The funky Subaru is much better suited to small jobs and outdoor activities. To keep scratches from marring the paint finish and make cleaning the bed easier an integrated liner comes standard. There are also four convenient tie-down hooks, an exterior bed lamp and cool looking 'sports bars'. No sports fans, Subaru wasn't referring to your favorite watering hole when they named the round silver-colored metal extensions that imitate a roll-bar. Subaru also adds a standard roof rack with cross bars, plus offers attachments perfect for hauling ski equipment, small boats and surfing gear, or pretty well anything that doesn't fit into the cargo box.
True to Subaru heritage the Baja incorporates full-time all-wheel drive, setting it further apart from its spiritual predecessors, except the Brat. The active outdoor twenty to thirty-something crowd will want this feature, making the model's prospects appear even brighter. Your choice of transmissions, either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic, will determine whether you get a viscous coupling center differential, flexible flywheel and hydraulic clutch or an electronically managed, continuously variable transfer clutch, respectively. The latter variation, dubbed Active All-Wheel Drive, combines data derived from changes in velocity, wheel slippage and lateral acceleration forces to determine whether the front or rear wheels receive power. Both AWD systems get a viscous limited-slip rear differential as standard equipment, capable of distributing power to the rear wheel with the greatest traction.
The Baja derives its basic architecture from the Legacy/Outback platform, giving it rough and ready good looks, a fully independent suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes with 4-wheel, 4 sensor, 4-channel ABS, 16-inch alloys wrapped in P225/60R16 all-season tires and its base 165-hp 2.5-L 4-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine.