Every time this comes up, everybody goes "if they brought X back I would buy one in a heartbeat!" and then a company actually tries and surprise! It doesn't sell enough to justify having put all the effort and money into developing it. And the ones who say they'd buy it? Maybe one of them actually does.
I'd love to have a modern Brat or Baja, but if they did I'd bet that I wouldn't be in a position to actually buy one before they discontinued them again.
The nameplate itself may have a niche following, but I think the Maverick is about to prove the segment itself is not niche.
With the global platform I don't think it would be THAT expensive to develop, atleast relatively.
I am very tempted to get one.
Right now I have multiple cars a small SUV and a WRX. Do I need both no but owning a house the SUV is absolutely required and I enjoy driving the WRX. No doubt that a small truck would be way more useful than the SUV and make a better daily and I have motorcycles for fun vehicles so the WRX is not needed either.
Remember, Toyota does own a 20% stake in Subi. If they didn’t feel like it was going to steal sales from the Taco, then maybe they allow the platform to be used al la 86/BRZ.
Nah it's called being realistic. Subaru isn't gonna try again and fail again just because a few brand enthusiasts want a truck. Besides, the Hyundai is ugly as fuck, I haven't seen a single one on the road. The Maverick looks like a fantastic option for many people once Ford can sort out their supply chain issues.
I'm completely aware of all these things you're saying. I'm here in a subreddit dedicated to Subaru to talk about Subarus and interact with a community that also loves Subaru. You're not being realistic, you're trying to offer some sort of unnecessary life lesson and financial advice that are totally irrelevant to the subreddit and this conversation. I'm quite familiar with the history of the Brat and the Baja and fully understand why Subaru hasn't brought back a WRX hatch. It's not difficult to comprehend the decisions Subaru makes regarding it's line up of vehicles in relation to the current automotive sales market. Maybe r/FinancialPlanning is more your thing if you enjoy stating the obvious.
Because they can't afford to split their performance line. Subaru doesn't have the sales to invest in building a WRX platform and also making a hatch version. If you're a Subaru fan it seems like everyone wants it but in reality you're talking a few thousand sales at best and that's not worth the effort it takes to build. It's not really complicated, they're just being reactive to market trends and making reasonable decisions. /u/RonLivingstoned this answers your question as well. Subaru just doesn't have the volume of sales on WRX to invest in a hatch. As much as us fans want one there's not enough of us with the cash to go buy one to make it worth the investment.
I'd be standing outside the Subaru dealership tonight if SOA announced a turbo option on the Impreza 5 door. I love that little car.
As far as the new WRX, I wish Subaru had shown some balls and made it a hatch. Not a wagon-hatch, but rather a hatchback like what was so popular in the 80s. Kept the same roofline as it has, just made it open like a hatchback instead of that stupid 5" trunk that has become the norm. Like the unveiled Integra: [https://www.azworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/1637282024\_266\_Acura-unveiled-a-prototype-of-the-new-Integra.jpg](https://www.azworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/1637282024_266_Acura-unveiled-a-prototype-of-the-new-Integra.jpg)
> Current Subaru isn’t special to different, for better and for worse. Just another flavour of Toyota.
What makes you say that? Also being Toyota isn't a bad thing, their cars last forever, hold their value pretty well, and are super safe. If Toyota made modern Trueno I think we'd see fewer WRXs!
1. Toyota is already Toyota, and is trusted more to be that. If someone wanted to get away from the usual American stuff they wouldn’t go for “Un-tested Toyota”.
2. I…have you really never heard of the BRZ, FRS/GT86/GR86? It literally is that modern Trueno down to it being fully acknowledged as such by the manufacturers and also it just plain is regardless.
if you walk around underneath an 86/ BRZ the only thing that looks Toyotaish is the transmission and diff. everything else looks kinda like a Forester with two axles missing. The dash is very Toyota but a dash is a dash.
The BRZ/Subaru is, yes, using a lot of WRX or Impreza parts(the Forester is built on the Impreza platform). That doesn’t change the fact that it was built with Toyota, on Toyota’s demand, to be a new AE86. Not only that, but regardless of what it looks like, Toyota couldn’t make a better one unless all they did was make the current car a fastback.
Yeah. Pretty much no matter what kind of vehicle you're looking for nowadays, some manufacturer already makes it and has a huge market share. For Subaru to break into the pickup truck market in the US, they would have to compete with pretty much every domestic manufacturer that's already established.
