Subaru Baja

purduealum91

Less than $17k for a Baja? Wow! Ill fly in from Chicago and visit my family in NJ while Im at it!

wrxsoon1

I was just in California for 5 days and saw at least two Baja's on the road. OK, one was parked and they were both silver so they could have been the same one. I was surprised at how many subaru's I saw in Orange county.

-Ian

ateixeira

Ellen: which brand is yours? We saw one at a local auto show. Sounds similar. They need to make it OE and sort out a custom fit.

$16,9xx, plus freight, plus $500 processing and $500 ad fee. Even then it would be a deal.

Maybe that's the up-front cash price for a 4 year lease. I've seen tricks like that.

This is why I prefer no-haggle dealers, no game playing.

-juice

ffsteve

Wrxsoon, I line in So Cal and so far I've only seen one. It was yellow, so wouldn't have been the same that you saw. Strangely, it had Florida plates! So, not only in Southern California, but came from the other Sunshine State.

Looking forward to more sightings.

Steve

ateixeira

SoA did say it was selling well in the sunshine states, which is a new market to Subaru. At least they're not cannibalizing Outback sales.

-juice

thebigkahuna

Well, I did buy a sunday Inquirer but did not see the ad they advertised on the radio I'd see! Hmm...

ateixeira

Maybe because it was an error?

-juice

thebigkahuna

An error that they advertised on a major radio station a specific price that would be in a specific newpaper on an announced day? Maybe. Or maybe it's another case of bait and switch.

paulmcg

Had 2.5 - 3 inches of hard packed snow/sleet over night (in Dallas, Tx). The 5M Baja handled it well as far as I could tell. Accelerated normally, braked carefully with the standard tires. Little bit of movement going through all the frozen ruts, but that was about it. Quite fun, but that probably it for the year:). Still have not seen another Baja since I got mine in August!

ellenst2

ateixeira, sorry for the delay in responding. My tonneau cover is the one Subaru is selling as an accessory. You can see a picture of it on their web site.

ateixeira

Thanks.

-juice

skiwee

since I bought mine in Nov. Speaking of snow, we've had several feet in NW CT. With new Dunlops it's been unstoppable. Excellent handling, but clutch (engages abruptly) and 5 speed (long throws) leaves a lot to be desired.
Mike

ateixeira

Our Legacy's clutch was a bit stiff, but after about 9k miles it seems to have eased up, maybe it's broken in?

My Forester's clutch was lighter from the get-go.

-juice

bat1161

Ellen,

Is the cover Subaru is offering a locking one, or just a cover? Anyone here get the locking one yet? Is it very expensive?

Mark

PF_Flyer

A little snow falling... another perfect chat evening ahead!

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

bat1161

Actually, I can now answer my own question from above. When I was at the dealer last night I asked about the tonneau cover Subaru is now listing as an accessory- it is NOT locking. However, he did tell me that LEAR recently received approval to make locking covers for Subaru. He also mentioned that sales may pick up once the weather warms up. He also feels that SOA will have to do some sort of modifications to the Baja, but they will not do away with the line after spending so much to get it going.

Mark

rsholland

<< He also feels that SOA will have to do some sort of modifications to the Baja, but they will not do away with the line after spending so much to get it going. >>

I absolutely agree with that. They've got too much time and effort committed to making this work. The formula is not right; we all know that. My guess is it won't be until the next generation model, before they really "get it right." I think the current Baja platform, even with a turbo, will never have the capability in terms of towing an hauling, that it needs to have.

If it remains on the (next-generation) Legacy/Outback platform, I just hope it will have extra built-in strength that will be needed for the Baja. Keep in mind, the current Legacy/Outback were created before the Baja existed, so certain "capabilities" were never part of the gameplan. Now that the Baja "does" exist, I hope Subaru has taken that into account when they designed the basic structure of this new-generation Legacy/Outback/Baja.

Bob

ateixeira

How 'bout a list of things to fix?

Payload is less than the Forester; it should be not only the same, but greater. It's meant to haul stuff.

Then towing, again two other Subie lines can handle 2400 lbs, so at a bare minimum match that.

Make the midgate a true full-sizer like the concept.

Offer forced induction from the get-go.

Streth the wheelbase 4". 2" for the cabin, 2" for the bed. But stretch the bed 4", i.e. 2" on either side of the axle for balance.

Delete the cladding to save costs, and please just add a full size spare.

