MotorWeek | Retro Review: '82 Subaru Brat

It's Friday in Sydney, Australia!

[anihtgenga]

The rear seats were added to avoid the Chicken Tariff.

[ScottaHemi]

the idea of the brat was cool!

such a thing should make a comeback! especially with the "small" trucks being about the size of the 90's fullsize trucks...

[vinceruland]

When I was a kid in San Diego in the early 80's, these things were everywhere. I swore this would be my first car. I wanted one so bad.

[chieftp]

can we have something like this today? small, fun, practical, affordable? no. no, we can't.

[jerlaine]

That is some top notch audio quality right there

[efranklin]

I absolutely love these Retro Reviews! I like seeing what passed for luxury and what was unacceptable

[jonsmith]

My buddy had one of these in high school. I used to ride in the seats in the bed. They actually had seat belts awe the good old days

[XXMETALLIFXX]

this is one of those cars you remember having as a matchbox toy as a kid and being like wtf is this thing? lol

[catjudo]

I miss the BRAT, the Toyota Hilux, the Nissans, the Mazdas. Back in the 70s and 80s, when I was growing up, we could get small trucks that were like small tanks. Today's small trucks are things like the Ford Ranger and the Chevy/GMC twins, which are almost the size of an old full size from years ago. The Hilux X-Tra cab I drove was a delight and could take a bunch of heavy stuff too.

[nedaCFilms]

I love these old Subaru Brat models lol. My favorite toy back in the early '80s was "stompers" and I had the Brat stomper.... and it was awesome lol. I bet most people don't know what an old stomper was.

[McRocket]

Motorweek had a much better sense of humour way back when.

[aquateen]

This trucklet was so cool! Loving the 2 jump seats in the bed.

The sound quality of the video is pretty bad, unfortunately.

[edwu]

The motor would run forever & the body would rust overnight 👎

[GTSuzukaTimeTrials]

Honestly I prefer Motorweek over Top Gear. Substance > Style. The Brat is like the Baja's daddy.

[ryanhull]

I learned to drive in one of those on our private road when I was 12. My dad had a silver one. It was easy to shift and fun to drive. Also had the seats in the back. Good times😎

[nlpnt]

Studio car is an '83 model (four headlights, fully rubber-covered bumpers), test car's an '82. Same color and decal package.

[DeltaOps]

"took he-Man pedal pressure" oh my this is definitely the 80s lol

[manthony]

I had one, and i loved it. It is agricultural slow,  but I was able to achieve EPA mileage figures. I never trusted the factory roll bar, AC was great and roof never leaks. Always wished more aggressive tire treads were available as 185/70 - 13 was the standard tire, but never got stuck. Also, never try making that tight turn with 4 wheel drive engaged on dry pavement, the whole drivetrain locks up.

[mackchannel]

The parents of a friend of mine had a Subaru Brat. It was one of the coolest little cars ever.

[johnhiram]

They were tough little cars. Great run about here in Rural Maine. Amazing where you could drive it.