Subaru is nowhere near as prolific in terms of novelties across the North American region as some of its rivals – especially Toyota, which always feels like it has prepared a tidal wave of new and refreshed model introductions alongside concepts and special editions.
However, it does have its ardent fans, and thanks to its well-known reliability and other factors like the symmetrical AWD system, its sales grew by 6.4 percent in November. It also racks one award after another, with the BRZ securing its third consecutive 10Best accolade, and the company's SUVs also highest ranked among mainstream CUVs in J.D. Power's Customer Loyalty survey.
Additionally, back in November at the 2023 Los Angeles Auto Show, Subaru also debuted the all-new sixth-generation 2025 Forester with subtly fresh styling, more technology, increased safety, and the traditional 2.5-liter Subaru Boxer engine under the hood, putting 180 hp and 178 lb-ft through a Lineartronic CVT to the wheels via the standard Active Torque Vectoring and SI-Drive performance management system.
Meanwhile, the $25k Crosstrek, $29k Outback, and $34,395 Ascent are all part of the 2024 model year roster, together with the all-electric Solterra and the quartet of passenger cars - $23k Impreza, $25k Legacy, and the little-yet-feisty $28,595 BRZ plus the $30,605 WRX performance sedan. However, notice how something is missing from the lineup? Exactly, there's no pickup truck – and that's not exactly a good thing when the US automotive market loves them so much.
Of course, Subaru could never pose a danger to America's full-size pickup truck segment, and even Toyota's domination over the mid-size sector is probably incontestable. As such, that leaves us with the recently reborn unibody compact pickup truck niche, which currently consists solely of the Hyundai Santa Cruz initiator and the best-selling Ford Maverick.
According to the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, there is a simple solution to the conundrum. As such, the good folks behind the Real Automotive channel on YouTube have the latest scoops coordinated with their unofficial CGI depictions of the Subie Baja revival. That's one of two main choices for a potential Subaru (re)entry into the compact pickup truck segment, the other being the older BRAT.
Unlike the Subaru BRAT (Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter, 1977-1994), which was a veritable 4WD coupe utility, the 2003 to 2006 Subaru Baja eschewed the Ute form factor in favor of a more practical four-door compact pickup truck design based on the same unibody platform as the Subaru Legacy sedan and Outback station wagon.
However, on this unofficial occasion, the vision of the revived 2025 Subaru Baja is based directly on the popular Forester compact crossover SUV. More precisely, for economies of scale, the reborn Baja could be inspired by the facelifted fifth-generation Forester's design and use the same (older version) Subaru Global Platform. Cool, right?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News