SO COOL!!

We have never had so much attention drawn to ourselves since buying this vehicle

We bought ours (black/silver) in Mar/04. The wife of the dealership owner had been driving it, so it had 3,000 kilometers on it.

We had done most of our shopping/research on the net.

The vehicles we actually test-drove were:

Saturn Vue
Jeep cherokee limited edition
Jeep Liberty
Toyota Rav 4
Nissan Xterra

When we saw the Baja, I just said "What is THAT?" We had never seen one before, but I immediately loved the look of it. Even now, I bet there are only 3-4 around town, so it is very unique which explains all of the stares, pointing & questions.

We were driving a V6 Pontiac Transport minivan, and wanted something newer (preferably SUV) with a warranty. I liked the Baja, because I thought we would save big bucks with gas mileage, even though we'd be losing some power (4-cylinder). The mileage has been disappointing as we get 26-28 mpg. I was expecting to get more than 30 mpg. I guess I shouldn't have believed the window stickers they sell the vehicle with.

We bought ours with a tonneu cover which I would highly recommend, since we can now use the box like a big trunk protected from the weather. The only problem with that, however, is that unlike a car which has a trunk release in the cab, the cover is considered an add-on, so must be opened with the key every time. Makes it a little inconvenient when your arms are full. Also, if you then wanted to use it more like a truck the cover would have to be removed. I guess it depends what you want to use it for.

The cab is surprisingly roomy. My husband is 250 lbs, and he loves driving it. There isn't a lot of storage space which, could actually be improved on as there are spots (eg rear doors) that could have storage, but don't.

Another problem is that when carrying longer items where the access hole in the box is used, the entire back seat must flip down. It then becomes a 2-passenger vehicle. If it were a 60/40 split, it would be more practical, as it could probably carry another passenger in the back seat.
To be honest, we have still not used this option, as the trunk/box is so big, we've never needed to.

Noise: When the sun-roof or windows are open it's impossible to hear anyone talking inside the vehicle.

It would be nice if it was possible to turn off the passenger side air-bag if we wanted to (I know some vehicles offer this option, but most don't).

The Baja doesn't have a lot of spunk off the line, or up steep grades, but it sure does the trick around town. We haven't driven it yet in the snow, but we just bought winter tires last week (expensive). And, I'm very confident it will handle well/safely. We've taken it off-road once, but just up a steep sandy hill - nothing extreme. It handled very well with no problems whatsoever!!

I would highly recommend this vehicle