A true utility vehicle
I once went to buy some parts at the Subaru counter (wiper blades, as I recall) and the fellow said. "Oh, the Baja. That's the car no one wanted until we stopped making it." True, they've become something of a collectible and have maintained their value. It's a useful 4WD vehicle. Even though it's built on the Legacy platform, legroom is somewhat snug to make room for the cargo box.
Car is tight, runs and handles like a sedan.
Mine is a turbo and the tradeoff for extra power is the need for premium fuel. The automatic transmission (pre-CVT) is reliable but makes the vehicle a bit of a gas guzzler. It averages 20-21 mpg no matter how I drive it.
Even at 18 years old, everything works, and the most difficulty over the years was a troublesome CEL (check engine light), a problem that was fixed at a Subaru WRX specialty shop by rewiring that one particular circuit.
The only other problem (age-related) was the need to replace vacuum hoses that simply had rotted away and caused easily fixed CEL alerts.
With more than 120,000 on the odometer, it's never failed to start and run in the six years of my ownership.
There can't be too many of these around in 99% stock shape.
Recommended
Verified Owner
