2004 Turbo Baja 5 speed

Sorry for sticking this in the 2003 section but there is no 2004 listing for the Baja.

Why the Baja?
I am still trying to answer this question. Our new home is in the woods with 1/2 mile rutted dirt road. After the first snow the minivan was almost useless. We needed AWD that we could haul two kids and haul lumber and stuff at the same time. Our choices were limited to a small truck with extended cab and limited cargo room and miserable handling or a big truck with miserable gas mileage and handling. I gave up a BMW 325 & Z3 for a two seater Tacoma and was really missing out in the ride and handling departments.
I was told by several people to check out Subaru so before I purchased another boring but reliable Honda (CRV) I did just that. The Baja immediately caught my eye. With the bed extender I had almost as much hauling room as my Tacoma (and with the cab pass through more)but with 4 real doors and better mileage. So I took it for a test drive.

Performance & Ride
I like to drive and after owning 3 BMW's I feel I have a right to have an opinion of performance and handling. This is no BMW. But given that it rides and handles better than any SUV I have ever tested and most "sport" sedans. The turbo spools up fast and after 3500 RPM she flies. Again there is nothing like the smooth feel and great sound of the BMW inline 6. In comparison this big 4 cylinder sounds like it is going to fly out of the engine compartment but I am betting it will not. After test driving this and other Subaru's I took my wife out for a day of test driving the models she was considering. After that we drove the turbo Baja. She was blown away. As a comparison we also drove the turbo Forester. Although lighter and faster we felt the handling and ride was inferior.

AWD Capabilities
Wow. This thing goes through snow and mud better then my 4X4 Tacoma. The closest thing to total confidence I have experienced in bad driving conditions.

Options:
The car comes standard with just about everything you could want. Heated seats were not an option in the manual which is a shame. I have added the bed extender (30 minute install job) from an online store for about $200. We are going to add a bed cover but we are not sure which make. Since there is no locking trunk I feel this is critical to make the vehicle more sedan like and be able to use it on trips.

Conclusions:
I still don't know if we made the right decisions. 2000 miles on the car and no problems but I know from reading this vehicle will not be as cheep to maintain as a Honda. Still I enjoy driving it and should prove very practical all weather vehicle.