My Subaru Baja Review

[deadlydave]

Alright, by popular demand, here's a review of the Subaru Baja. I've driven a lot of vehicles from pickups to dump trucks, to tiny cars. I'll do a little review, then grade it at the end, like a report card.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/

Driving Impressions: When accellerating and cornering, the Baja does not feel as heavy as it is. The 2.5 turbo moves you along smoothly, and boost hits a few hundred RPM sooner than the GD WRX's. Steering feel and speed are about equal to my old 95 Legacy sedan, but easier to turn. The driving position is pretty nice--BE/BH outback guys know what I'm talking about. For 2004 they raised the suspension a few inches, but through different springs and re-valved shocks/struts, the body roll was kept the same. This is far from rigid, but still rolls less than my legacy did stock. The ride feels firm, but not jarring. The shifter didn't seem to slot as naturally as I had hoped, but I'm also a MT noob, so it might just be that. It's fine for me now. While I was learning, I started up a hill from a stop in 3rd gear by accident, and it picked up with a little gas, and grunted up the hill. It is fun to drive. Really sharp switchbacks and heavy repeated braking definitely remind you that it's a bit of a pig. 36000+ pounds, old Legacy GT brakes, and a few inches longer than the outback wagon. Wind noise is noticeable, even with the crossbars taken off the roof. The engine is fairly quiet, but de-snorkusing it helped. Gas mileage is not too great, 25mpg in a city/highway mix. The thing's as aerodynamic as a refridgerator.

Interior: The interior is essentially the same as the BE/BH. Simple, but good looking. All the gauges are easy to read, all the buttons are within easy reach. I had no issues with fitting in the car or getting in and out, even with my higher STi seats. Note that the backseat only has room for 2 people. There are only 2 belts, but the center area is occupied by a mesh pouch and a console. Tall rear passengers will hate you, but screw 'em. The rear seats fold flat, so the switchback access to the bed can fold down into the cabin.

Truck Stuff: Uh, the bed is tiny. If you want a small truck, a ford ranger or such would probably be a better choice. That being said, it made moving a lot easier, I could fit way more in the bed/cabin than I could fit in the trunk/cabin of the bd sedan. The switchback makes it easier to fit some bigger stuff in there, but you're still pretty limited. There are hooks inside the bed that make stuff pretty easy to secure, and there are a bunch of subaru accessory nets that you can get to hold boxes down. Some people have fit washers and dryers back there. A full set of tires and tools for an autocross fit no problem. Bed cover is highly reccomended, it's supposed to save 2-3 miles per gallon on the highway. The towing capacity is around 2500 pounds with the turbo 5mt...so you're kinda limited there, but the vehicle has enough grunt to help get someone's car out of mud. Ground Clearence is around 8", but the unibody design of the body makes the vehicle not as tall as most small trucks. The back window has a defroster, but does not open or roll down.

Exterior: She's not a great lookin' vehicle. But the looks grew on me a lot. I will say one thing--it has USDM taillights that don't suck (red/white only). There are a mix of 2-tone and single color models.

What I was told by the Baja guys on nasioc: Do not buy the non-turbo, it's a slug with the weight. Do not get the 4EAT, it makes the turbo way less 'fun.' Get new tires.

-Report Card-
Appearance: 5/10
Interior: 8/10
Engine: 9/10
Handling: 7/10 (great for a vehicle with this height)
Brakes: 5/10
Cabin Noise: 4/10 (wind mostly)
Utility: 4/10 (can buy pickup style cap for it, making utility a 7 or 8)
Fun: 9/10
Mod-Ability 7/10 (not the easiest for the exhaust/suspension, but the engine has tons of stuff)

What I got was a unique ride, right out of the box. I get asked all the time what it is, and people are interested in it. The turbo and quick nature of the vehicle earned it alot of compliments from friends. It was competent at Autocross, even in stock form. There's a ton of stuff that can be done with the car. The insurance is affordable, especially considering my age and it's a turbocharged vehicle. The looks of the vehicle fly under the radar of most cops. Brakes and tires are the limit of a lot of legacy-based vehicles, so I went shopping for my car knowing I was going to replace them anyway. Other than that, my gripes are visual, and the only thing I have left to change is the chrome bars on the back (going matte black). It's a really fun car, I love it and I'm glad I bought it. Feel free to ask any questions.

And dude, you gotta get the turbo. :grin:

[legacy92ej22t]

Right on, good write up.

I've always had mixed feelings on the Baja but with the truck bed could be very handy and with a turbo, fun too!

