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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  decent car for the money - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By csk17061 - September 21 - 6:24 am

  i bought this car new in 2007 to use as a work car. it currently has 128,000 miles on it. the car is made a bit cheap but you get what you pay for. for under 10 grand new it was a great buy. the only problems i had aside from basic maintenance is the interior door handles break easily but they are only 4 bucks to buy from a dealer and it takes 15 minutes to put it on. it does seep oil out of the valve cover but again very easy and cheap to fix. this is a picky car, but just like any car if you dont do the routine maintenance things will go wrong. in short, the car is now 5 years old, still runs great and gets the same 32 MPG it did when i bought it.

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  Great car - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Ray - September 15 - 6:26 pm

  My parents bought this car two days ago and wow. Im an automatic man and the manual trans. is very easy to get use to. This car is awsome to drive ive already street raced a dude in a supped up Accord and beat him. The handling could be a bit better and the stopping distance but it is still great. The fuel gage stayed 1/8 past full, but after 70 miles it dropped dramatically. its now has 86 miles and there 7/8 of a tank left which is great. i love this car great trunk room and plenty of cabin space. im 61 195 and i have plenty of room. For 11,000 you cant go wrong.

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  The Good And The Bad - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Robert - September 11 - 12:46 am

  Overall I am satisied with the vehicle. It has a rigid body, well constructed and free of rattles or excessive road noise. The engine is strong, transmission shifting smooth, it should be better on gas though. It responds well to throttle and has good braking. The S mode provides many good standard options included in base price. By far the biggest mistake is in not providing cruise control as part of the standard options. The dealer is unable to install a cruise control as Suzuki does not offer one as a dealer option. No other cruise control is offered by any other vendors. Now I am stuck with no hopes of ever getting a cruise control installed.

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  Great Buy!!! - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By OUR4NZA - August 30 - 2:00 am

  I was at a car show and was not really looking to buy. After seeing many cars and not being to impressed, I saw the Forenza. I ended up buying the car that night. The overall design of the car was very appealing to the eye. All the standard features was a big plus. All the other cars were very basic and kinda plain inside. The price was right and also good gas mileage. Having great fun driving. My first new car in 20 years.

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  Great car for the price I paid - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Rubens - August 12 - 9:00 pm

  A lot of features is standard in the car, as a 4 wheel disk brakes, power mirror, windows and lock, roof rack. 24 MPG in the city and 30 MPG in the freeway, I did many travel on this winter and the average was 30 MPG (5 speed).

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  Janets Forenza - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Jimmy Hembree - July 17 - 9:40 am

  My Forenza is eye catching, the ride is good, the handling is good, the interior is good, but the engine performance is lacking. Plus it onlu has average fuel ecomomy. Its feels more comfortable crusing at high speeds. The car has been in the shop twice, other than for regular service; once for the drivers side air bag light, and the second time for the drivers side air bag light and for an entire A/C system failure.

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  Brand new - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By BLS - July 14 - 10:00 am

  My husband and I just purchased this vehicle and we think that it will be a great car. We bought it first for its fuel economy. But it has a great design and lots of fun colors. He likes it because the manual is very peppy. It also has a dash board that does not reflect sunlight which i think is one of the coolest features along with the cd player and the drl and the seatbelt in the back that does both cross and lap belts. It also has one of the highest safety records. I would recommend this car to anyone who is thinking about

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  Good Value for the Price - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By mswillard - July 11 - 6:33 pm

  Overall this car is a good value for the money. We bought this car on functionality and overall price. We have been fairly pleased. The car performs more or less as promised. Handling is good and power is ok. The mpg has been less than average in the city and better than average on the highway. The car get 15-16 in the city for us, but over 30 on the highway. We have had to take the car in 3 times in less than two years. The orginal tires where horrible, felt like they were out of balance and this grew worse with time. Two times they checked the balance issue, stating it was a tire issue. This has been fixed with different tires. Also we have had a cold idle issue too. 16,000 mi.

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  Safe Car - 2008 Suzuki Forenza
  By TC - July 7 - 4:10 am

  I had a black metallic Forenza until someone ran a red light hitting me on the passenger side of my car causing me to become airborne and going under the wheel of an F 250. All that and I walked away without any injuries. Plus the driver airbag did not deploy and i am still having questions about that. After all that I am still going to buy another Suzuki because my Forenza never put me down.

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  A Fair Vehicle for the Money - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By Jose Jimenez - July 5 - 7:16 pm

  My Suzuki Forenzas confort is aceptable, more roomy than it seems it would be from the outside. It has a huge trunk and looks very expensive. I like the body, the lines look like a Volvo from behind and a BMW from front. The front lights are beatiful and so are the rear lights. This car is very cvonfortable and does the job without spending a fortune. The safety features, such ABS, save a fortune on insurance. Behind the wheel, this car feels like a Porsche. The leather on the wheel and shifter are a nice touch. For commuters, this is a nice car.