Comments: 1-15, 16-27
Squeaky windows when wet.
Seats are comfortable. Moderate gas guzzler. The open back bed is utterly useless for anything larger than a few bags of topsoil. Looks like they took a wagon and chopped off the back to make this WEIRD car. Only from Japan would have come a bizarre car as the Subaru Baja. An after-market hard fiberglass, carbon fibre or metal hinged and LOCKABLE WATERPROOF cover or lid for the cargo area would be a WELCOME ACCESSORY.
I just have to wonder... Why did you buy this car when you seem to hate the way it looks and the uselessness of the bed? Did you think the back would suddenly grow at home in your garage or did you never really look at it BEFORE buying it?
What is with these people. I read so many reviews complaining about things that should have been observed BEFORE purchasing the vehicle. Why would you complain about the wierd looks and uselessness of the cargo area AFTER you buy the car? Wouldn't you think about buying something you actually like for $22K? COME ON!! I see all too many revies like this. Are people really this stupid out there??
I agree with the above comments and would also like to add that there are currently bed covers and camper shells available for the Baja.
I don't think this person actually owns a Baja. They object to its philosophy so much they acted like they own it just to complain about it. The fact is that Baja is not a "truck" and the macho truck guys need to calm down--if you want a big truck bed then buy a big truck bed. I've used the little truck bed for plenty of useful things, almost weekly, from bicycles to landscaping stuff to trash and recycling. I love being able to throw wet tents and camping gear into the bed rather than inside the interior of an Outback. The bed swallows 8-ft-long 2x4s even without the bed extender if you open the switchback and put the front of the boards up between the front seats. Its the only vehicle at Home Depot that doesn't have 2x4's sticking up at an angle out of the bed. I can put my canoe on a Yakima roof rack and have two bikes in the bed along with camping gear, while my wife, me and the dog can ride in the cab with none of that bothering us. Great useful car. Drives better than any truck. The real comparison should be to small SUVs, like the Honda CRV, which is comparable in some ways, but...has...no...bed.
Why would this guy buy a Japanese car if he despises them? As for his comment that "only from Japan would have come a bizarre car" in which they "took a wagon and chopped off the back"-- really? Does the Chevy El Camino or Ford Ranchero ring a bell? At least the Baja has a quad cab, an excellent AWD system, and real off-road abilities. Better mileage, better ride, better off-road guts than any American pickup, and most SUVs. I've used my Subaru to tow OTHER vehicles out of the snow and ice.
I agree with the comment above me, that the Subaru has an excellent "AWD" system (for what it is). But, I think it is completely false to say that the Baha is a more capable off road vehicle than most trucks and SUV's (leaving out the jabs the commenter takes at American vehicles).
That is not to say that as circumstances dictate, a Baha (or other Subaru) might not be able to get through an area, where another part-time actual "4WD" vehicle might happen to get stuck, for traction, weight displacement reasons or otherwise.
The fact is however, that Subaru AWD systems, or any "AWD" system, good at what they do though they are, are not designed for offroad use. I know this for two reasons: one because I am a former ASE certification holder in Manual-Drive-
Trains/4WD (I am no longer a technician; I went back to school to become an engineer... currently have a MSEE degree), and two, I used to own a 2000 Subaru Impreza and Subaru stated right in the owners manual that the vehicle is not designed for offroad use.
Subaru very accurately states that its (as well as other manufacturers) AWD systems provide the capability to transfer power from the wheels that slip to the wheels that grip. In contrast, a regular "part-time" 4WD system couples the front and rear wheels together, where they will (less the effects from the front and rear differentials) all turn the same speed. Hence, the reason why you cannot drive a part time 4WD system on drive pavement with the system engaged, as when you go around a turn, the front and rear wheels will want to turn at a different speed, binding the driveline, and putting an unbelievable amount of stress on the drive components.
With a Subaru (or other) AWD system, the car is essentially a two wheel drive vehicle, until there is a difference in rotation speed between the front and rear wheels. The difference in rotation activate either a viscious clutch coupling mechanism with a manual transmission, or an electronically actuated (via input from driveshaft inductive speed sensors) clutch/servo coupling mechanism for an automatic transmission, to engage drive torque to the wheels that are moving slower.
AWD is an excellent system in the rain and light snow, perhaps arguably the best, but here is why you should not use your Subaru, or any AWD car, for "serious" offroading. If your vehicle encounters any type of obstacle that will seriously inhibit movement of a wheel, such as a rock or a log, let us just assume it is a front wheel, the rear wheels will start spinning, but the front wheel will be locked in place on the obstruction.
The difference in rotation between the front and rear wheels will then make AWD clutch mechanism want to start spinning and engage itself. If you were on snow or rain, the slower moving (or stopped) wheel would just start spinning or perhaps slipping, but that spinning will not be able to take place on the severe obstruction, because the wheel is "locked" in place. At that point, you are asking your AWD transfer case to do something it simply is not able to, and are severely over stressing its internal clutch mechanism. Under these conditions, you will be just about 100% assured of destroying the system.