[Bdubs]

Everyone thinks I'm nuts for wanting this vehicle.
When they were first introduced I test drove one, and was going to get one, but was talked out of it. Never tried the Turbo, it wasn't available at that time. Its pretty practical, not a bad medium size car/truck.

[Sarra]

Everyone thinks I'm nuts for wanting this vehicle.
When they were first introduced I test drove one, and was going to get one, but was talked out of it. Never tried the Turbo, it wasn't available at that time. Its pretty practical, not a bad medium size car/truck.

D: I want a Baja turbo 5 speed myself. Throw a Scorpion lift kit on it and do what I really want to do.

[SubiFlow]

We traded in my wife's 02 WRX for the 03 Baja (non-turbo). At the time we needed the utility more than the "fun", since then we have hauled lots of stuff, and bought a rack to haul more stuff (camping gear for 8 for 5 days), I hauled a load of oak from my house to Berkley for my brother. Compared to the WRX it's a dog but it's has been far more useful.

[Jedi Taxi]

I guess i'm part of the weird crowd, i loved the brat and the baja.

[deadlydave]

It's amazing that the vehicle did so poorly in sales, a lot of people seem to like it. I see it as a combination of 2 factors:

1. Availibility of other small trucks with equivalent or more power, for less cost.
2. The H6 should have been offered.

[Jedi Taxi]

the only real reason it did poorly in sales in my oppinion is because people look to other companies if they want a truck. In otherwords, because subaru isn't on the map of truck buyers. If more Baja owners actually rally their cars, that would put the baja on the map. But thats my oppinion.

[Reason]

It's amazing that the vehicle did so poorly in sales, a lot of people seem to like it. I see it as a combination of 2 factors:

1. Availibility of other small trucks with equivalent or more power, for less cost.
2. The H6 should have been offered.

So what engine is in this bad boy?

[deadlydave]

So what engine is in this bad boy?

Mine is the EJ255 - 2.5 Liter with the WRX TD04 Turbo. Some of the plumbing is a little different, but it's essentially the current LGT/WRX/FXT/OBXT engine.

The Base model is the EJ25 SOHC.

The H6 would have been a more logical choice for the higher-end Baja (as a truck), But the turbo is fun. I didn't buy mine because it was a truck--I got it because of the engine/drivetrain gofast potential and the outside "wtf is that" factor.

[deadlydave]

UPDATE: SNOW

I got to drive the thing through 6-8 inches of snow, along with a few snowbanks. I also got to test out intentional sliding.

Getting Moving:
Ease the car gently into gear, and you can get through some pretty serious stuff. I was driving in a storm 2 weeks ago or so and people were moving agonizingly slow. The car was composed and newutral-feeling. Ground clearence and the rear limited-slip diff helped get through several snow banks, though the stock tires were less-than-stellar. There is a rather large hill I had to go down, luckily I was the only car in my lane, the backup was going up hill. I just left it in 3rd and let it coast. Abs activated a few times, but I stayed gentle on the brake, and did not slide at all. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to get home, only 11 miles, because traffic was a mess. My legs were exhausted from the clutch/brake/gas cycle, but I could easily get going with no wheel slippage.

Fun Factor:
Ok, turbo+LSD = fun. For the first time in my life, I successfully executed a scandinavian flick to drift around a sweeping turn in the parking lot at work. the truck held the drift nicely, and a tad more pressure on the gas pulled me out of the drift. It felt very composed in wide sweeping turns. There was some noticeable understeer in slower, tighter turns--but copious amounts of throttle overcame these. Starting from a dead stop, getting it into first and then gassing it produced entertaing wheelspin at all four corners.

A set of better snow tires, like winterforces, would make this vehicle a true juggernaut in the snow. Maybe some Rallyarmor-style mudflaps too.

[1-3-2-4]

about 2 years ago I drove the turbo baja with the auto it was not bad turbo came on strong if you punched it.

[deadlydave]

about 2 years ago I drove the turbo baja with the auto it was not bad turbo came on strong if you punched it.

Really?

I went with the 5-speed for common sense too, better gas mileage and towing capacity. :wink:

[1-3-2-4]

about 2 years ago I drove the turbo baja with the auto it was not bad turbo came on strong if you punched it.

Really?

I went with the 5-speed for common sense too, better gas mileage and towing capacity. :wink:

haha well I worked for a short time at the dealership.. and right when I started I was told to drive all the models to get a feel I was not able to drive the STI at the time (the model first came out) sitting in the Baja felt pretty good.. the sport shift was so-so.. haha I know what freaked me out was I had no clue it had a remote start and I forgot what button I pressed but the car started on it's own.

after driving all the models Auto and MT is it just me or does the MT rev quicker?