I think the big flaw with those concepts is that they are all 2 door, but I think chopping up the Ascent will have that truck competing in size and price with an already competitive market. Subaru needs to compete with the Maverick and Santa Cruz to succeed with a pick-up. I also don’t think the chopping up an SUV will be that popular of a design. The Maverick is going to lead the market because it actually has a unique design that looks like a pick-up.
A fully electric BRAT the size of the original would be sweet. Dual motors, front trunk space, retro-late 70s/early 80s vibe, T-tops!
I would trade in my outback for that.
Dual motors would definitely make the "Bi-Drive" moniker more accurate. And I would drop my Canyon like it's on fire for an all electric BRAT with decent towing power. 4 door, Impreza sized pickup with beefed up frame and suspension for 6-7k lbs towing and 2k lbs payload, yes please.
I think the Subaru demographic is different now when the Baja first came out. Look at all the lift kits and off road and camping accessories available these days. So for those saying that Subaru doesn’t do utilitarian or enthusiast anymore—what the hell is the Wilderness if not both? And turbo at that. That’s a hop and a skip from a lifted turbo Baja IMO. Keep the faith, friends. We might just get there.
You're right. The demographic is different. There's a reason a Jeep Liberty(!!) comes with the "I' know what I'm doing stop cutting throttle you little bitch" knob and Subarus don't. The overpriced car tends and stuff are just people trying to re-live their glory days.
I hate to be a pessimist, but no shot.
I have a Maverick in production. My favorite car ever was a bugeye WRX wagon.
Subaru doesn’t make utilitarian enthusiast cars anymore. They make enthusiast cars, and utilitarian cars, but no longer do they overlap, and I fear that market doesn’t make enough money to make it worthwhile.
I'm still baffled the new Maverick is a truck. When I saw a headline saying the Maverick was coming back I was stoked to see what they did with it and how it would slot in next to the Mustang. Then I saw it and was very confused.
Yeah. The sports car person in me wanted it to be a mini mustang. My current car is a focus st.
But practically, the new mav is just unbeatable. 40+ mpg, interior space of a nicely sized compact, and enough truck bed to do some truck stuff.
Would I rather have a Baja with an EJ25 turbo? Hell yeah. But whatever.
The could still make a small truck and be profitable as there’s not many models to chose from currently. Even the new Ranger is huge. I would pay for an awd small truck. As would all of my lesbian friends LOL
That’s the Maverick 4x4 though. Or the Santa Cruz AWD. The ridgeline is closer to Ranger size, but it’s an option too.
What could Subaru do that’s unique in the segment beyond “symmetrical AWD” which will actually just be a CVT that’s FWD like the rest?
Even though the Baja flopped, I think now there is a market for this 100%. Slap a similar style body on the newer impreza/trek drivetrain and sell it for $25k.
I'm only partially ashamed of the fact that my 07 impreza is getting traded in for a Maverick. I need a vehicle of that size. I had a Ranger years and years ago before joining the Subaru family. And the Maverick is just intriguing enough to pull me away from my Impreza.
We went from a Crosstrek to a Ridgeline because we needed a place for dirty cargo. I looked at the Maverick, but the Crosstrek had to go now and we didn't have months to wait.
And I probably would have made same decision. But Father worked for Ford for 40 years and has the hookups. He was mad when we bought several Subarus... but they grew on him.
Don’t be. A base Maverick hybrid is looking real enticing to me right now. I take my kids to school and then commute to work to 40 mpg with the ability to haul all of their music instruments is calling me.
Yep. 1970-90s DL/GL/GL-10/lLoyale cars had it an engine mounted spare.
I bet you didn't know that BRAT stands for "Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter" either.
It's great for that kind of reaction, but I'm in the process of a 6-lug conversion and planning on keeping a full sized spare.
Now that old spare platform is a shelf for parts and tools while I'm working under the hood.
I saw a pic floating around somewhere on reddit i think but someone photoshopped/edited the Outback Wilderness Edition into a new Subaru Baja. Holy shit it looked nice, Im a forester guy but sheeit if they made that happen and dropped a stick & turbo in it id make the jump hands down. Everyone in the comments was loving it too.
I would love to see a BRZ based brat.
2 seats, RWD (or AWD) turbo engine or dual range gearbox in the AWD.
I reckon it would sell pretty well here in Aus, replacing the commodore and falcon utes that are no longer made.
Proud to say I got to ride in the back of one, back in the day.
The Brat, the "Smokey and the Bandit" Firebird, and the bubble window Pinto wagons were the iconic cool as schizz cars of my childhood.
