Comments on Baja needed....

As a general comment, you will be disapointed with the power if you are asking for V-10 kind of torque, but the 2.5 normally aspirated engine is adequate to ample for alomost any situation. What I did was buy the Forester and a 4'x8' lanscaping trailer ($989.00 Canadian) from Home Depot. I haul inside the vehicle what needs to be secured and load up the trailer for junk, yard waste and pick-ups from the building supply. The trailer has a

2200lb rating as does the hitch and vehicle.

Ditto on that. We have an OBW and one day we went down to the hardware store to buy a screen door. The guy said, "why put it on the roof rack? Carry it inside the car" - and we did! Very versatile.

Ron

Definitely do NOT need the V10 horsepower and torque. Of course I thought that I HAD to have one when they came out in 1994 thus I bought one. :-)

Actually I have never even seen a Baja in real life and just need to get a "feel" for the back seat size (will a 21" by 21" box fit in it). The one that I am looking at is at

on e-Bay. I realize that I will need to get a trailer for my Polaris 4-wheeler. Don

I know owner that loves his and my wife really likes Baja's looks. You are probably still going to have the bed cover problem and the tailgate expansion unit takes up room. You'd probably be better off with an Outback or Forester.

Because the closest one is 100 miles and they don't even have a Baja!

Don

I own one and I love it. (It seems a bit underpowered though.) Subaru seems to have all but given up on the Baja. I'd say print out that Baja from the ebay auction and let a dealer beat that price -- I'm sure they could beat the "Buy It Now" price, I paid not much more for mine 2 years ago before they decided it wasn't worth promoting. Also, the auction's mileage estimate seems a bit "optimistic." I'm happy with the 21-22 mpg I get in mixed driving; don't think I'd get 28 mpg going downhill with a tailwind. ;oP

I own one and I love it. (It seems a bit underpowered though.) Subaru seems to have all but given up on the Baja. I'd say print out that Baja from the ebay auction and let a dealer beat that price -- I'm sure they could beat the "Buy It Now" price, I paid not much more for mine 2 years ago before they decided it wasn't worth promoting. Also, the auction's mileage estimate seems a bit "optimistic." I'm happy with the 21-22 mpg I get in mixed driving; don't think I'd get 28 mpg going downhill with a tailwind. ;oP

I've owned 23 cars in the last 13 years. That's about two cars per year, although I swear it doesn't seem like I've gone through them that quickly. I've owned my Baja for almost 18 months, and it will have to be pried from my cold, dead hands.

Yes, it will hold a 21x21 box in the backseat, although the backseat is definitely smallish (it's the same size as the Outback and other Legacy's).

Yes, the engine does seem a little under-powered, but I think a lot of that will also depend on where you live and how you drive. I'm fairly demanding, and drive pretty steep grades regularly, and I can get what I want out of it, but sometimes have to push it a bit. On the otherhand, I've driven my Baja to the midwest and found the power to be more than adequate, maybe even peppy at the lower altitude. Check out cobbsport.com for performance accessories.

As far as MPG goes, in mixed driving I too get 21-22, in and around SLC. But, when I did drive from Utah to Nebraska I did manage 28! That was at 90mph, 100+ degrees, windows down much of the time, A/C pumping. Oh yeah, and the temperature gauge didn't move.

Cargo...I've hauled two fridges (laying down), concrete, furniture, all kinds of crap. Obviously, noone is going to buy a Baja to go to the construction site, but if you are realistic about what you are getting, I think you will be impressed. A previous post mentioned the bed extender taking up room, but you shouldn't worry about it. The extender comes out very easily, and will fit at either end of the bed, takin gup little room. It also fits in the back seat.

Don't, DO NOT, buy the Subaru soft tonneau cover. It's crap. Pure crap. If it wasn't on my car when I bought it, and had I actually bought the cover on my own, I would've been pissed.

I don't know what else to tell you. As you can probably tell, I am quite pleased with my Baja. It's uniqueness and versatility are tough to beat. I don't know if you have your heart set on a brand new one, but I bought my 03 at Nate Wade Subaru in SLC (natewade.com), with

2,000 miles for CHEAP. At the time, the same money would've gotten me an Outback that was twoor three years older, with at least 50,000 miles on it. Every so often Nate Wade gets 5 or 6 2003 models, with virtually no miles, and lists them for 18,000ish...negotiable.

Have a look at scoobytruck.com for other info. Good luck!

It wouldn't fit very well on the seat itself...only about 20" of clearance from the back of passenger seat to the back of the back seat with the passenger seat at a comfortable setting...but if you fold down the back seat there is over 2 ft of space. Plenty of room. As for power, I think you might be surprised. I drive a JXI with a V6 and expected the Baja to be too "slow" for me. It's not. It's not a V6 for sure but it has decent torque for the engine size. I love my Baja. Of course I have had it for all of 2 days and really haven't put it to the test. Hauling a mountain bike isn't the same as towing a 4 wheeler but I say go for it. It's easily the most versatile vehicle I have owned in a while.

