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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  Yuck - 2008 Suzuki Forenza
  By Joe - October 25 - 1:00 pm

  The acceleration on this is terrible. The seats feel like youre sitting on a rock. The gas mileage is OK and thats being nice. I guess I just expected more out of this car considering Im paying $455 a month for it and theres no cruise control. Even my 1993 Chevy S10 had cruise control.

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  Worst Car Experience - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By adam - August 14 - 9:33 am

  This car has many electrical, and powertrain problems that may not be detected until after the standard and powertrain warranty. There are so many complaints floating around that raises questions about Suzuki Autos quality control. Not every vehicle is free of problems, but this is ridiculous. My advice, avoid the Forenza at all costs. The 2005 Forenza Wagon and other problematic models should be put out of their misery. Save your money, do your research, and invest in a more reliable auto. Dont even get me started on trying to get repairs done on this. This by far is the worst car experience Ive ever had. :(

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  Piece of Junk - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By ang - August 13 - 11:00 am

  I bought this car new. Since then I had to have my passenger door painted. My windshield wipers are rusted my rear view mirror always has a vibration. Also like many others I had a door handle break. Now every time I drive my car looses the gas my car looses speed. Now it has a leak under the engine as well. This is very unsafe and of course they tell my nothing is wrong with my car. Not reliabe and not safe. Worst car ever I will never buy another Suzuki. Dont waste your money no wonder they dont make these cars anymore.

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  Suzuki...if only! - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By kungfuking - May 11 - 4:35 pm

  This car is made by 3 (thats right 3) different motor companies. This vehicle is part Suzuki, part Daewoo and part Cheverolet....all LEMON. Dont believe me look under the hood you will see American and Asian parts put together attempting to work in harmony with each other. If you need a cheap car dont look here the maintenance is just too much.

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  Things that go wrong - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By Forezna - February 18 - 11:13 am

  I have my Forenza for 3 years with no problems. Until now in the last 6 weeks I have replaced my battery ($100.00), emc chip ($1200.00). A transmission chip ($1200.00) brakes router redone ($277.00) all 4 struts ($1154.00). And transmission assembly ($280.00)-- I have never had a car with so much problems in such a short time Spam -- I am getting rid of the car and never going back to it. I thought it was a nice car -- I have 50,128 miles on it -- its only 4 years old! I can understand the brakes and maybe the battery but not the others this early in the life of the car. Most people dont have this kind of money to spend on their car. It took all my savings I am getting a new car asap!

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  Hunk of Junk - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By Pat Hillyer - October 27 - 6:30 pm

  It has ten thousand miles. It started not starting correctly at 4 thousand. At ten thousand just quit entirely. They put in nes software. That lasted one day. Then it would not start again.It has been the shop a week and while I am paying $300 a month---I can ride the bus. Would I buy another? No. Would I take another as a gift--doubt it. The only good thing is the guarantee Te rest is a hunk of junk

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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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  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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  Gas a Holic - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Steve - June 28 - 2:43 am

  Purchased a Forenza LX Wagon , auto trans and all the bells and whistles. While I did realize the vehicle was no penny pincher in the fuel economy arena, I am disappointed in the fact I am averaging only 13 to 14 MPG in City driving. Automakers need to meet actual fuel economy estimates and not be allowed to sell vehicles that do not meet the advertised specifications. Hoping MPG will increase, and I wont be disappointed in my first foreign auto.

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  Airbag Issue? - 2008 Suzuki Forenza
  By denise_from_sc - April 8 - 3:56 am

  Our Suzuki was totaled out after an older Ford Explored hit the driver side on March 19th of this year. None of the airbags deployed. I loved my car. I doubt I will ever buy another just for that fact. A co-worker has an 07 Forenza...was hit by a deer...twice, within a a few months of each other. Practically the same spot on car, and location within her community; and neither time did the airbags deploy. How can you trust a car that isnt protecting you?!