Subaru Baja

[GumbyJarvis]

So today, I came across a Subaru Baja for sale, Pretty nifty car/truck imo. Im contemplating buying it, any thoughts on this vehicle? They run great, guy has an 06 with 40k miles on it. Roomy, comfy, tested it, seems pretty cool, always liked Subarus. People say it looks...odd... but I can totally dig it! Burnt orange custom paint, always ran on Peak Synthetic with K&N Filter. according to the guy, idk LOL

 

[ethangsmith]

If it is a non-turbo, be prepared for it to be slow. My boss at work (I work at a Subaru dealership in parts) has a Baja and he said the only major dislike is how severely underpowered it is. If this Baja is a turbo, then you' have plenty of power, however, you'll have to be very diligent not to miss any oil changes or services or turbocharger failure could result. Something to do if it is a turbo: In the oil feed lines going to the turbo, most of the "banjo bolts" will have micro filters in them. They're dinky little screens. Clean them out heavily with solvent and blast out the oil lines with solvent as well. Reinstall them using new copper washers and you should be good to go. Subaru now highly recommends the use of synthetic 5W30 oil in ALL of their turbo engines. Other than that, you should really enjoy the vehicle. They're safe and the AWD is an added plus.

 

[supton]

I've been tempted by the Baja's lately; I'd like to have four doors and a pretend-bed. Probably won't make the jump, though, too much money for too little gain. But it'd be fun.

From what I've been able to garner, they are not affected by the Subaru headgasket issues. Timing belt every 105k; and I guess it's common for the oil pump to need a seal when that is done too(?). Pretty straight forward otherwise, with few complaints really about mechanical bits.

I did read some complaints about interior space; I guess the rear may be cramped. Some complained that the rear is lighter than normal, and therefore it might be a bit more tricky in the snow than other Subaru's are. [OTOH, it's a Subaru: it'll do good in the snow regardless, as long as the tires are good.]

The automatics are known to suck power, and a couple mpg's.

I've read the same underpowered complaint, and I'm not entirely sold on that. 0-60 is like 2 seconds faster than my TDi. I don't think my car is that fast, so I'd think a Baja wouldn't be that bad.

 

[Cujet]

I always loved them. In fact, I came very close to purchasing one for my wife. However, I could not fit my feet on the passenger floor, under the heater box. (size 10.5 shoes).

Other than that one item, they are great vehicles.

 

[supton]

Oh: just remembered, I don't think they have side airbags at all.

 

[Spazdog]

I hated them when they first came out.

Then I saw a black one without the hideous grey plastic body side cladding. That actually worked for me.

Appeals to my good mpg/good driving dynamic side with Subaru AWD sensibility and my redneck side for having a truck bed.

 

[dishdude]

A mullet is required to drive one of these!

 

[swirlparanoid]

thought they were kinda cool when they first came out, ive only seen 2 since they came out and both were in Lafayette,IN guess because there's a Subaru plant there, only place ive ever seen a Subaru Brat also (a part of me really wants one of those)

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
A mullet is required to drive one of these!


It's a Subaru, not an El Camino!

 

[MrCritical]

Love the Baja!

Unfortunately, due to their limited production run, the nice ones around here really bring a premium.

I'd get rid of the K&N (especially on a turbo). You don't want any excess dirt in there.

As dependable as an Outback Wagon-which is basically what it is.

 

[saberz]

It's a mixed bag for me. They are reliable as most Subaru's are. Car Domain shows some really nice ones(all black, plastic cladding colored or changed etc). Not sure how much you'd be able to do with it though.

As far the N/A vs Turbo, yes there is a big difference but if its anything like my Wife's Impreza with the 2.5 N/A, throw it into Tapshift and it will turn to Sport shift and it becomes a fairly aggressive road monster or you can manually shift.

 

[CivicFan]

I like the looks of the car and the concept of the ute in the US. At some point I was considering it but the wife thought they looked outrageous. So I ended up with a different car.

The one I wanted looked something like this.