Will Subaru Bring Back the Baja?

A common question among Subaru enthusiasts is, “Will we see a new Baja in our future?” Ewing Subaru of Plano speculates on current trends in the automotive industry and what that could mean for the return of the fan favorite.

The Success of the Ford Maverick

The small unibody Ford Maverick pickup, based on the Escape / Bronco Sport platform, has been a resounding success. With 94,058 deliveries in 2023, the Maverick not only sold almost three times as much as the somewhat similar-in-concept Hyundai Santa Cruz, but also sold about three times as well as Ford’s own Ranger mid-size pickup. Its hybrid models even outsold the F-150 Powerboost hybrid. That kind of thing does not go unnoticed by other manufacturers in the industry.

Enter Toyota

That brings us to another non-Subaru brand, Toyota. Toyota seldom hesitates to fill a popular category. Given they have the best-selling mid-size pickup in the U.S. by far, they must be wondering how many of those Maverick buyers would have otherwise purchased a Tacoma. So the rumors are flying about Toyota bringing back the Stout, a pickup nameplate dating back to 1954, preceding the Tacoma and the Hilux before that. When it was sold alongside the Hilux, the Stout was the larger and more heavy-duty of the two and was eventually replaced by the T-100 mid-size truck, a precursor to the full-size Tundra. In contrast, should the Stout return, it would be positioned under the Tacoma in size and as a unibody model like the Maverick.

Enter Subaru

Subaru and Toyota’s joint venture, the BRZ and Toyota GR86, proves that these two brands work well together. Could we see another innovative collaboration to rival the Ford Maverick? Were that to be the case, Subaru could almost assuredly bring back the Baja name for the model. The Baja was a 4-door pickup that was essentially an Outback with a pickup bed instead of an enclosed cargo area that was sold in model years 2003 – 2006.  It actually wasn’t far at all from the Maverick in concept.  A new Baja will unlikely share sheet metal with an existing Toyota or Subaru model. 

Again, this is all speculation, but that hasn’t stopped the wizards at Q-Cars from shuffling pixels into a speculative rendition of a new Baja. If this model were to become a reality, unlike the BRZ/GR 86 twins, which use a Subaru engine, A new Baja would likely have a Toyota hybrid drivetrain. The platform could either be based on the Forester or RAV4, but a likely powertrain based on a Toyota hybrid transverse engine layout favors a Toyota platform. Subaru could be responsible for the all-wheel drive system, though that would also have to be modified to accommodate a transverse engine.

While this is nothing but guesswork at this point, if things start to become official, you will hear about it here on the Ewing Subaru of Plano blog.