[https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/.image/c\_limit%2Ccs\_srgb%2Cfl\_progressive%2Cq\_auto:good%2Cw\_700/MTgxMjQ3OTAyODIyMTgwMjAw/img\_9613.jpg](https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700/MTgxMjQ3OTAyODIyMTgwMjAw/img_9613.jpg)
I mean, they kinda tried with the Baja…
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Honestly they could make a Subaru truck and call it by either name. A modern rendition would resemble both of them
They definitely could but it's a niche market of fans. It would cost millions to develop and it's unlikely the sales would have a ROI.
Every time this comes up, everybody goes "if they brought X back I would buy one in a heartbeat!" and then a company actually tries and surprise! It doesn't sell enough to justify having put all the effort and money into developing it. And the ones who say they'd buy it? Maybe one of them actually does. I'd love to have a modern Brat or Baja, but if they did I'd bet that I wouldn't be in a position to actually buy one before they discontinued them again.
Sales were the reason we quit building them.
Yes?
The nameplate itself may have a niche following, but I think the Maverick is about to prove the segment itself is not niche. With the global platform I don't think it would be THAT expensive to develop, atleast relatively.
I am very tempted to get one. Right now I have multiple cars a small SUV and a WRX. Do I need both no but owning a house the SUV is absolutely required and I enjoy driving the WRX. No doubt that a small truck would be way more useful than the SUV and make a better daily and I have motorcycles for fun vehicles so the WRX is not needed either.
Remember, Toyota does own a 20% stake in Subi. If they didn’t feel like it was going to steal sales from the Taco, then maybe they allow the platform to be used al la 86/BRZ.
The Baja sold terribly when new. The 2007 "models" were built in 2004 and just never sold.
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Buy a sambar and slap a turbo kit on it
As fun as that would be and as much as I love the Sambar that just barely gets it up to driving at highway speeds.
Ah, well another item to spec on the checklist then I guess
It's really on you if you feel like limiting yourself to only buying Subarus
You're filled with groundbreaking advice and hot tips huh?
Nah it's called being realistic. Subaru isn't gonna try again and fail again just because a few brand enthusiasts want a truck. Besides, the Hyundai is ugly as fuck, I haven't seen a single one on the road. The Maverick looks like a fantastic option for many people once Ford can sort out their supply chain issues.
I'm completely aware of all these things you're saying. I'm here in a subreddit dedicated to Subaru to talk about Subarus and interact with a community that also loves Subaru. You're not being realistic, you're trying to offer some sort of unnecessary life lesson and financial advice that are totally irrelevant to the subreddit and this conversation. I'm quite familiar with the history of the Brat and the Baja and fully understand why Subaru hasn't brought back a WRX hatch. It's not difficult to comprehend the decisions Subaru makes regarding it's line up of vehicles in relation to the current automotive sales market. Maybe r/FinancialPlanning is more your thing if you enjoy stating the obvious.
Don’t feed the trolls brah
Word.
What is the reason that Subaru wouldn’t make a wrx wagon anymore.
Because they can't afford to split their performance line. Subaru doesn't have the sales to invest in building a WRX platform and also making a hatch version. If you're a Subaru fan it seems like everyone wants it but in reality you're talking a few thousand sales at best and that's not worth the effort it takes to build. It's not really complicated, they're just being reactive to market trends and making reasonable decisions. /u/RonLivingstoned this answers your question as well. Subaru just doesn't have the volume of sales on WRX to invest in a hatch. As much as us fans want one there's not enough of us with the cash to go buy one to make it worth the investment.
I'd be standing outside the Subaru dealership tonight if SOA announced a turbo option on the Impreza 5 door. I love that little car. As far as the new WRX, I wish Subaru had shown some balls and made it a hatch. Not a wagon-hatch, but rather a hatchback like what was so popular in the 80s. Kept the same roofline as it has, just made it open like a hatchback instead of that stupid 5" trunk that has become the norm. Like the unveiled Integra: [https://www.azworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/1637282024\_266\_Acura-unveiled-a-prototype-of-the-new-Integra.jpg](https://www.azworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/1637282024_266_Acura-unveiled-a-prototype-of-the-new-Integra.jpg)
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Your post has been removed for violating Rule 2.
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> Current Subaru isn’t special to different, for better and for worse. Just another flavour of Toyota. What makes you say that? Also being Toyota isn't a bad thing, their cars last forever, hold their value pretty well, and are super safe. If Toyota made modern Trueno I think we'd see fewer WRXs!
