Description: Compact Crossover Pickup Truck
Base MSRP Range: $22,195 - $27,095
Invoice Price Range: $20,399 - $24,852
Where built: USA

This unusual Subaru crossover is part car, part truck and part SUV. It looks like both a car and truck -- the car up front and truck in back. Baja's front half comes from Outback and Legacy with a four-door cabin containing front buckets and a back bench.

The truck bed crimps to 42 inches long, but it stretches to 75 inches with tailgate dropped and the cab's rear wall pass-through -- a 30-inch-wide portal dubbed the Switchback -- open. With Switchback shut but Baja's bed extender in place at the tail, the bed reaches to 60.5 inches.

Baja looks tough with a hiked suspension and the body layered in cladding, with optional rally lights and chrome bars lining the roof. The series expands to four models for 2005 with a well-equipped Baja, the Baja Sport, Baja Turbo and new Baja Turbo with Leather Package.

Baja and Sport draw from a 4-cylinder boxer engine whipped to 165-hp with manual 5-speed or optional 4-speed automatic shifter. Baja Turbo gets the 2.5-liter boxer four, where turbo-charging boosts output to 210-hp. It's easy to distinguish due to the scoop on the hood that marks a turbo-powered Subaru.