Subaru Baja

rsholland · January 2003

http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=41912

PF_Flyer · January 2003

Welcome to the Subaru Crew's Weekly Chat!

The Subaru Crew meets every Thursday at 6PM PT/9PM ET... stop by and join us to talk Subaru or anything else automotive that might come up! Hope to see you there tonight!

/direct/view/.eea5f48

PF Flyer
Host
Pickups & News & Views Message Boards

rsholland · January 2003

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=3164934#post3164934

ateixeira · January 2003

Under $22k for a current model sounds good.

The Sport might fall under $20k street price, then. That's good - it sneaks below a psycological barrier.

-juice

kate5000 · January 2003

Took my Forester for 60K service (poor baby, it's not even 3 years old, and already so many miles on it!). Got a Yellow Baja Auto for a loaner. Drove it 36 mi from Santa Cruz over a windy mountain highway.

Impressions:
1) Silky-smooth engine+transmission. Downshifts easily and quickly. Suspension works very well, no body roll.
2) Steering's a tad overboosted for my taste, but quick and precise.
3) Brakes seem to be better than in my Forester, at least no "mushy" impression.
4) Instruments look nice and easy-to-read, but what's up with yellow hands on all gauges?
5) Power seat is a blast to have.
6) A/C feels very powerful and generally worked well, but I felt a bit of exhaust was being sucked in even in the Recirc mode. Then again, there was that old truck with puffs of heavy smoke in front of me, and maybe no Recirc mode can save from some exhaust fumes in this case.
7) I wish side mirrors and rear-view mirror were a bit bigger. I thought current mirrors are adequate but if someone needs to tow behind Baja, they'd be too smal.
8) Factory tint looks very good.
9) Yellow is not my cup of tea, but all-silver, red-silver and black-silver Bajas all look pretty sharp.

All and all, it feels as a fun vehicle to have!

rsholland · January 2003

that your dealer is using them as loaners. May be a sales ploy, to get them moving/selling...

Is it a 5-speed or an automatic? You might want to get it out on to the interstate, and see what it revs at highway speeds. I've driven several 5-speed Bajas, and to me, they rev a bit high at any given speed. I think they're geared down from the Outback. I know the EPA ratings are about 2 mpg less than a comparable Outback, and it's probably due to the lower gearing.

Bob

ateixeira · January 2003

The Forester's shorter wheelbase makes the steering feel quicker. I feel the same way about our Forester compared to our Legacy.

I think I have yellow guage hands, too. Yours are red, IIRC, I think Bob's has those too. That changed for MY2001 on Foresters.

I do think they have a shorter final drive to make up for the extra weight, so yeah it might rev higher than an Outback. But that's how a little engine pulls all that weight to 60 in 9.3s or so.

-juice

kate5000 · January 2003

My Baja is automatic. I did drive it on a freeway as well, and it seems to be revving up quite normally. I think (I'll double-check) that I could easily go up to 80 mph at <=3000RPM. Generally, impression from the engine was that of very smooth running, and automatic transmission was very quick. The loaner of LL Bean I had about 1 year ago, had a very slow-reacting transmission, and it spoiled all the fun.

Does Baja have a variable booster for steering? Steering felt excessively light in slow motion and on the parking lot, but was pretty much OK at high speeds.

Gated shifter takes some getting used to. So far, I liked the "straight" one more.

Hanging license plate (when you drop the tailgate) is really neat.

rsholland · January 2003

are red.

Bob

rsholland · January 2003

http://www.subaru.net/events/2003/Detroit/set/pages/P1070051.htm

This appears to be a hard bed cover, shown at Detroit, on the new Baja Sport. It definitely looks different from the cover shown in the Baja brochure, which was a soft bed cover. I wonder if it locks (It sure better!!)?

Bob

paisan · January 2003

That's the question. You need to have a locking tailgate before the hard cover will lock I'd think.

-mike

rsholland · January 2003

But it better, or what's the purpose??

More pixs in Future Models thread.