Sound like a plan?

-juice

rsholland

in addition to what juice just listed: the dual-range tranny and self-leveling rear suspension, which are "parts-bin" items.

Bob

ateixeira

The turbo will have all the torque you'd need. That would lessen the need for the dual-range.

Self-leveling would be a good idea in order to help beef up the payload. It should be at least a half ton.

-juice

ellenst2

Mark, as you already discovered, the tonneau cover does not lock. However, it is so hard to get off, someone would really have to work at it. Hopefully, it will be easier when the weather warms up (hopefully soon). The part that's really annoying is you can't open the tailgate with it on.

rsholland

What I'd like to see is: A lockable, waterproof, hard tonneau cover, that is easy to remove&#151;and can be easily stored/attached on the roof rack when not needed.

Maybe it needs to be a 2-part unit, so that one person can easily do this? A 2-part unit could also be stacked on the roof rack, therefore would not hang off the edge, like a 1-piece unit would. This means no bumping one's head getting in and out of the vehicle.

Bob

bat1161

Juice,

I like your suggestions. The saleman had mentioned he was suprised when they came out with the pass through, rather than the full size fom the concept vehicle. He did mention something about having to go this route for safety sake.
If they can refine the design a little, I would definitely look into the Baja as my next vehicle (which is a couple of years off, maybe).

Mark

rsholland

that the '04 changes are locked into place, here's what I'm hoping will happen:

Baja Sport
&#149; I don't expect to see anything other than what's already been announced. In fact, I believe the Baja Sport is an'04 model, as it now stands.

Baja Turbo
&#149; I'm hoping this replaces the leather-clad Baja.

&#149; I'm hoping leather becomes an option.

&#149; I'm hoping the AWP becomes standard.

&#149; I'm hoping it gets the Forester XT engine.

&#149; I'm hoping it gets the Forester XT direct-control automatic.

&#149; I'm hoping it gets the Forester XT Hill-Holder clutch.

&#149; I'm hoping it gets the Self-Leveling rear suspension, which will allow for an:
> Increase of 200 pound payload, bring it up to 1000 pounds.
> Increase of 600 pounds towing, bring it up to 3000 pounds.

&#149; I'm hoping all the color choices will be monochromatic.

For both models, I'm hoping a factory-approved lockable hard tonneau cover will be released.

Bob

ateixeira

Bob - kind of like the tagra rop in the Del Sol. The roof rack could have a bracket to hold the 2 parts. Clever.

On thing on your list would be tough - the clutch is different than what goes in the Forester. So they'd have to engineer a new one or get one from the Legacy platform in a different market.

Mark: I don't buy the "safety" argument, that's pure BS. Avalanche managed, Baja can too.

-juice

rsholland

The Avalanche is body-on-frame, unlike the Baja. That, I'm sure gives it more rigidity, hence is safer, or at least it's stronger.

As for the 2-piece hard tonneau cover, the Avalanche has a multi-piece hard cover. I wonder how watertight it is? I haven't heard of any leaking problems.

Bob

ateixeira

3 piece I think. But to be honest it's kind of a pain to remove and store them all. A Tahoe with a utility trailer is a better choice for most people.

They could at least have the Baja's midgate fold the whole lower half. That would allow a tough brace across the middle, and maybe a 4' wide sheet of plywood could slip inside.

-juice

rsholland

is a bit cumbersome. I don't think a 2-piece unit would be too bad. The advantage of a 2-piece unit, is that one person could easily remove and store it. A 1-piece unit is much harder for one person to deal with.

Bob

ateixeira

How about one that folds over, then clips onto the roof rack?

-juice

rsholland

It might be a bit more expensive to produce, however, as it is more complex. It would also be heavier than two separate units. This could be an issue for a smaller person.

Bob

lark6

I'll assume your fingers got crossed up and you meant to type "targa top." ;-)

A new phrase enters the Edmund's vocabulary, to join "turbot" and "rally bread"...

Ed

ateixeira

If I had typed "tigra" I would come up with some clever comeback relating what I said to that Opel model from Europe, but no, you got me!

-juice

PS Sorry, that was my wife that called you this AM by accident, Ed. She found my cell phone and by coincidence it was on your name, she accidentally hit dial! Oops. She could tell, in seconds, that you have a sarcastic sense of humor, LOL!

lark6

OMG! I am terribly embarrassed juice! If you could see me I'd be willing to bet my face is turning red as I write. Please give her my apologies.

