sounds like Elmo flooring the Subaru BDRATT

[mrfuffet]

Hey Doug, in russian "brat" means a brother :D

[stephenmorrish]

These were super popular in the UK on farms. They were not called the Brat and didn't have those silly back seats. They were just light utility vehicles. Way cheaper than a land rover more capable than other light pickups like the Marina or dreaded FSO as they had four wheel drive and Japanese build quality and reliability. Subaru did not have a dealership network in the UK but instead sold their cars and pickups out of Agricultural supplies being sold alongside tractors and other farm equipment. For a very long time Subaru were the chosen car brand of the country set.

[boy]

so the BDRAT actually pioneered those full-length air-con vents before Audi

[TalenGryphon]

My Grandma had one when I was 9 or so. I got to ride in the jump seat roughly 10 miles to town and back. Mom nearly had an aneurysm, and grounded me for a week. So worth it! I also remember Grandma reminding mom that she rode in the bed of a Chevy with *no* seats.

I still want a Brat.

[mfoxo]

BDRATT starting not being funny the 53rd time he used it. Went to the well a few to many times...

[RedLPS]

You are the first and hopefully last person to ever say "Bdradt." Seriously, don't do that ever again.

[Muffinrider]

In Australia they were called a Brumby, very very tough and as a result were driven harder than a new girlfriend.

[Michael_Shoemaker]

BRAT means BROTHER in Polish.
Impreza means PARTY in Polish.
Seems Legit.

[tjport]

I had a 1978 Brat. Best car in the snow ever !

[Stanf]

I had a Red BRAT in 1983 with a bed cap. It handled great in the Maine winters.

[dwilsonjr]

Ironically Honda also has its own version of the BDRAT on sale today, it's called the Ridgeline.