Been a while since I have been here but I thought I would update:

I got rid of my daily driver ('02 Silverado) for a very rare, manual '05 Subie Baja Turbo. Haven't picked it up yet, so no pics. Unfortunately, the side effects appear to be an uncontrollable urge to morph the EJ255 to a 257. It will happen I am sure. I hope I can put that off until summer.

Basically, we had our first snow of the season (what a clusterfuck that was on the roads) and I had the chance to drive both the Chevy and my wife's subie tribeca in the snow. The Subie was SO much better and easier to drive, that I desided right there that it was a safety issue to continue to drive the truck. Plus, I got to drive the tribeca and the chevy to work a couple days while it was raining. Places where the Chevy would ever so gently step out (so gently, it was hard to tell you were sliding until you hit the gas. Not a pleasent feeling while entering the Beltway) the tribeca would just grip and go.

The benifits are AWD vs an unweighted RWD (unless you put the Chevy in 4x4 auto, but then it make a god awful whine and bucks on tight turns), so no more sliding around when the road is damp. A bump from 15mpg to perhaps as much as 20-22 mpg. I get room for four adults (std cab in the chevy) and the ability to mod the Baja into a 350 hp pickup. All smiles here.

 

Here is a dealer pic.

 

Way to go, man. Good choice.

Nice to meet you in person the other week and see your turbo setup in person.

 

Thanks. Nice to have met you as well.

That car meet was one of the ... uh, more "active" meets to which I have been. Constant street racing on 175 with a perfect view from the "gallery" in the park-and-ride. Is that typical of a colombia meet?






Oh, BTW anyone want a Chevy Silverado? $11k

 

I have no clue, that was the first time I've been to that one. All I know is that it was COLD. lol

 

Yeah. Couldn't feel my toes. Time to put the car up on jacks and play.

 

Turbo Bajas are so quirkily kewl. Perhaps last of the true Subaru products that are off-the wall. Now all you see from them are Corolla clones.

 

yeah, for maximum quirkyness all i need are rearward facing seats in the bed, ala Subie Brat!

Subaru, I think, made a HUGE mistake stopping production when they did. The Baja is the direction the market is going; they were ahead of the curve. Proof of this is the rising retail cost of this car. It is already near new list price and rising.

 

That thing is ugly, and what's the deal with 12" wheels?

Anyhow it don't make a differance. You like it.

Since you like the way it drives.. fantastic. Congrats with getting what you wanted.

 

Better looking than your RX8. What's with those oversized bumps over the front wheels?

 

Ja, you either like the looks or hate it.

 

meh, i dont like it. i think its ugly as hell. but hey, what ever floats your boat.

 

Just in case you guys are unaware on how I roll.

looks<<performance

Besides, on the road all you are going to be looking at...is the tailgate.

But you have an RX8 so you should be used to that sort of thing.

 

ow...

 

I just spent a week driving a Subie Outback in AZ. Overall not bad, especially for a 2.5 boxer.

Had some time to play on Saturday and went to drive the Apache Junction Trail lots of 25MPH sweepers, thanks to the rains it was overflowing at Tortilla Flats and the road was closed. So a trip up to Prescott was in order. Found a little snow falling in the higher elevations. The Subie likes understeer but witha little pitching and throttle drifts pretty nice in the snow.

Sunday night returning from Tuscon, I-10 was at a standstill in Marana so after programming the GPS for a detour found Hwy 79 & 287 to Casa Grande. 79 was wide open smooth 2 lane road, no traffic. The Subie cruised nicely (and very quiet) at 90 with bursts to 110. Headlights are simply awesome, once you get used to the exceptional peripheral lighting of the high beams. It seems like someone is right behind you, they're that good on the side illumination.

The Subie simply felt solid and smooth. Turned it in this AM before flying back home.

 

Sweet.. I always liked those, ultimate sleepers too. Have fun it mang!

 

live in the nw? ill toy with ur baja. and you'll have fun watching my "bumpy" fender flares literally walk away from you :D

 

but your sig says you have an 8 also. hypocrite?

 

I love my 8, but I love yanking chains more.

 

LOL you guys take the internet too seriously.

 

Well, I picked up the Baja yesterday. Had to drive 350 miles, one way, to pick it up. Worth it though. Dealer even took on trade my Silverado so we didn't have to drive two cars back.

The trucklette is pretty nice. Good Subie quality on the inside, comfortable and lots of room considering the size. Lots of torque even in stock form. Definitely will have to perform some early surgery to pep it up a bit. Manual boost controller and boost gauge are a must and a cat-back should follow soon after. Unfortunately, the cat back will likely be custom as there is only one aftermarket supplier. Later I will swap an STi TMIC and turbo as well as an STi uppipe (which will delete a cat. Cool thing is that these stock STi bits are bolt on.

The Handling is pretty car-like, but there is a god awful amount of sway and pitch. Megan coilovers and some sway bars should fix that. The shifter is a bit vague but I dont know if there is anything I can do with that. Need more research.

The only BIG pisser is that the wheels on the vehicle are not OE and the tires are too small (by 7%). I am forced to dump a chunk of change immediately to get some decent wheels. If the wheels look tiny on the pics up top, it is because they are. Dealers are a PITA.

All in all I am VERY pleased with my cruck. I never felt 'right' in the Silverado. This car feels just right. All the utility I need, easy to drive, easy to mod.

Interestingly, this make us a two Subie family (also a twin turbo family )

 

You and your lady-lumps better be FI or on gas because a lightly modified Baja will kick an NA 8's ***.


I am sorry if that makes you cry.

 

I toyed with the idea of getting a Baja. But here in Canada, we don't get the turbo trim. So what made you get the baja instead of a legacy gt wagon? Does it come with a cargo cover?

 

My wife and I looked at the wagon (a 2006 new) and I really liked it. Most of all I liked the sunroof. It is HUGE and covers nearly the entire roof. The wife fell for the Tribeca and went with that. I actually used my Silverado quite a bit to haul junk and stuff. I even loaded it down with 3000 lbs of paver stones once. Hauled bikes and stuff. I just didnt need THAT much truck ALL the time. And it drove like crap. So the Baja is a good compromize for me. A bed the I will use to haul crap that I wouldn't want inside a wagon, but it drives well and is thrifty on gas.

No tonneu cover.

 

Well, it is time to say good by to the Baja. I just bought a new 3.6r outback limited. Bigger for family stuff. Nice, too.

Anybody want a lowered Baja turbo manual with summer and winter tires, laser jammer, K40 radar detector and Eclipse nav?