2003 Subaru Baja: Regular Car Reviews 

Subaru Baja: When you're too cool for the weird kids; and too weird for the cool kids.

Doug Demuro: A man who slams the fridge shut with his hips.

"gas cans you don't want inside the car at all" Speak for yourself buddy, if you're not getting any use out of those good good fumes you're only getting half your money's worth

Regular people "eww what is this" Anyone who offroads, lives where it snows, lives where it rains, lives where there's sand or mud: "they look like a lot of fun"

Hahah “Doug Demuro, he’s talented I hope he found work somewhere”.

I just about lost it on "Subaru lost focus and farted in church" I can't with you man

I've been wanting either this or a Pontiac Aztek for a few years now and finally got to buy a Baja with 63k miles a couple months ago. Haven't stopped smiling since.

I think a Subaru Baja would make a pretty fun apocalypse car. I’d like more fog lights though.

Dont let the baja distract you from chevy not bringing the Holden Maloo into the US as a Chevy El Camino...the biggest missed opportunity of the century. Im still complaining till today

When I was a young lad and Superbad was in theaters, a friend invited me to see this movie everyone was talking about. My friend's dad, a mechanic, drove us to the theater. We watched the movie and enjoyed it a lot. To this day my favorite teen comedy. When my buddy's dad came to pick us up he had clearly been drinking a little(not drunk but he had a beer or two). He parked to let his son drive and when he got out of his truck he saw a Subaru Baja a few parking spaces away. He walked around it with a stern face. Then, as if this Subaru was the funniest thing he ever saw, he burst out laughing. He laughed for the whole 20 minute drive to my house. The Subaru Baja was funnier to him than the biggest comedy movie of the year was to us. He still laughs everytime he sees a Baja and thinks a stoned child designed it.

"That means *you* have worth that no one saw when you were young. Who's laughing now?" This statement makes my heart happy like big fat highway pulls do. Warm cozies. yessssssss

This Baja rips it. Had the pleasure of catching it in action on a trip last winter... it could not be stopped!

I honestly like how they look. I think they're kinda cute and interesting, but I like kinda weird non-trucks with truck beds. For me I see this more like a beach car. Beach towels and umbrellas and cooking/camping stuff in the bed would work great I imagine. Nice space for that sort of thing and you do help avoid getting sand everywhere inside.

Subaru: let's make a ute and not sell it in the biggest markets for utes Me: wtf?

Subaru Baja: when a Forrester isn't butch enough.

Among a bunch of already legendary reviews from Mr. Regular, he drops this diamond. This is one of the most well-written and read RCR reviews in quite a while. Bravo. That Moneyball-to-churchfart segment was absolutely perfect.

Every female boomer in New England had one of these or knew someone with one. For some reason so many were yellow

"...piles of rusty tools from Grandpa Warcrimes' woodshed..." lmao I love this channel.

“Coupe utility” just call it a dual cab Ute and be done with it

I remember the first Baha I ever saw was when Camelbeach water park had one of these in yellow back in 2003. They must have had a promotion with Subaru at the time.

Subaru fanboism keeps this car alive. As a Subaru owner You’re supposed to lose your mind if you see one

Lmao the Doug Demuro line killed me😂 “Some guy named Doug Demuro....”

I love that the ending line is always a BITE and gets your skin tingling.

"He's talented I hope he finds success somewhere." SHOTS FIRED

it's the Honda Ridgeline offroad lesbian edition

"That means YOU have worth that no one saw when you were young. Who's laughing now?" - I can't handle that this early on a Monday.

I love your song in the beginning, inspired by BB’s Theme from Death Stranding.

This is amazing, especially those last 2 minutes - those were prophetic. This video reminds me a lot of your older videos, which honestly drew me to the channel in the first place. Thank you, RCR.

That's what the 2019 Ranger beds all look like, and they're selling like hot cakes.

My teacher in my high school diesel tech class had a manual one sense new with over 200,000 miles at the time and his was clean AF and still used it like a utility vehicle, and made heavy use of the optional bed rails to act as the tailgate when the real one is down, it was also was tastefully modified and realizable for his as all hell.

I remember going with my mom to our local Subaru dealership to pick a brand new Baja. I tried to convince her to get an automatic since I would be driving soon but she got the standard and we still have it to this day.

You sir are truly an amazing writer! Always drawing perfect conclusion and relating them to current culture in really creative ways! 🙌🏽

I love this. Love the Baja in general but the mods on this one are just... fitting? and great! congrats to the owner.

