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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It gets me where I need to go (: - 2008 Suzuki Forenza
By mwaskey - June 24 - 2:14 amI love my little baby car she gets me where I need to go. I live in Alaska so that is kind of saying something havent gotten stuck or had problems with the car starting up in the freezing cold.
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Poor build quality, dont buy - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
By rick_vandeven - June 19 - 1:43 amMy daugher bought a 2006 Suzuki Forenza with 22,000 miles on it in 2012. Less than a month after her purchase, the transmission selecter switch went out. This switch failed again after 8,000 miles. I stocked up this time. The car required a full tune up at 35,000 miles. The plugs were dust. I have never seen plugs look this bad in a car with this few miles. I replaced the timing belt while I was at it. I had a hunch this was the next item to fail. I just replaced the struts with 50,000 miles. They were absolute junk and would not stand on their own without the springs. Unless you like working on vehicles, do not purchase a 2006 Suzuki Forenza. Poor, poor, poor build quality.
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Love my car - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
By Tragar - June 10 - 2:00 amI have been searching for an affordable vehicle for the past two months. Most of the time if a car was affordable you would be driving a box. The Hyundai Elantra made me feel claustrophobic. When I took the Forenza for a test drive I knew that it was the right vehicle for me. It is roomy and classy at the same time with a great price tag. My last vehicle was a Toyota Camry so you know that I already had high expectations.
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Two interior door handles broken - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
By Donna - May 26 - 6:40 pmThe interior door handles broke on the front driver and passenger sides. Electrical issues....Occasionally, the emergency lights flash when opening the door and will stop when the ignition is turned on..several trips has been made to the dealer but they cannot find the problem. It also causes the AC to randomly blow hot and cold air while in the on position.
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Very Good Car So Far - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
By suzukisok - May 17 - 2:10 amThe poor Forenza takes so much abuse. I dont doubt that these problems do indeed exist for its owners but I have had only two problems with mine. The CD player usually takes 10-15 insertions before it will play. This is the second one and it is as bad or worse than the first. It was replaced under warranty. The second problem is an erratic idle. Sometimes it will idle at 2,000+ RPMs at start-up or even after driving on the freeway and exiting, but I found a fix for this 98% of the time. At 15+ MPH come to a HARD stop (no skid) and wait 3-4 seconds. Why does this work? I have no clue. Otherwise I have has no problems. Also, performance tires make a HUGE improvement in the handling. I love mine.
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A lot of car for the money - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
By john - April 29 - 12:23 amgood more than basic transportation.Comfortable interior with a really good sound system. A nice riding car for its size it does have 4 wheel independant suspension. It seems hard to grow tired sitting in this car on long drives. One nice feature is that the car comes complete no options other than auto or manual trans. My dealership was a very pleasant no hassle dealer.It could use more power on long grades (126 hp) and the fuel economy is alittle short on what I hoped for averaging about 23 mpg with mixed driving. I was very surprized at how many people approached me to tell me how much they really liked the way it looks. Insurance was also cheaper ( no one steals suzukis I guess
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Great car for the money - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
By d281963 - April 28 - 2:00 amThis is an exellent car for the money overall but with a few obvious, easily corrected, cheap details. Its ride and handling were superb even at higher speeds. Interior was quiet and the ride well controlled. Fit and finish were generally on-par with the class. Very good mid-size car at an economy car price, though resale value is still questionable.
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trying to hard - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
By sparkey424 - April 19 - 5:07 pmalthough this is one of my favorite cars i have had, it has a lot of problems. its estimated mpg is [non-permissible content removed]. i have never seen better than 25 mpg. it looks pretty ugly, paint is terrible and is chipping away. has no power what so ever. if i have my ac on and try to go i have to burn the clutch to hell. recently somebody tried to break into my car and messed the locking system up and the dealership wants to charge 1200 dollars for it. break light never goes off. dealer wants 2300 for that. and my airbag light is on, which again is 1200 dollars to fix. although i have no problems with the rims. take it off roading where im not supposed to be and can take the abuse.
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good lil car - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
By Tena Moore Holbrooks - April 13 - 3:12 pmmy 2007 forenza has been very dependable. i passed a few higher priced, newer cars on the side of the road during our snow storm last week. but, me and my forenza got to our location just fine. alot of it has to do with how well you maintain your auto. i have a 2007 with 130k miles with regular oil changes and a recent tune up i look to get many more. and the gas mileage - great!!!!!
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How to Pick a Lemon - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
By Wratchet - April 3 - 4:26 amThe car was great-at first. It ran clean, and was not so quick but picked up fast. Though I kept the car in great condition, oil changes on time, here I am not even two years later finding problems with the transmission that no mechanic can seem to fix. I used to love the car until it started to experience shifting problems-in an AUTOMATIC! This is very disappointing to say the least.