BTW, for everyone else here at Edmund's, I did hear a dog barking on the other end of the line. If that was Hadji, I can assure you that he is either a dog or a cat that does an excellent dog impersonation.

Ed

ateixeira

I will, don't worry she was laughing it off.

Sure enough, that was Hadji, the dog (impersonator). ;-)

-juice

rsholland

to have been a fly on the wall...

LOL!

Bob

rsholland

I wonder if anyone else from SOA is monitoring these forums? There have been some good suggestions posted and elsewhere. It would be shame for none of these suggestions to get back to SOA.

Bob

ateixeira

I have a msg pending to her, have not heard back. Hope she's OK. I'll call her next week if I don't hear from her.

-juice

bsvoller

- what Bob said -

Seriously, the Baja needs some major revamping to make it viable, and Bob's prescription is right on target: more power, more utility, less flash, optional luxury = better value, better market fit.

There is one additional change that Bob didn't mention - 5 passenger seating. OK, you're not going to travel cross-country with 3 people back there, but it sure would be nice to fit 3 across town. It kills the Baja as a second car for family types like myself. As soon as I saw that, I said, "oh well, I'm out".

As to the pass through, I have expressed my deep disappointment in this decision before. That change alone absolutely neutered the concept car, robbing it of it's biggest single "unique selling proposition".

As to safety and the Avalanche design, I wonder if they had too much flex without the upper "crossmember" behind the rear seat. The Outback wagon doesn't have one either, so I'm not sure I buy that either. On the other hand, the Avalanche is body on frame, and sold as a truck, meaning that it needed meet passenger car requirements. Are there passenger car requirements that might have shot down the mid-gate ? Smells more like GM twisting their arms off to me...

Damn shame, frankly...
The concept car really had a lot going for it.

-brianV

p0926

BrianV- "the Avalanche is body on frame, and sold as a truck, meaning that it needed meet passenger car requirements"

Did you mean to say that the Avalanche doesn't need to meet passenger car requirements? (As opposed to the car based Baja that does have to meet the stricter passenger car standards)

-Frank P.

ateixeira

Outback has a rear roof holding it together, though. Look at it this way - the opening on the Baja would be much bigger.

But my idea would allow a cross brace at a critical point.

5 passenger seating is a good suggestion, I think with more than the current payload that would be automatic.

-juice

paisan

The Baja doesn't have to meet car stds. It's considered a truck in the eyes of the feds.

-mike

ateixeira

True, but it has to meet the expectations of a crowd that is accustomed to buying cars. So they expect a quiet, rattle-free interior.

-juice

bsvoller

Frank - Nice catch, yes, of course. I meant to say the Avalanche doesn't need to meet passenger car standards, and was thinking that the Baja does.

Mike - Does Subaru consider the Baja a truck across the board (safety, emissions, etc) ? I thought it was emissions only.

-brianV

ateixeira

It's a truck as far as the feds are concerned, so it doesn't have to, but it might just because it inherits a lot from the Legacy lineup.

-juice

rsholland

I'm sure is due to the current meager 800 pound payload rating, which is 100 pounds "less" than any Subaru "car!"

5-passenger seating (@ 150 lb/passenger, which the figure the government uses, I believe) + 800 pounds payload rating = 50 pounds left for bed cargo. As a 4-passenger vehicle, the Baja can put 200 pound in the bed, with four 150 passengers aboard.

Bob

rsholland

I weigh about 197. Juice is around 205. Paisan is around... well lets just say we could fit myself, juice, paisan and Hadji (juices cat, er dog) in a Baja; and not much more.



Bob

baja7

IMHO,I like the styling of the Baja, but can't stand the lack of H/P. Are there things like re chip, cold air intake, free-flow exhaust, turbo. etc. that the dealer/after market can do?
BMW has Dinan, what does SOA have? Thanks in advance.

paisan

There are a bunch of 2.5l turbo kits out there.

-mike

rsholland

you can wait a few months, as Subaru is about to release a Baja turbo this summer. Most likely it will be introduced at the NY auto show next month.

Bob

rsholland

http://www.snugtop.com/wn_02snuglid_subaru.htm

Interesting that a big part of this company's early success was due to being an OEM supplier for Subaru! They made the "caps" for the Subaru BRAT!

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

Bob