Similarly, you would also destroy your AWD system if you towed the vehicle on two wheels, or decided to pull the emergency brake and lock the rear wheels while you are driving. If you want to destroy a Subaru, go ahead and try either of these things. In each cases, the AWD transfer case would be trying to spin the wheels that are locked, and come up against a brick wall. Something has got to "give" and will.
In addition Subaru components are just not as heavy duty as regular truck components, that are a little bit more designed to take the stresses of the part-time (locked) 4WD system that I described earlier. Those vehicles are also full framed and a lot more ruggedized than a Subaru, which is built on non frame car platform. Subarus will therefore drive better on the road. In fact, I have yet to drive a vehicle that handled as well as my Subaru. But, I know it is not an offroad vehicle...
My intention of writing this is not to bash Subaru's; I have not said a single bad thing about them (although I would personally not own another). If anything, I want to save people who own them, who mistakenly think they are actual offroad vehicles, from potentially destroying them.
My personal preference if I owned a 4WD or AWD vehicle (I do not own one currently), would be a part-time 4WD, that I would engage when appropriate. Both AWD and part-time 4WD have their advantages and trade-offs. It is just vitally important that owners of vehicles with those systems understand the characteristics of each, so they do not damage their cars, or make false statements that might mis-lead others to do so.
Blah blah blah.
Now get in the vehicles and drive them off road.
Then you can retract all the textbook stuff you just blathered.
Let me humbly chime in as someone who has considerable off-road experience in North America and other continents as part of my job. A good off-road vehicle requires more than simply delivering maximum power to all four wheels, which a locking differential system does, when you want it to or not. It must deal with a range of surfaces -- dirt, gravel, sand, mud, rocks, stream-beds, dunes, snow, ice -- and be able to turn with agility, move up & down and across slopes, and get functional clearance (not just the minimum clearance quoted by manufacturers, but also taking into account overhang and vulnerability of key components to damage). Locking 4x4's don't maneuver well. Massive size like a Hummer or Commander is a handicap in most real-life situations. Suspension components that break are a major weakness of some manufacturers. I believe that Toyota SUVs are routinely the best off-road vehicles that I have driven. Jeeps perform well, but are unreliable (and if you are where there are no roads you are also where there are no mechanics). Subarus are really great, they rarely break, and the AWD systems perform beautifully under any conditions. Their off-road abilities are routinely under-estimated. Their greatest flaw from an off-road point of view is that Subarus lack a special low gear, which means dangerously steep uphills and giant rocks are problems. While "guts" may not be the best way to describe Bajas, "superior agility" is accurate, and in my off-road experience, agility beats raw guts in most situation. If you encounter a problem that requires brute force, go around it – after all, you're off road! A Baja does beat most pickups off-road because it can do so many things on so many types of surfaces. Among the people who talk about off-road vehicle use, it can't be that more than 2% of them actually do off-road driving (and they must all post on this website!). In the eastern US there is little off-road driving unless you want to scar up your own property, and in the West, we all avoid doing it in most places to avoid trashing the shared public land and ripping up plants. On the challenging surfaces (mud, snow, sand) that drivers might encounter on unpaved roads or tracks, nothing beats a Subaru for handling, feel and reliability. For all, but a handful of the millions of Americans, a Subaru provides all the off-road capability needed, and then some. I chose my car based on a compromise of quality driving experience, utility, fuel economy, and ability to handle inclement surfaces. I chose an '05 Baja Sport, and I've had it one year. It is my third Subaru sprinkled over 30 years and I love it (family members or I have also had Toyotas, Hondas, Fords, VWs, GMCs during that time). This Baja is the best all-around vehicle I've ever owned, hands down.
Listen, I think the fellow that said the Subaru is not an "off road vehicle" means well, and simply wants you all to enjoy your Subaru without destroying it.
I have had several Subaru vehicles of various types, and have been into the transmission on at least one of them, so I know what's in there, and it's all good stuff. What Subaru provides is a car that will be constantly ready for bad road conditions, without operator intervention. What I mean: A 4x4 that is in two wheel drive mode when are coming around a corner with ice on it is not a 4wd vehicle when you need it most!
Use your head: A Subaru will go over anything it will clear. A vehicle that has 8" ground clearance
will not clear a 16" rock without at least some damage. A Subaru is cat - like, and has a low center of gravity,
and will get you though nearly anything that you will encounter on a road, a dirt road, muddy ground, pastures, and the like.
As for the bed, it has published dimensions and will hold what it will hold. I am considering the purchase
of a Baha right now. A trailer hitch for it is cheap. A small trailer is also cheap. What won't go into the
bed can surely go into the trailer.