AG

I must say that I'm gutted that we can't get them new in NZ... it's not that I need a ute(small truck for the yankees), but I want one. instead I have an OBW and a trailer.

Why are you upset you cant get a Baja? I bet you can get a lot of better vehicles than we in the US can. Can you get a ford falcon? Much nicer than baja. Can you get the hyundai terracan- way nicer than baja. The variety of toyota trucks available is also worth considering. In the us the baja has not been very popular for several reasons. Subaru only sold a deluxe model with leather etc for a high price of $26000 or so US. They expected young, active people to buy it but it was too pricey for out of college people. Finally they sold a version with cloth seats and lowered the price but there was no momentum. Baja was also not rated reliable according to Consumer Reports magazine. I almost bought one but without a locking cargo cover, no locking fuel door and now they arent available in yellow. Get a nicer vehicle.

errr, because I want one. I've been chatting with an importer to see if I can get a jap import one.

byt the looks at some of the car sales online presence, yes, yes we do.

yep, but I'm not a falcon fan, they're over-rated in my opinion.

personal opinions matter little... well, what I mean is your personal opinion matters little when it comes to my potential car choice.

I apologise for sounding arrogant, it's just the way I am.

they are very nice yes, but they're not a subaru.

I'm not a great fan of the Toyota "trucks", well, except for one of the models that we don't get here(not sure of the name, but it comes with a v8 engine and gets used in hill climbs a lot in the US).

I'm one of those people they were trying to sell to. :)

well actually I'm more of a cloth seat kinda guy, leather just smacks of "I have too much money" usually...

Subaru never scores well here(NZ) for that sort of thing either, but it doesn't stop them selling like hot cakes to those wanting a good solid car that performs well.

The no locking fuel door is a pain, the no locking cargo cover sounds like a dumb reason, surely you have after market products for this sort of thing? hell, design one yourself, it's not that costly to make things like that.

heh, not availible in yellow... bye for now.

Check out

to talk to Baja owners. Perhaps that can help you make a decision. e

I think that you are so impressed with yourself, for buying an Outback, that you jump at the opportunity to throw your two bits in about how bad the Baja sucks. We get it, you didn't like it, and it's a damned good thing you didn't buy one.

To address your main points:

1. When was the last time that you, or anyone you know, had gas siphoned from your car, to make a locking cap such a big deal that your entire auto purchase hinged on it? Seriously, if I was in need of gasoline badly enough to steal it from someone's car, don't think for a minute that I would hesitate to jam a screwdriver, key, etc. into that locking gas door of yours and pop it open...costing you more than some gas.
2. The Baja has no locking cargo cover...duh, it's a truck (mostly). If I leave something in the cargo area, and it gets stolen, that's on me. At least I won't have to replace any broken windows.

Get over it.

which consumer report mag rated them as unreliable? I researched this purchase pretty thoroughly and either the ratings were above average (reliablility, crash, ownership etc..) or no rating was available. I didn't see anything that marked it lower than any other small truck on the market. They aren't popular? Are Subaru's popular in general? Does popularity play a key role in your decision making process? Seriously, the mini cooper is popular in my area but it wouldn't convince me to buy one. I admit I liked the yellow one but again, color was never a major decision making factor.....and I can buy a locking gas cap. :-)

AG

The consumer report Baja low rating was due to the lack of time with the vehicle. Recent issues have put it up with it's sister/brother vehicles as well rated.

2003 BAJA.

I love mine with a few exceptions. Brake and rotors had to be replaced at

20000 miles. Subaru dealer blamed it on driving. Considering I drive highway miles, that didn't set well with me.

I had to have the front bumper cover repainted less than 6 months after I bought the vehicle. The paint had a chip and was starting to peel. The repaint was excellent and have had no further problems.

Goes like the devil in snow and handles like a BWM in the mountain turns.

Bob

I've had my Baja since December 2002. Overall I love it. A few nitpicks:

1. Rear seat has stupid console in middle and thus seats 2
2. Not enough space between rear seat and back to store anything such as a tool kit and jumper cables.

That's it. People complain about the power but I expect they simply don't drive the car in everyday traffic and are either saying this because they read it somewhere or did a lead foot test drive and expected a wrx. I have never gotten below 24MPG and never above 28.5 MPG. It is all the truck most city dwellers will ever need. Just don't expect to ever carry more than 4 people.

I disliked the two seat issue with the baja. They could have integrayed into the seatback to allow three in back