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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  Door Handles - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By L. Fago - September 30 - 6:46 pm

  We are also habing issues with the door handles, three of the four have broken off already. Our inside light does not work and our Air bag lights will come on weather some one is in the seat or not. I would NOT purchase a 2007 Suzuki Forenza.

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  Disappointment - 2008 Suzuki Forenza
  By Denny&Lorena - July 24 - 2:10 am

  Poor fuel milage for a car this size. Inherrant problems with tire wear and admitted problems with head gasket (loosing coolant)as pointed out by an authorized Suzuki service dept.

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  drive lights cause my car to catch on fire - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By mgay - July 23 - 6:39 am

  on my 2007 forenza the drive lights would not turn off. drove kids to basketball practice and smelled smoke look down and fire was down by my leg. the wire harness had melted and caught on fire!! now car want start. another motoris had to spray fire extinquisher into car to put out fire what a mess !!! but problem is recall for car is not honored what a ripoff!!! i can not keep tires on car thread wear is crazy and air conditioner blows but not cold even though it is full of freon do not buy this car !!!!!!!!!! please anybody know of a recall other than seat belts

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  Piece of Junk - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By matt - April 17 - 6:50 am

  My 07 Forenza only starts when it wants to, the check engine light comes on all the time, and it has a very bad trade in value! Say no to Suzuki!

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  scared to depend - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By marline - March 13 - 10:43 pm

  I bought this car so that I would be able to go home when I wanted to. 4 hour drive. Now Im afraid to go that far. Transmission sensor was just replaced today, still feel a small hiccup though. Not sure what that was. Tires were defective when I purchased the car, but the dealership says that theres nothing wrong with them. Started shaking at 60 mph a month ago I was informed that car was just out of line. I have to admit though, my dealership is awesome about getting it in and getting it fixed. I just Wonder when theyll get tired of it. Oh back door just started sticking as well. No one uses that door. Hmm! Does anyone else pay higher insurance because of the safety rating on this car.

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  not so good...do your research: recalls, reliability, parts - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By girlwithacar - March 7 - 8:21 pm

  You would be better off investing in a good, credible, affordable vehicle. Suzuki no longer makes cars; therefore, the parts are difficult to find and most of their car dealerships are few and far between (in other words, very few exist to service those with Suzuki cars.) I purchased a 2004 Suzuki Forenza in 2006, and it had about 20, 000 miles on it. It stopped working in June 2013 because it needed a new PCM ($1,230 to repair) and it had about 103,000 miles. However, between the time that I had it and the time that it died, the car had major issues with gasket, valve, oil, trans sensor. Also, it had at least 4 recalls on parts so be sure to do your research.

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  Ok Vehicle, would rather have different - 2008 Suzuki Forenza
  By PM - December 11 - 3:53 am

  This car has been dependable since I got it, of course it only had 6 miles and was new. I dont like the slow acceleration, and rough handling on bumps. I think the car gets good speed once it is pushed and broken in. The gas does not justice, I had way better usage in my V6 Pontiac Grand Prix then this little 4 cylinder. I wish I would of taken better looks into it and not have let the warranty win me over cause now I want another car so bad and I dont want this car.

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  Rides too low - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By d..a. - December 9 - 4:43 am

  The Suzuki Forenza rides very low, plus there is a obvious lack of respect from other drivers on the road. I feel inferior. The gas mileage is disappointing at 24 mpg overall. I expected 27-28. If I had a do over, I would have purchased a Suzuki Aerio SX. It is really nice and is much taller and made better, in the US instead of in Korea. Or perhaps I would have bought a Toyota Matrix. Also, I have learned that Suzuki dealerships, I have gone to three of them, are not very professional or knowledgeable about their vehicles. I had questions about synthetic oil and some other stuff and they gave me the wrong info. I tried to trade my Forenza back in after only four months and Suzuki wouldnt give me anything for my car. They did not want it back.

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  Suzuki Forenza - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By kevin - November 25 - 5:33 am

  I bought this car for work. I drive 134 miles per day to and from work. This car is not roomy enough and does not get very good gas millage on open highway. At 70 miles per hour I average just under 27 miles per gallon. My driving is all highway, with only 4 lights each way. I am not very happy with this performance, but the dealership says it is within the specs.

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  Poor Choice for Your Kids - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By Mic - November 23 - 10:00 pm

  This car has been a real dog from the beginning. The only good thing is its under warranty for 9,000 more miles. However, I doubt we will keep it that long. We have had repeated problems with three different sensors and had to issue a complaint to obtain a car to drive while mine was being serviced because of its poor quality. You couldnt give me one of these things.