Bob

rsholland · January 2003

could be the steal of the yearif it's priced right. SOA has learned (hopefully) that the Baja, being as odd as it is, may continue to be hard to move off showroom floorseven with a turbo. Hopefully SOA will take that into consideration when they price the turbo. Of all Subie turbos, this one may(?) be the hardest one to sell...

Bob

ateixeira · January 2003

Cool Kate, glad to hear the tranny is better. Now fix the one on the H6!

I do believe the power steering varies its assist.

So price and some of the accessories are being addressed as they go, I just hope it's not too late to save it.

They should have two models - the Sport and the Turbo. And the turbo should add just the engine itself, no frills. Make leather a stand-alone option.

-juice

kate5000 · January 2003

I paid a bit more attention to RPMs and acceleration of my loaner Baja today (dealer had to keep Forester overnight, so I got another day of Baja driving)... Driving below 50 mph keeps enginer very quiet, and RPMs <=1500. Then if you need to quickly accelerate from 50 to 70 -- then you need to revup engine pretty hard. I had to revup it to almost 5000 rpm (with engine roaring loudly) to get a qucik acceleration. After reaching 70 mph, RPMs drop to about 2800 and stay there. Everything is smooth and quiet again.

So, in short, Bob was correct: Baja does need revving up, more than you'd expect from a pickup. BUT -- if I was into gardening or some extensive woodworking, or active sports where gear gets wet and dirty -- I would buy Baja on the spot. Brakes are the best I ever tried in Subarus. My Forester is not even close. Ride and maneuverability are superb for a small pickup.

My recommendations for SOA for Baja improvements:

a) H6! H6! H6!
b) cheapen the interior (cloth would do fine)
c) drop the price
d) offer many toys and customization extras as options.
e) did I say H6?

ateixeira · January 2003

They've confirmed 2 and 3 already, and are working on #4. But it'll get a 2.5T instead of the H6, it's as close to official as you can get.

-juice

rsholland · January 2003

What I meant was the Baja, at any given cruising speed, is turning more rpms than a comparable Outback. So cruising at 70+ mph, could be a bit tiring, as the engine will be buzzing, rather than loafing. That tends to wear on you after a while.

Bob

ateixeira · January 2003

I bet the turbo gets taller gearing.

Though for CAFE purposes it's a truck, so Subaru could go whole-hog and still meet CAFE easily.

-juice

kate5000 · January 2003

while cruising, engine was pretty quiet. I checked several times, and it stayed at 2800 rpm and was nicely humming not buzzing. The buzz and roar came in play when I tried to accelerate quickly, from 50 to 70 mph. Then I really had to stomp on gas pedal, to rev it up (up to 5000 rpm), until I got it up to speed.

Overall, Baja did not feel like it lacks the power, but it was sometimes hard to get the power out of the engine on time.

On my way back from the dealer, I checked how my Forester behaves on the same road. My impressions (but remember I compare old car with 60K mi vs nearly brand new one with 2.5K mi):

-- Forester is louder inside than Baja
-- Baja's steering is a bit more precise
-- Baja brakes work much much better
-- Baja feels definitely smoother and maybe a bit quicker to shift when accelerating 0-50 mph.
-- Forester is easier to get to higher speeds. Forester feels more "linear": it feels that getting from 30 to 50 is about the same time/effort as from 50 to 70. In Baja, getting from 30 to 50 is very smooth, quick and quiet, but from 50 to 70 is a different story.
-- Baja rides much better over potholes (longer wheel base?)
-- Baja has surprisingly small turning radius. I expected it would be much harder to turn it around in a tight spot than it really was.

ateixeira · January 2003

Sounds like Subaru made lots of incremental improvements, and stiffened up the structure. I've had a similar impression of some newer Soobs I've driven, even the Outback Sport is very refined now.

-juice

fajing6 · January 2003

I'm considering the Baja and I wanted to know about the visibility while driving. Rearward, frontward, and any major blind spot problems. Also,is it easy to see behind you when you are backing up or leaving a parking spot?