You're the best Automotive journalist to have ever graced this website you deserve way more subs, you've elevated car reviews in journalism to a point of insightful hilarious and honest art and introspection you're way too ahead of your time man. I hope you get everything you want out of this life you deserve it. ❤️❤️❤️

So, as someone who bought a Baja, you buy a Baja because it’s unique, because you have a car that only 30,000 people have BUT you can still find replacement parts for. It’s cute and awesome.

I kinda feel like an idiot for buying one of these as my first car, but at the same time I'm still driving it and I do love it, even if with each passing day I realize how impractical it is. That said I basically just got to listen to Mr. Regular roast me personally for approaching 15 minutes straight, so I guess it was worth it.

As to the 'Coupe Utility' definition - we'd call it a 'crew cab ute' in Australia, in comparison to a coupe ute that would be like the Holden Commodore-based ute or the Ford Falcon-based ute, or a two-door tray back for the more truck-like version. Beyond that, it's really interesting seeing these from an Australian perspective, given our love affair with utes that are often very rudimentary, technically, but popular. Just as the Subaru Outback reminds me of the Holden Adventra, so does this remind me of the Holden Crewman Cross8 (though I suppose the Holdens remind me of the Subies, since Subaru did it first).

WAIT A SECOND! The intro song was BB's theme from Death Stranding. You guys always find ways to make my mondays great!

Perfect hunting vehicle. It’s a niche but the bed is durable enough for dead game, and you’re not getting your trunk dirty. It’s capable enough and good for city driving, it’s not driving an obnoxious truck for hunting 4 times a year. Would love for them to come back

The effort and tech and videography and dry humor you inject into you vids are probably greatly unappreciated by most but my friends and I get it. To this point Fortnine has had the best RU-vid production excellence bar none but yours are there, in your perfect way! Viewer for life!

I'll ride in the back IF I F*CKING FEEL LIKE IT!

It’s unique and distinctive that is very rare today I like it!

Saw a yellow one of these with a camper shell on it last month. Great video as always.

I rarely see a Baja around but when I do, I always find it interesting to look at.

YES!!! He finally reviewed a car I own!!

Hipster cars that cost too much: Subaru Baja, Volvo 240

I remember when this ute came out. I wanted it...bad. Ended up getting an Explorer Sport Trac.

My dad is a finish contractor & he did a job for a woman about a decade ago who had a fascination with these Bajas. During the time my dad worked at her home, which was a couple months, her Baja died. It was her second. She found another one to replace it. This was 2013 mind you. 3 Bajas!

Loving the surprise CHVRCHES cover at the end there Roman!

I noticed a lot of these growing up in New England. I always thought they were weird...and that's why i've always loved them.

I am the proud owner of an 03 Baja silver on silver! Absalutely love it and it is so practical!

I've always loved Bajas.... I feel like they are perfect for suburban life. Perfect for those trips to the to the local plant nursery to buy your 10 bags of mulch.

I LOVE THIS! I was very seriously considering lending my Baja when I get out of school, but now I don't have to. Also it's awesome that you found a lifted one, mine has a three inch lift, Mudrat bumper and a 5 speed dual range transmission. Also the bed is surprisingly usable when you consider that it's nearly identical size to a side by side which get used for everything around here.

This is what stayng up way way past my bed time gets me!

The Performance When the Baja was first introduced in 2003, the only engine option was a 2.5-liter boxer-four producing 173 horsepower mated to either a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual. In 2004, Subaru introduced a more powerful turbocharged motor, which bumped output up to 210 hp. By 2006, the turbocharged EJ255 motor produced 230 hp, which is not too shabby for a roughly 3,500-pound vehicle. By no means is the Baja a rival for a full-size truck, given its measly 885 to 1,070-pound payload/towing capacity. However, if you only need the bed to haul smaller items and are willing to sacrifice payload for performance, the Baja is an ideal motor. Even with the automatic, the Baja will hit 60 mph in 7.3 seconds and complete the quarter-mile in 15.7 seconds. Since this is a turbocharged Subaru, there are tuners out there who will be happy to extract more power from the EJ engine.

"The Impact Font of Cars" - hahahahahahaha I'm dying.

SUBARU BAJA: THE IMPACT FONT OF CARS.

Interesting song choice for the end Looks like they enjoyed Death Stranding

This is the most entertaining review video iv ever seen nice job

I admit it, I love 'em! I'd like to see Subaru bring them back.

Government: * see's cut out stop sign made as brush guard* "Wait that's illegal"

Subaru Baja, the official car of "I'm not like other girls!"

I love you. More than any RU-vidr, any category, ever. That’s all.

I'm SO glad you made mention of how they crap head gaskets regularly. And for some reason people still like these cars...