Oh I must add this anyone on the fence about those battery jump boosters haha they came in handy many of times!

[deadlydave]

after driving all the models Auto and MT is it just me or does the MT rev quicker?

I don't know, I never drove it. After only having AT's for years, I wanted to try something new. :smile:

[1-3-2-4]

after driving all the models Auto and MT is it just me or does the MT rev quicker?

I don't know, I never drove it. After only having AT's for years, I wanted to try something new. :smile:

haha same here I know the 5MT 05 Legacy GT wagon I drove back to the dealership was butter smooth.. haha ever since that day I wanted a manual and I hate when people say "but what about the traffic???" Pleaseeee.. I got stuck in 15 min worth of traffic and I never gave it any thought.

[deadlydave]

Living with the Baja Turbo Part III: Long-Term and Race Use.

Current performance mods are:
-4-pot front brakes from an '07 WRX
-DomTune Open-source ECU Reflash
-Snorkusectomy, K&N panel air filter
-Lightweight hood
-17x7.5 wheels w/ Kumho Exsta ASX's in a lower-profile, wider-than-stock size.
-Castrol Syntec 5w-30 full synthetic oil
-Blitzen Axleback Exhaust
-Schroth 4-point harnesses

Car Status:
-SCCA Solo Class- Street Modified (damn hood).
-Driver 1- Dave - SM 555 (MoHud Region)
-Driver 2- Allison - SM 505 (MoHud Region)
-Rear brake pads and tires are badly worn after 2 events.

Racing:
I've said it in the past, the Baja is heavy. It held it's own through sweeping turns and the slolem, surprisingly enough. However, tight turns after straights and decreasing-radius corners highlight the Subaru's willingness to understeer. My tinkering with the brakes has helped the handling somewhat but the tires actually may have hurt. Their tread was better than the stock Bridgestones and they were wider, but the difference in sidewall height was not suited for the stock suspension. The car would plow, followed by the rear end stepping out under hard accelleration. Body roll was also rather pronounced. It was fun as hell to drive this beast through the cones though. :-D The looks I got were so worth it...to be that slow. I was in the bottom 30% of the cars running...probably because the hood put me in an insanely competitive class made of 4 other soobs, and evo, and a mini--all heavily modded. I'm defintely taking out my back seats next time. Also getting wider, better tires and coilovers.
Mechanically, it help up well. My GF and myself both autocrossed it at 2 events in 1 weekend. The tires essentially melted and the rear brakes are now toast, but the engine and drivetrain proved that they were capable of taking the abuse.

Driving:
The ECU reflash woke up the car so much. Throttle response is much crisper. There's more power across more of the rev range. The turbo spools faster and hits a peak boost pressure of 17psi. Gas milage is even slightly better locally, and much better on the highway. The front brakes are easier to push to the limit without hitting the ABS, the pedal feel is much better than stock too. Parallel parking is kind of tough, the bedcover covers up the bottom inch of the rear window, and the tall rear make it tough to judge weather or not you're going to hit the car behind you.
It's still a joy to drive though. Just a blast. At the carwash the other day, parked in front of a couple kids and they were pointing at it, trying to make their busy dad look. Took it to a show, and got a ton of questions and comments about it. The police leave it alone, which is a bonus.

At some point this summer, I'm going to hit the local quarter-mile and see what she'll do in a straight line. It won't be stellar, since I intend to granny the launch a bit.

Thanks for reading. :smile:

[deadlydave]

*Update

Just finished out the autocross season, looks like I'm in 5th place for my class (Street Mod) for the year. The HP All seasons on the V7's got tossed into storage because I brought the tread down to the wear bars at a test and tune. Picked up a set of Rota Battles 17x7.5, with 225-45-r17 Yokohama AVS ES100 summer performance tires. They dealt with the heat much, much better. I have re-adjusted the coils, and run with the rear on max stiff and the front at 60% stiffness. The big girl rotates through the turns much, much better. I have the heaviest car in class by several hundred pounds. :lol:

Some Highlights:
-Prospect Mountain Adirondack Corvette Club Autocross- 4th in class, beat every single corvette. Damp weather rocked.
-National GTO club autocross- only 1 GTO was faster than me, Ended up in 4th overall.

Removed backseat and weighed--80 pounds.

Friends are pressuring me to run R-compound tires next season. I'd rather try to fit some 17x9's and run azenis though.

Even with the coilovers and low-pro tires, the car is quite livable. Brake-pads are wearing fast though, OEM stuff combined with the weight of the car is taking its toll.

Had a friend at Subaru Run my VIN...Came up as Baja Turbo #000004. Fascinating.