The unibody design borrowed heavily from the existing mechanicals, platform and sheet metal of the Subaru Legacy/Outback wagon.

The design featured two stainless steel exposed buttresses[1] behind the passenger compartment, marketed as Sports Bars, providing structural reinforcement for the open bed.

Features included tinted rear door windows and rear window; an integrated bed liner; a dual-illumination bed light; four bed tie-down hooks; molded-in recesses to receive standard 2x4's to enable customized (e.g., bi-level) storage; standard roof rails with cross bars; a tow rating of 1,100 kg (2,400 lb), a rear seat center position rigid hinged storage compartment with integral twin cupholders, rear-seat power supply, rear-seat center storage net, map-pockets at rear of each front seat; an under-bed mounted spare tire, operable via a cable winch accessible from an access panel in the bed, and a fold-down license plate holder allowing the plate to be visible with the tailgate down.

Limited advertising, late arrival of the turbo-charged model, heavily styled lower-body plastic cladding and a yellow-and-silver introductory color scheme discouraged broad appeal.

James Healey, writing for USAtoday at the time of the Baja's introduction called it a "controversial fashion statement with limited utility".

Powers's APEAL (for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study) Award—measuring owner satisfaction with the design, content, layout and performance of their new vehicles for "Most Appealing Compact Pickup" and the Consumer Reports 2006 highest score for reliability in the pickup truck category.