2003 Subaru Baja Back to the Future in a Subaru. By John Rettie, New Car Test Drive .com

Remember the Subaru Brat?

If so, you are probably over 30 years old. It was a unique vehicle, some would say funky. It was a small two-passenger sedan with a pickup bed on the back that contained two crude seats facing toward the rear.

Now it has been re-incarnated in a thoroughly modern form as the 2003 Subaru Baja. This time, however, it is a much more civilized and practical vehicle with seating for four people as well as a modest pickup bed. It is currently the only car-based four-door crew cab pickup on the market. Plus its offers all-wheel drive. Subaru likes to call the Baja a Leatherman on wheels. And Subaru prefers that we forget the Brat.

The 2003 Subaru Baja comes as one model, starting at $23,995 (MSRP).

Baja offers a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission, which costs an additional $800. There are not a lot of options meaning that even a fully loaded Baja should stay under $27,000.

The list of standard features is quite extensive and includes leather seats, power adjustable driver seat, air conditioning, a decent stereo system with CD player, moonroof, power doors, windows and mirrors and a remote key system.

Accessories for holding bikes, skis and other objects are available from Subaru to make the Baja more versatile.