I'm hoping the Baja Sport will be available with the turbo...but if not the price will hopefully be very attractive.

kate5000 · January 2003

but I stayed in Holiday Inn :-)

On my loaner Baja, I found visibility very good. I could see the upper edge of tailgate in the rear view mirror, and it helped me when backing up. It was 1st time in my life when I had to backup in pickup, and seeing tailgate's edge was really helpful.

Front view is very good. Side view seemed normal. Actually, being a bit lower than Forester, Baja was better in letting me see small cars in side lanes. On Forester, it sometimes hard to see a low-sitting sports car on your side.

Side mirrors seemed okay, but for towing you may perhaps want a bit bigger ones. Rear view mirror was okay too, fully sufficient, but if you want, you can always upgrade it to a bigger one, via aftermarket.

fajing6 · January 2003

Great, thanks a lot. This is very helpful. I'm trying to decide between the Forester and Baja (maybe the Element too but it's ugly and costly with options). The Forester has a lot of neat little storage places and I really like the interior and big moonroof. However the Baja just seems like more fun and useful for dirty situations. Baja also looks much better up close than in pictures...especially in silver.

Thanks again for your input.

ateixeira · January 2003

Let us know what you end up with. The turbos should be in dealers by June or so.

-juice

rsholland · January 2003

rarely photograph well. I think every Subie offered looks better in person, than in photographs.

Bob

fajing6 · January 2003

Over at NASIOC there is word that the Baja Sport is going to price out at $22k-23k. If the difference is that small at $1-2k then the regular Baja is just fine...however if they will sell for invoice that might be another story. No leather, no power seats, and different headlights would knock off more money than that you would think. Hmmm, oh well.

ateixeira · January 2003

I'm hoping we see prices at $20k or so at fitzmall.com. And they could still delete things like the moonroof and alloys. It *is* supposed to be a utility vehicle, after all.

-juice

rsholland · January 2003

for Subaru to lower the price of the Baja is to raid their existing parts bin. That means nothing that involves costly re-designing. Removing the moonroof would cost more in terms of manufacturing (you would need a new roof die), than it would save in the long run, because it's an engineering change. So what you see are easy bolt-on items that already exist.

Hence: Headlights, black door handles and black outside mirrors from the Legacy L. Think of the Baja much like the Legacy L-SE in terms of content.

Bob

nygreg · January 2003

nygreg · January 2003

seem to add about 100 lbs to Subarus.

OK, lower the price and come out with many, many ingenious accessories (as Kate mentioned). Make money the way gameboy does.

Saw a yellow one yesterday. I think I like it. Would probably go with yellow (since it is funky anyway) or silver to offset lower cladding.

Greg

fitzband · January 2003

http://www.snugtop.com/p_snuglid.htm

Scroll to the middle of the page

Dave

fitzband · January 2003

Actually, only scroll down a little

}

http://www.snugtop.com/p_snuglid.htm

D

buckhill2 · January 2003

Here's the note I received from Subaru:

"I apologize for the delay in getting back to you regarding a hard bed cover for the 2003 Baja. Your patience is appreciated.

I have been advised that two aftermarket companies should soon be offering hard bed covers for the 2003 Baja. These lockable hard top covers are not genuine Subaru accessories and Subaru is not in a position to endorse or recommend them. Therefore, it is up to potential purchasers to satisfy themselves that the covers meet their quality, safety, performance and other needs. Subaru cannot assume responsibility for any failure of these covers to perform properly or to meet purchasers' expectations.

The first is a lockable hard bed cover manufactured by Penda. It is a stylish way to protect your gear. Gas filled struts allow for easy opening and trouble-free loading. This one-piece cover is easily removed to carry tall or oversized items. The other lockable hard bed cover is manufactured by SNUGTOP. It features a two-piece removable design. Gas struts raise the rear section for easy access. This cover is color coded to the Baja exterior for a custom look.