I will admit, the other fellow lost me on the "locked wheel" scenario because I have trouble imagining
what will fit under the vehicle, but will still lock the wheel. I have been over obstacles that barely clear, but I don't seek them out. And it did not lock my wheel. The front wheel encountering the obstacle will still have torque on it, and the other wheels will be pulling, and over the obstacle it will go. As for the emergency brake scenario, I am completely convinced that this will have no impact on the AWD system. The emergency brake, although adequate in every way is nowhere near as powerful a brake as the old style Subaru had on the front brakes years ago. They are simply "shoe style" brakes integrated into a brake drum integral to the rear disks.
If you really mean to do a lot of off-roading, and the 7" plus clearance is not enough, then you will need a different vehicle. But when you pick that different vehicle, if you fail to pick one with an AWD mode, you will not be as well off in winter driving as you would be had you purchased a Subaru.
The other fellow was an EE. I am also an EE. He and I would agree that a Subaru is more than adequate for what most people are likely to encounter in the way of wet, snowy, icy, or muddy roads. But we also agree that a Subaru is not a boulder jumper. I commute in the ice in snow some. I go down rough logging roads camping and kayaking. I do not jump boulders, massive logs, or scale truly deep washed-out ditches. My Subarus have never left me stranded.
I heard today on a local midwestern car radio program that the Ford Explorer Sport-Trac was the best example of a combination of off-road SUV and pickup. So I looked online at a direct comparison between the Ford and the Baja.
Clearance Baja 8.4, Ford 6.7
turn radius Baja 36.7, Ford 43.1
rear track Baja 57.7, Ford 58.3 (~the same)
5-spd manual Baja standard, Ford only automatic
valves Baja 16, Ford 12
AWD Baja standard, Ford not available
lim.slip diff. Baja standard, Ford optional
mpg Baja 21/27, Ford 15/20
weight Baja 3480, Ford 4349
price Baja ~23 k, Ford ~27 k.
The guy a few comments up said his Impreza manual says the car is not intended for offroad use. Well, the Baja manual says it is and gives offroad driving pointers.
My wife wants a Baja, after owning two Brats, which routinely outdid any other pickups concerning off road. I never will forget the Jeep in the mud spinning like crazy going no-where, and when I drove through that same mud in the Brat and had no problems he got angry. Every Baja owner that my wife has talked to is in love with their vehicle. My only problem is that she will have to get used to straight stick again.
I agree that subarus are awesome cars. And will do offroad for the most part. The only thing holding them back and preventing them from the locked front wheel senario is ground clearance. Someone else pointed this out too. If its bigger than your ground clearance, of course it'll lock the wheel, but then you destroy the undercarriage. My subaru has been awesome, 98 impreza wagon with 5spd. Great car for up in the mountains where there are lots of dirt roads and nasty weather. I routinely wipe the floor with other traffic in snowstorms, I can easily go twice their speed to the limit of my tires traction really.
The only time I thought I might get stuck was on a backroad. I had been going a bit fast and it was winter so there were 8 inch snowbanks and on the side of the road and ice and snow in the road. Anyways, went to fast, tires had no traction and plowed into/onto a bunch of snow off the road in a gully. The snow was above my ground clearance. I though t I was stuck, but low and behold, after 25 minutes of back and forth back and forth I turned the car around and got the thing going fast enough so on the 4th try I got up the 15 foot hill/gully wall. (not very steep, but slippery). Anyways, a tow truck couldn't get in there, so I was lucky and it just makes me love my subaru even more.
I might put a turbo on it soon too, but I don't know if I want to stress the engine that much.
Well, guys and gals there in Baja land.
This is a Scottish connection, where we have just landed a baja 2003 model. It originally started off as a straight machine, but came to us as a repairable driver.
Requires new front end, fenders and bumper bar panel. with a bit of jigging, should pull straight.
Any other baja's known to have crossed the pond yet?
Come back to us and we will post further info as we rebuild!
Enjoy your Scottish Baja! Don't fret too much about the bumpers because if you drive it properly hard in the right places those will be gone again soon anyway. Central America is full of Brats! or Brumbies, as you like, and of course Australia is, as well. But Bajas are just starting to diffuse outside of NoAm. You are on the cutting edge of what will be a slow spread of these uncommon vehicles around the world, and we salute you. Despite the Baja's current death sentence regarding production, I hope we'll be seeing them for decades in all corners of the world. A Baja in Scotland will get some attention, I would imagine, and you will have your way with those great fun, narrow, twisting roads. If you get out of Scotland, drive it by my friends in Chester and northern Wales. Best of luck and enjoy.
Arizona Baja.
I live on Long Island, NY and I'm thinking about getting a Baja and would like to know if anyone has had any experience riding a Baja on sand? How does it handle and has anyone ever gotten stuck?