Same Idea, 26 Years Apart: 1980 Subaru Brat vs 2006 Subaru Baja

Good morning, and happy Friday to you all! For our end of the week showdown, we have a Subaru truck, and… a Subaru truck. So let’s finish up with yesterday’s plain white sedans, so we can get to them:

A rare win for a lackluster Chrysler product! I’m not sure if that means it’s the better choice, or just less bad. But I agree; in my younger days I probably would have chosen the Accent for the manual, but now at fifty, I’m much more inclined to choose the comfy car. And compared to a Hyundai subcompact, that Stratus is like riding on a cloud. So to speak.

For today’s choices, I have the fine folks over at Opposite Lock to thank. I had already spotted one of them, but I had no idea what to put up against it, until Oppo members “Beefchips” and “Highlander” suggested the perfect idea: the same car, only newer. Of course. Why didn’t I think of that? Thanks, fellas!

1980 Subaru Brat – $4,495

Engine/drivetrain: 1.6 liter overhead valve flat 4, four-speed manual, part-time 4WD

Location: Longview, WA

Odometer reading: 158,000 miles

Runs/drives? Excellent, they say

The Subaru Brat (or BRAT, for the pedantic, standing for “Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transport”) is one of the most egregious vehicular tax dodges of all time. It’s a pickup truck; anyone with any sense of automobile taxonomy would call it a pickup truck, but because it technically seats four, Subaru circumvented the infamous “chicken tax,” a 25 percent tariff on light trucks. But wait, you’re about to ask, it’s a single-cab truck; where do those other two passengers ride?

In the back, of course, holding on to a pair of rubber-gripped “oh shit handles” for dear life. These seats were welded in place, so they could be called “permanent.” Many Brat owners cut them out to make full use of the bed. I’m actually surprised to see this one with its jump seats intact.

Inside the cab, the driver and the one passenger they actually like are treated to such luxuries as heat and seatbelts, and get to sit in these snazzy plaid seats. The vinyl is a bit cracked in places, but for its age, this thing is in remarkable shape inside. The seller says it runs and drives “excellent,” but leave extra time to get where you’re going – the little carbureted pushrod flat-four in this truck only makes 67 horsepower.

Cosmetically it looks pretty good, except for a little boop on the nose and some unevenly faded paint. I’ve always liked these early Subaru steel “wagon wheels,” too. And I like the brown; when I was a kid I had a Stomper 4×4 toy that looked just like this.

2006 Subaru Baja – $5,900

Engine/drivetrain: 2.5 liter overhead cam flat 4, five-speed manual, AWD

Location: Santa Fe, NM

Odometer reading: 199,000 miles

Runs/drives? Yep

Subaru dropped the Brat in the US after the 1986 model year, and then went sixteen long years before offering another vehicle with a pickup bed: the Baja. This time it was based on the Outback station wagon, with four doors, so the rear-seat passengers could sit inside, out of the rain. This would have neatly avoided the chicken tax again, but the Baja didn’t need the help; it was built in Indiana.

This Baja is from the final year of production; the Baja is one of those vehicles that everyone loved the idea of, but nobody bought. Only 30,000 were sold. This one has a five-speed stick, but it doesn’t have the hot turbocharged engine that was available. It’s all wheel drive, of course, like every Subaru from the mid-90s onward.

The dealership selling it doesn’t give us a lot of information to go on regarding its condition, and it does have nearly 200,000 miles on it, but Subarus seem to hang in there all right, as long as you keep up on the maintenance. You would be wise to ask about the head gaskets, since they are this car’s mechanical Achilles heel. At this mileage, I would imagine they’ve been replaced once.

We don’t get many photos either, but from what we can see, it looks straight and undamaged, with only a couple of minor dings and some wear and tear inside. It’s kind of boring in silver; I prefer the yellow-and-silver two-tone Bajas myself.

Sadly, Subaru doesn’t make anything like the Brat or Baja anymore, and is unlikely to ever again. But as usual, the aftermarket has you covered: a company called Smyth Performance (which you might remember from the Charger ute we showed you last week) offers a DIY kit to turn an Impreza or WRX into something resembling a 21st century Brat. But if you’re unwilling to take a Sawzall to a perfectly good Subaru, you can always go for the factory option. You’ve got two eras to choose from. Which one will it be?

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)