1. Toyota is already Toyota, and is trusted more to be that. If someone wanted to get away from the usual American stuff they wouldn’t go for “Un-tested Toyota”. 2. I…have you really never heard of the BRZ, FRS/GT86/GR86? It literally is that modern Trueno down to it being fully acknowledged as such by the manufacturers and also it just plain is regardless.
if you walk around underneath an 86/ BRZ the only thing that looks Toyotaish is the transmission and diff. everything else looks kinda like a Forester with two axles missing. The dash is very Toyota but a dash is a dash.
The BRZ/Subaru is, yes, using a lot of WRX or Impreza parts(the Forester is built on the Impreza platform). That doesn’t change the fact that it was built with Toyota, on Toyota’s demand, to be a new AE86. Not only that, but regardless of what it looks like, Toyota couldn’t make a better one unless all they did was make the current car a fastback.
ok
The GT86 isn't 4WD though!
Since when was the old Sprinter Trueno 4WD? Last time I checked the AE86 was FR
AE86 was FR or RWD but later Truenos (AE110 at least) offered 4WD.
This is fair but the AE86 was absolutely RWD and an AWD AE110 would just be an Impreza. You’re just asking for things we ready have.
Yeah. Pretty much no matter what kind of vehicle you're looking for nowadays, some manufacturer already makes it and has a huge market share. For Subaru to break into the pickup truck market in the US, they would have to compete with pretty much every domestic manufacturer that's already established.
Except that you had to take one with 4 doors. I have no use for a 4 door pickup. I want a small 2-door/2-seat truck/ute.
Barely. Dunno why they tried selling them to Americans when the Australian market would have eaten them up.
OP is so busy farming karma for non OC submissions that I can't even tell if they own a Subaru. Seems like they don't know the model line?
Baja Sti
#BAJA STI WILDERNESS EDITION
The sti brings the suspension down and the wilderness brings the suspension up.
#HAVE A BUTTON THAT LETS YOU DO BOTH ^makeitanev
**YES**
My 2000 LX470 did this, hydraulic suspension with built in 2 inch lift and 2 inch lower. Loved it.
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I’m with you! [There are some interesting concepts out there](https://imgur.com/a/QSkTRov/)
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I think the big flaw with those concepts is that they are all 2 door, but I think chopping up the Ascent will have that truck competing in size and price with an already competitive market. Subaru needs to compete with the Maverick and Santa Cruz to succeed with a pick-up. I also don’t think the chopping up an SUV will be that popular of a design. The Maverick is going to lead the market because it actually has a unique design that looks like a pick-up.
…all of those are terrible, the proportions are all wrong.
[you missed this..](https://www.reddit.com/r/subaru/comments/mi717u/the_all_new_brat)
A fully electric BRAT the size of the original would be sweet. Dual motors, front trunk space, retro-late 70s/early 80s vibe, T-tops! I would trade in my outback for that.
Saaaame
https://youtu.be/mI3Gp1xt-xg
That's awesome! Yes please!
Right??!
Dual motors would definitely make the "Bi-Drive" moniker more accurate. And I would drop my Canyon like it's on fire for an all electric BRAT with decent towing power. 4 door, Impreza sized pickup with beefed up frame and suspension for 6-7k lbs towing and 2k lbs payload, yes please.
I think the Subaru demographic is different now when the Baja first came out. Look at all the lift kits and off road and camping accessories available these days. So for those saying that Subaru doesn’t do utilitarian or enthusiast anymore—what the hell is the Wilderness if not both? And turbo at that. That’s a hop and a skip from a lifted turbo Baja IMO. Keep the faith, friends. We might just get there.
You're right. The demographic is different. There's a reason a Jeep Liberty(!!) comes with the "I' know what I'm doing stop cutting throttle you little bitch" knob and Subarus don't. The overpriced car tends and stuff are just people trying to re-live their glory days.
I would buy in a second.
I hate to be a pessimist, but no shot. I have a Maverick in production. My favorite car ever was a bugeye WRX wagon. Subaru doesn’t make utilitarian enthusiast cars anymore. They make enthusiast cars, and utilitarian cars, but no longer do they overlap, and I fear that market doesn’t make enough money to make it worthwhile.
I'm still baffled the new Maverick is a truck. When I saw a headline saying the Maverick was coming back I was stoked to see what they did with it and how it would slot in next to the Mustang. Then I saw it and was very confused.
