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| 2003 Subaru Outback Review, Roy Green, From Virginia
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Subaru Baja Sport
| | Model of the car: | Subaru Baja Sport | | | General comments: | This is a Subaru Outback with a pickup box. The Sport is a more basic model. As far as I can tell, the difference between the Sport and the regular Baja, is that my seats are cloth, and there are no power seats. Both models have a surprisingly high level of standard features, leaving the dealerships nothing better to do then to sell us better floormats, cargo extenders, and et al. The only real option is the automatic transmission.
I actually needed four doors with that size cargo bed, and with the small hatch behind the fold-down back seat, carried home some much needed PVC drain pipe for my new kitchen. Supposedly it could carry full sheets of plywood, but I have my doubts on that.
It is average in power and get up and go. I like it for the fact I can carry stuff. If you want a fast Baja, wait for the turbo model. That aside, it is a comfortable, competant handling beast with the AWD being totally transparent to the driver. No mucking with hubs, no high centers of gravity, and no differential locks, just climb in and go. Being that it is an Outback with a pickup bed, it is extremely unwise and inadvisable to drive this over rocks, jump it off sand dunes, and go over logs. That will result in a Broken Baja.
It has been a good commuter for the two weeks that I have owned it. Unlike regular SUV's and pickups, since it is based on a car, it fits in car-sized spaces, and has burns far less fuel.
The cabin is comfortable with all controls at hand to the driver. The visibility to the rear is not great, so use caution when backing up. The back seats only two passengers and legroom is limited. Despite the fact an optional trailer hitch is available, pulling anything larger then a canoe is not a good idea and the maximum load for the pickup bed is a hundred and fifty pounds.
Though it was entertaining to look at the brochure at the dealer, this is for more then those who jump out of airplanes, ride surfboards through whitewater and go camping out in the sticks, none of which I do. It is good for light duty hauling and that daily trip to and from work. It fills the bill for those who want to carry more then one passenger every now and then, and the weekly (not heavy) purchase from the hardware store. | | | What things have gone wrong with the car: | I fit in it perfectly....with the seat all the way back. Anyone who plays a linbacker position, or is a forward for a basketball team is not going to fit. They may call it a Baja, but it ain't no Baja racer, power is adequate to the task, but no more. The cladding looks best from the inside where I can't see it. Just what where the designers thinking? Were they out drunk one night and did a 57 Chevy Belaire go by? If there is a body de-cladding kit, I want it. It is a pick-up, leave your valuables in the house. | | | Previous car: | I had an 89 Aerostar and various unlamented pick-up trucks. Surprisingly, the 95 Taurus comes closest in carring capacity even though it was a sedan. |
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