Overview & Reviews

At some point in their lives, most people find themselves in need of a small, inexpensive car that gets them around with minimal hassle. While the names "Civic" and "Corolla" come up in most every small sedan buyer's research, the trouble is that you often pay dearly for these household names. In hopes of attracting people on a tighter budget, Suzuki offered the Forenza from 2004-'08.

This value-oriented compact came in sedan and wagon body styles. It boasted a low price of entry, a roomy interior, European-inspired design, a host of standard features, competitive power figures and a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

At a glance, the well-equipped Suzuki Forenza appeared to offer terrific value. But in our evaluations, we found that it fell short of the segment leaders in terms of performance, fuel economy, handling and interior refinement. Unless you really need the extra space of its available wagon body style in a used car, we recommend that you focus on one of its more worthy competitors.

Most Recent Suzuki Forenza

The Suzuki Forenza debuted in 2004, with the wagon model following in 2005. The Forenza was actually built by the Korean automaker Daewoo and rebadged as the Forenza for the American market. It was offered as a four-door sedan or wagon in a single trim level with various available packages. Standard equipment included four-wheel disc brakes, air-conditioning, front seat side airbags, full power accessories and a CD/MP3 stereo with steering-wheel controls. Notably, ABS was an extra-cost option.

The Forenza was powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 127 horsepower and 131 pound-feet of torque. This engine performed adequately with the manual transmission but felt burdened and underpowered when saddled with the four-speed automatic. To make matters worse, it wasn't particularly fuel-efficient or refined, either.

The Forenza's cabin was something of a mixed bag, too. It was spacious, with lots of stylish metallic accents, but this was offset by inconsistent materials quality and an overall lack of refinement and quality compared with class leaders. If you can get past that, there was lots of rear legroom for adults and a 60/40-split-folding seatback for extra utility. The sedan provided 12 cubic feet of trunk capacity, with the wagon offering nearly 62 cubic feet of space with the rear seat folded.

On the road, the Suzuki Forenza exhibited soft, rubbery handling and a poor ride quality compared with its competitors, as well as excessive wind noise on the highway. Although it was compliant enough, it exhibited little suspension control over bumps and ruts. Handling around corners was loose and unsure, with excessive body roll and minimal grip from the tires. When merging into traffic, automatic-equipped Forenzas accelerated weakly, and any such maneuver took some advance planning.

Changes were slight during the Suzuki Forenza's run. For 2005, side impact airbags became standard for all Forenzas. The Forenza was freshened up a bit for 2006, receiving a new front fascia, redesigned seats, new wheels and revised trim levels. Bluetooth became available for 2008.

User Reviews:

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  Who wudda thunk? - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By Car Dealers Kid - May 20 - 9:30 am

  Edmunds Reviews gave us our first hint about the Suzuki Forenza Wagon and then when we saw the incredible design and size and all the standard options we were "goners." A fantastic warranty adds a big "plus" This car is truly, a "diamond in the rough"

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  Best Car Ever - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Angie Ward - May 17 - 4:46 pm

  I love this car. I have never had a problem with it and it has been driven back and forth across the country five times. My husband is an auto tech and is still surprised at the little amount of work that has had to be done. I have only had to have regular oil changes done.

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  Dont waste your money - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By crissy03 - May 9 - 10:31 pm

  I too own a Suzuki Forenza 05 and as soon as it reached the 58,000 mile mark it began in a down spiral. Not to mention that the Suzuki dealer in my area couldn’t even fix the problems which is pretty sad. It all began when the lock on my driver’s side became unscrewed you could literally hear the lock rattling around in my car door of course I had to promptly get this issue fixed. Then I began having problems with my car not starting properly. I would try and start my car and it would immediately die, after a couple of rounds of this it would eventually start up the engine would sputter than it would began to drive smooth. The day this began I took the car into the dealer (by the way my che

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  Always in the shop! - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By EJLowerre - April 25 - 8:06 am

  Bought this car to have a new reliable way to get to work (100miles/day). Within the first 5,000 miles we got a rattle in the dash, now at 30,500 it still is not fixed after 5 trips to the shop!, We also have had 5 check engine light experinces, replaced throttle body and control arm bushings. The car is at the dealers more than my driveway. I got a lemon off the lot! Will never buy another Forenza. even the floor mats wore out in less than 20,000 miles

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  Dont Buy This Car - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Mike - April 18 - 9:33 am

  Proceeding up a bridge in my Suzuki Forenza, the engine died taking out the power steering and brakes. The Forenza began to roll backwards into oncoming and merging traffic in a two lane construction area. I was able to avoid a serious multi-car accident with quick use of the emergency brake. The dealer wasnt immediately sure what went wrong and contacted Suzuki Tech Support. Sight unseen, they were told to order a list of parts including water pump, timing belt and complete head assembly. Suzuki denied the frequent occurrence of this failure, but knew the exact parts to replace? The water pump pulley had been installed backwards, allowing the timing belt to skip. This car is unfit for American roads. Recall it!

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  Great Car - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By sm - April 2 - 8:43 am

  This is our second Forenza and we have been extremely happy with the car. It is very attractive inside and out. It has a comfortable ride and is very dependable. I like the addition of the side airbags and the reassurance of the great warranty, but we have not needed to use it yet. The car is a lot roomier inside, both in the front seat and the back, than you expect it be. When someone rides in the car with me for the first time, their comment is always how surprised they are at how roomy / comfortable / sharp it is. The Forenza is a comfortable road trip car, too!

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  Lousy - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By A chump - March 28 - 7:50 pm

  Fuel economy turned out to be lousy. Companies say 21 MPG in the city. That might be the one they tested. But the one I had only 17 MPG in the city. Going city to city was 19 MPG. Facts are facts. Thats why I got rid of it.

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  I love my Suzuki - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By lig1948 - March 11 - 11:10 am

  In my opinion the Forenza is one of the best looking traditional station wagons around. For the price, I dont think you can find anything better.

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  Not bad at first - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By curt fletcher - March 5 - 2:00 am

  If you notice reading all of these reviews, the recent ones are not good. All of the good reviews are from 2006-2007 when the car is fairly new with not a lot of miles on it. Seems like once it hits the 50,000-60,000 mile range is when things start to go pretty rough. Our front door handles broke off quite early, but they replaced them at the dealership no problem. Just recently the transmission has been slipping and has almost caused a few accidents. Ive noticed the tires arent the greatest either, seems like a pretty uncommon tire size, too. Luckily the car is under warranty, so hopefully I can get the transmission problem fixed soon.

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  nice car - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By Sarita - March 1 - 2:00 am

  Liked price and looks and features and price,real sporty. Just got and having fun .One nightmare was the only way to get it was the high financing for 66 months of 296.00 and 100.00 down ..What happened to the advertized low payments ,this is going to turn off my friends who like my car, can anyone help on a better rate. I pay my bills.