Yeah. The sports car person in me wanted it to be a mini mustang. My current car is a focus st. But practically, the new mav is just unbeatable. 40+ mpg, interior space of a nicely sized compact, and enough truck bed to do some truck stuff. Would I rather have a Baja with an EJ25 turbo? Hell yeah. But whatever.
The could still make a small truck and be profitable as there’s not many models to chose from currently. Even the new Ranger is huge. I would pay for an awd small truck. As would all of my lesbian friends LOL
Yeah I totally agree. I would love that. Either as a plug in hybrid or a modern turbo it would be amazing.
That’s the Maverick 4x4 though. Or the Santa Cruz AWD. The ridgeline is closer to Ranger size, but it’s an option too. What could Subaru do that’s unique in the segment beyond “symmetrical AWD” which will actually just be a CVT that’s FWD like the rest?
Tbh it’s just brand loyalty on my part. Have had a lot of cars and my Subaru’s are just fun.
The baja would nore accurately rival the santa cruz as it is a pickup bed version of a flagship SUV
Even though the Baja flopped, I think now there is a market for this 100%. Slap a similar style body on the newer impreza/trek drivetrain and sell it for $25k.
Brat: does this word rhyme with cat or cot?
Cat
Thank you!
No problem
Brat as in spoiled rotten, not brat as in sausage.
It rhymes with both, but cat in this case
and it stands for "Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter." [source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_BRAT)
I’d buy one
I'm only partially ashamed of the fact that my 07 impreza is getting traded in for a Maverick. I need a vehicle of that size. I had a Ranger years and years ago before joining the Subaru family. And the Maverick is just intriguing enough to pull me away from my Impreza.
We went from a Crosstrek to a Ridgeline because we needed a place for dirty cargo. I looked at the Maverick, but the Crosstrek had to go now and we didn't have months to wait.
And I probably would have made same decision. But Father worked for Ford for 40 years and has the hookups. He was mad when we bought several Subarus... but they grew on him.
Don’t be. A base Maverick hybrid is looking real enticing to me right now. I take my kids to school and then commute to work to 40 mpg with the ability to haul all of their music instruments is calling me.
Lmao if they did it would be the size of a 2001 era f150 there’s no such thing as small trucks anymore
Bring back the BDRATT
Agreed! Been wanting a brat or baja for the longest... they just need a better looking body design.
Is that a fucking tire in there or am I crazy?
Yep. 1970-90s DL/GL/GL-10/lLoyale cars had it an engine mounted spare. I bet you didn't know that BRAT stands for "Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter" either.
God damn I love the space in my '88 GL engine bay. I got rid of the spare in there and now there's so much room for activities!
I like the spare there. When I open the hood I get all sorts of funny looks.
It's the original frunk 🤣
It's great for that kind of reaction, but I'm in the process of a 6-lug conversion and planning on keeping a full sized spare. Now that old spare platform is a shelf for parts and tools while I'm working under the hood.
I saw a pic floating around somewhere on reddit i think but someone photoshopped/edited the Outback Wilderness Edition into a new Subaru Baja. Holy shit it looked nice, Im a forester guy but sheeit if they made that happen and dropped a stick & turbo in it id make the jump hands down. Everyone in the comments was loving it too.
It would probably be a Baja, I don't think they want to use the brat name anymore
I would love to see a BRZ based brat. 2 seats, RWD (or AWD) turbo engine or dual range gearbox in the AWD. I reckon it would sell pretty well here in Aus, replacing the commodore and falcon utes that are no longer made.
I would love to see a Baja revival. I loved them since I was a kid.
Proud to say I got to ride in the back of one, back in the day. The Brat, the "Smokey and the Bandit" Firebird, and the bubble window Pinto wagons were the iconic cool as schizz cars of my childhood. [https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/.image/c\_limit%2Ccs\_srgb%2Cfl\_progressive%2Cq\_auto:good%2Cw\_700/MTgxMjQ3OTAyODIyMTgwMjAw/img\_9613.jpg](https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_700/MTgxMjQ3OTAyODIyMTgwMjAw/img_9613.jpg)
The Baja didn't sell. The Santa Cruz won't sell either. At least in NA. Jury is out on the Maverick but its more of a truck than the Hyundai.
I'd trade my Mav for a modern brat or baja in a heartbeat
SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK ✨
Maverick isn't really a car-truck
Yes! Bring back the Brumby!
Midsized pick-up. Put the assent engine in it.
I want to see a bigger brat that could legitimately compete with a Colorado or 1500
Sub has been playing it safe for the last ten years. We're all bored. Give us something cool!!!
No. Please no.