For four months back in the day, I sold Subaru and I sold these. (Well, one of these.) I don't usually love cars just because they're weird, but this was one of those. I drove one as a demo and everybody asked me about it wherever I went.

When this came out I said once "I want a Baja. They are so cute!" Every man in the room who wanted one was now not going to admit to it. And proceeded to tell me why a man buys an off-road vehicle. I later bought a Bronco and never heard anything like that again. But still wish I had got one of these totally adorable Baja!

You sold this car at the end better than subarus best marketing team in thier prime! I did think they were nifty a while back and still do....now look jeep is making truck beds for thier wranglers...you ARE the new definition of defining nostalgia my friend. Nostalgia: (Nah-stahl-juh)- Regular Car Reviews. Thank you for recognizing my self worth and seeing the way I see myself. I’m gonna go buy one of these now so I can materialize the embodiment of that emotion into and object..THE BAJA!!

Dude, the Maddox webpage mention brought back some serious memories that I forgot I had stored deep in my brain.

I loved that death stranding parody theme

I always loved these as a kid and I still enjoy seeing them around.

"Subaru lost focus and farted in church" - I mean, there was that time they claimed their engines were cleaner than a hybrid, and the whole B-9 Tribeca.

You find so much meaning in regular cars it's fascinating.

I have an 03 Baja with 225k miles on it. Love this review! You nailed it😄

You finally go ahold of a Gambler rig!!!

Liked that "car" since day one, that video made me love it more

I own a yellow Baja and I mean, this video is funny as hell. Mine has over 300,000 miles and runs like a dream but sadly it eats up gas. The funniest part of the Baja is that legally it’s counted as a truck where I live so they charge ya more on insurance.

I was looking for one of these when I was shopping for a car... but I settled on a 2010 Forester....

"written by some guy named Doug Demuro" 😂🤣💀

wow, an unexpectedly wholesome RegularCars vid. Good job, Mr. Regular.

That front bumper delete does a lot for its looks. Probably doesn't do much for its crash rating, but you can cross that bridge when you smash into it.

An RCR review of a Subaru Baja that references middle aged rockers and Alanis Morissette? Well what if I told you that middle aged rocker Taylor Hawkins, drummer of Foo Fighters and former Alanis Morissette drummer, happens to own a Baja...

Please do a saabaru "saab 9-2x" if you ever get the chance! Love the videos.

Got a 2006 :) Drives like a dream, offroads like a champ as well.

This is one of my dream cars! Love this video!!!

I wanted one of these, I still do. With a manual, its fun and sporty even without the turbo. These days you can't find them in decent condition for a reasonable price. However it was built 10-15 years too early. Now Hyundai is working on a Santa Cruz little pickup that would be close to the form factor of the baja. These should sell well now since modern pickups are massive and not everyone wants or needs it. I wanted the Baja for light housework and hiking trips, I ended up with a Dakota V6 manual instead.

“ North American Ute” I like that term.. Its as much of a Ute than the Outback Steakhouse is an Australian Restaraunt.

Looks like Roman enjoyed Death Stranding

Mine has almost 300k miles and the original engine still runs fine. It was my first vehicle and it is an awesome vehicle. You always get weird looks from people and it's a great conversation starter. The Little bed works, but the video pretty much nailed it... The bed itself is really small and you can't carry anything large in it. Awd is fantastic in the winter though. You've really almost got to treat it like a car instead of a pickup, but it'll do the job.

Amazing review! I am from Greece, so I have never seen this vehicle, as due to taxation and insurance premiums anything over 2 liters is almost cost prohibitive. I’d love to be able to see one in person, it seems so interesting.

7:05 That reference 😏😂

Love my Baja. Had it for 4 years now.

A buddy of mine used to have one of these back when they were new. The only time I rode in it was for a beer run, and the back was full of snow. Made a great cooler!

Yes! This was the one I suggested! My dream car.

Oh sweet Jesus.this is my fav Subaru along with 2003 legacy

It’s quirk packed, Doug blasts at the very sight of it, everytime.

I really don't understand how you guys don't have well over a million subs by now.

This was a good review ❤️

I Wanted one of these, they're rarely for sale though. So I got an Outback instead.

Thank you!!! my partner and I had the 2003 Baja "Sport" yellow/silver. We loved this car but once it got up to the 180k miles it was becoming to expensive to keep. So @ 15 years and 185k miles it was traded in @$3600 for a Subaru Crosstrek Premium 2018. This car got soo many compliiments and conversation starters. Great for campingm

As an owner of a first gen 2003.... 100% nailed it lmao.