The vendors will only sell the covers directly to dealers. They will not sell direct to customers. Potential customers must go to the Subaru dealer of their choice. The dealer can then order the cover for them. Since these are not genuine Subaru products, Subaru dealers are not obligated to stock or order these and some may choose not to do so. Pricing is strictly between the dealer and the customer. Subaru of America has no recommended retail price on these covers as they are not Subaru of America items and are not purchased by Subaru of America.

I have been advised that these companies should soon begin to manufacture and offer these covers. Please contact your local Subaru dealer sometime towards the end of next month for updated information.

While we cannot endorse these products, we hope that they will fulfill the needs of some of our Baja owners. I hope that this information is helpful."

fitzband · January 2003

It might be worth the trouble to contact a SNUGTOP or Penda dealer too.

rsholland · January 2003

Subaru will soon offer their own version too. As far as I'm concerned, a hard locking cover is the only way to go.

Bob

ateixeira · January 2003

Is it, though? The Lincoln Blackwood had one standard, and it sold so poorly they cancelled it within a year.

It does look neat, but I'd like to have some way of removing it and storing it while still being able to carry tall cargo.

-juice

rsholland · January 2003

failed for lots of reasons. The cargo cap wasn't one of them, IMO.

What I meant by that was, if you are going to have a cargo cap, by all means make it a hard locking cap, and not a soft tonneau cover that offers little in the way of security.

Bob

ateixeira · January 2003

Actually, there was a lot of criticism regarding how much that cap limited cargo capacity. Lincoln tried to pitch it as a luxury sedan with a trunk, but people thought it killed the utility.

It basically has to be easy to remove, preferably with a place to store it (on board).

-juice

rsholland · January 2003

ateixeira · January 2003

Yes, sort of. My old neighbor Pete has one, and those are a little cumbersome, but worth the hassle. I'd like to see an even more elegant solution.

How 'bout a semi-rigid cover that rolled out and over the bed? They should be creative.

-juice

rsholland · January 2003

a cap that could easily be stored on the roof. Talk about the ultimate "wing!"

Bob

paisan · January 2003

I'd like to see a roll-top desk-like setup, or a folding/accordian setup.

-mike

jay_24 · January 2003

They have them for regular pickups. A friend of ours had one. It was basicaly 1" strips of aluminum that rolled up behind the cab. It was really nice but also a bit expensive... $1500 or so if I remember. That was 4-5 years ago or so.

--jay

ateixeira · January 2003

Bob: the kids would love it! That should be standard on the turbo model. ;-)

-juice

kate5000 · January 2003

Our local IKEA had a 25% off sale on big items. Since our house was still quite unfirnished (3 years already), we decided to take advantage of this event and shopped 'till we dropped (literally). Well, we ended up making 3 trips to IKEA, to carry all those boxes.

Forester performed flawlessly, but at some point I really wished I had a Baja, to just drop all the boxes into the cargo bed, instead of playing TETRIS every time we had to stick yet another box into the already-up-to-the-gills loaded Forester.

ateixeira · January 2003

Did you use the roof rack? That's what I usually do.

Though at some point payload becomes an issue. Baja has slightly more, I think, but maybe not enough to do it all in one trip.

-juice

rsholland · January 2003

kate5000 · January 2003

No, we did not use the roof rack. We figured it will take us some time to safely tie 1-2 boxes on the roof and it won't save us that much space anyway.

The issue was not so much a payload but just space and convenience. In the open cargo bed, we would have loaded a pile of boxes and be done. In the closed space of Forester, and with those struts sticking out, we really had to try different combinations before we could fit our boxes. It still was impressive how much Forester can carry.

But the Forester roof rack really proved very useful when we carried mattresses helping our friends to move. Since that I've proclaimed the Forester The Official Mattress Transporter Vehicle.

subearu · January 2003

ateixeira · January 2003

Bob - I meant the roof rack on the Forester, which can carry more. On the Baja, I was talking about the overall payload being a bit higher IIRC.

Keep in mind you should tie down any gear in the Baja so it doesn't fly out and become a projectile in a collision.

-juice

Subaru Baja

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles