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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  good car.. - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By Jewells - March 23 - 2:00 am

  i drove about 15 small cars before i got this one , its got alot pick up and go.. i drove it from pa to ca and back last week alot fun to drive .. the money i save on this car WOW..i ran into snow and rain did real good ..i love the fact i could had got something bigger ..but i save about $3000.00 on this car and and got good car..and becuse the back sets fold down i got room for very thing i need to get in my car.. one thing i did see looking for cars was all about the same size but big name cars cost alot more, and so seem to small on the inside

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  Mutiple trips to the dealer - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By Therese - March 11 - 10:00 am

  I wanted to buy a vehicle that has a lot of style/ comfort and reliabilty and a good warranty so I chose the Forenza. I purchased this car last Saturday and am happy with all but one aspect of the car...it pulls to the right regardless if Im accelerating or driving at a normal speed. I have made 3 trips to the dealer since buying this vehicle and have been told that this may be NORMAL for this car by the service dept. There is no way it is normal to drive off the road! I have also been told that the hard pull to the right when I accelerate is due to the torque steer/pull. That it is normal for it to due this.

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  great car - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By Miroslav Spajic - March 2 - 4:23 pm

  Great car for the money

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  forenza sedan "S" - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Jean - February 28 - 5:40 am

  This car has so many features I doubt I could list all of them. With the automatic transmission it a takes off really fast with a sufficent amount of pedal pressure, but then it seems to shift to low in order to keep the same acceleration. Other than that its a great car. It has alot of cabin room, great looking interior, and a sleek looking exterior! Everything is automated like windows, gass cap, mirrors (heated) trunk...etc. Seats are manual and uncomfortable. Has driver/passenger, and side airbags. I like the 15" wheels with P195\55R15 Kumho touring tires. Also has very stylish high intensity headlights. 2 cooling fans on radiator. Has 4 wheel disc brakes. Its a great car for the $.

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  Lasted 260K miles. - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By JofNoho - February 21 - 4:13 pm

  I averaged 50K miles a year since I bought this car brand new. No problems until I had to replace the lifters at 110K, not bad. Suzuki recommends timing belt replacement at 60K but I pushed it to 100K and then 200K. It ran great to 260K, it proved to be extremely reliable. There were a few electrical problems, the passengers air bag light came on pretty early on and the headlight switch shorted out at about 150k. Also, suzuki charges a lot for parts and the two mechanics I took it to knew nothing about these cars. Other than that, it was a surprisingly durable car that got me back and forth from work for almost 5 years.

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  Please Read before buying! - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By ccmarie88 - February 18 - 11:03 am

  If I can help anyone about making a decision on buying this car I will feel at least a little bit better about owning it. I have had so many problems with this car in the last year. In the last 4 months I have replaced the serpentine belt, the ENTIRE throttle body ($600), and now the head gasket which thank god is covered by warranty! I took it back for two recalls (the headlights went out and the seat belts were replaced). Its sad how much time I spend in the Suzuki dealership with this car! Now I am stuck with this car and I dont know what to do because I am completely upside down! Do NOT buy!

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  Warranty not good enough - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Allen Holloway - February 15 - 3:53 pm

  I bought the car new in 05 and didnt have any trouble the first year. In the last 12 months, Ive replaced the exhaust system due to catalytic converter failure and the entire a/c system which isnt covered under the 100,000 mile warranty and cost me $2,000.00. I dont get the gas mileage that is advertised either. The ride is okay. A lot of extras come standard on this car such as power windows, cd player and tilt wheel. Overall Im satisfied with the car, I would like to see the 100,000 mile warranty cover everything.

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  $4500 in repair bills in three years - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By Bill D. - February 13 - 10:00 am

  I just put on the fourth set of tires in three and a half years. Just spent $1400 on struts and alignment. Door handles broke off at 50K miles. Power steering pump went out at 70k miles. I have spent enough on repairs to buy a new car, and I am still paying on this one. This $11,000 car is now a $16,000 car. I will never buy another Suzuki product of any type.

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  Will buy another - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By nw - February 1 - 4:03 pm

  Bought new- after I "got to know" the vehicle I really like it-- its made several long trips-- Ive only changed the oil and replaced tires and a couple of headlights-approching 100,000 miles in a week or so-- when its time to replace I will buy another- it looks ok too-- Wish it were rated as a safe vehicle- Thats somewhat of a concern- but all in all very well pleased.

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  Clarity from Reading Customer Reviews - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By rie_2011 - January 19 - 11:11 pm

  Im trying to recover from being layed off for almost 3yrs. The last car I had was dying. Finally just got a new job. I bought my 07 Forenza Sept 2011 from Carmax. reading all the above comments help me accept that I financed a POS. not even 60days yet and already the alternator and transmission sensor has been replaced. Carmax is refusing to let me add the warranty on now; saying I passed up my chance at signing. so Im going to continue being screwed over royally with this POS until I can get something better.