The Subaru Pleo is a kei car marketed by the Japanese automaker Subaru from 1998 to 2018.
The Pleo is taller than conventional kei car hatchbacks, but shorter than the definitive microvan, the Suzuki Wagon R, and was available with a variety of 658 cc I4 engines: SOHC, DOHC, and supercharged in two different trim levels. It competed with the Honda Life, Daihatsu Move, and the Mitsubishi Toppo in the tall wagon segment of kei cars in Japan.
The name "pleo" is Latin meaning "to fill" or "to fulfill."
First generation – RA1/RA2/RV1/RV2 (1998-2009)
The first-generation Pleo first went on sale in Japan on October 9, 1998, replacing the Vivio (a conventional kei car hatchback), when Japanese regulations dictated a size change in the kei car tax bracket, and every kei car model from every make was redesigned as a result. The car was available with three variations of the EN07 engine; a naturally aspirated one with , a sporty supercharged one with , and also a "mildcharged" version which aimed for power characteristics similar to those of a one-liter car. The mildcharged version has a supercharger (with lower boost pressure) and . The original television advertisement for the Pleo broadcast nationally across Japan throughout the fourth quarter of 1998 featured a hip hop remix for the aria Un bel dì vedremo from the opera Madama Butterfly by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini as its background music. The Vivio continued to be sold alongside the Pleo until the Vivio was discontinued on October 31.
In June 1999, Subaru launched a retro-styled and better equipped edition of the Pleo, called the Nesta. This has a whole new front design, including new fenders, to accommodate a chromed grille and (twin) round headlights. It featured the entire engine range of the Pleo. In October, a sporty edition was launched, called the LS. At the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show, an LPG-powered prototype with a modernized version of the Nesta's front end was shown, with the name "Pleo Nicot," (stylized as NiCOT) although it was not to enter production for another year. In December, an Le edition was launched.
In May 2000, Subaru launched a G Edition of the Pleo Nesta. In October, the first facelifted edition was launched. In December, the cheery-looking model called the Pleo Nicot was finally launched.