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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  My Forenza - 2008 Suzuki Forenza
  By john - May 2 - 4:06 am

  This car is economical with gas. It gets you to where you want to go in a relaxed way. I love it so much.

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  I like !! - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By roy71 - April 8 - 6:12 am

  Well, we got the Forenza 6 months ago with 29,000 miles. It now has 36,400 miles and only "problem" was one bent rim, which was no cost to us, the dealer even put a new tire on it for us =) I think its fun to drive, we have the 5speed manual. The design is really awesome, it beats the boring civic or corolla hands down. It has proven reliable so far. It seems like you get a really bad Forenza or a really good one. Ive read the reviews, after we bought it, if i would had read them before we bought it, honestly i probably would not have purchased it, but i dont regret purchasing it =)

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  Very Nice - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By Trenlor - March 15 - 4:36 am

  We walked in the dealership and told them what we wanted to pay and BAM... They showed us Suzi ;) Super nice for the price. We paid $8,999 with 26k on it. Runs like a top. Gas mileage for a so called econo car is pretty bad. We get about 23 MPG with 87 octane. But, thats ok! We love the interior to this car. Very sharp looking. People say its noisy in other reviews and I can tell you that this car is quiet!! Maybe they drive on gravel roads and go 4 wheeling. Driving this car is an absolute pleasure!! Handles nice but does have some sway to it. Drive like a human and this car will treat you right. Overall we love this car. Super features for the price.

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  Never Thought I would Like a Suzuki - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By KDawg - March 4 - 9:50 am

  I bought this car for my 60 mile one way commute to work. I only bought it because it was cheap as it was a 2007 I bought in 2008 from a new dealership. At this point I would definitely reccomend this car to anyone. It has decent pickup (No race car) great highway mileage, and has cruise, cd, MP3, A/C and the works. No reliability issues either. I am still a truck guy, but for a compact, I love my Forenza.

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  Decent Car - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By AznFineDude - January 28 - 9:43 am

  The Suzuki Forenza is a good value and a great looking car. Its gas millage would be better if a more powerful engine is in place.

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  2006 Suzuki Forenza - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By mark - January 1 - 10:56 am

  My car gets me where I need to go. Forenzas and other Suzuki cars can be had at a more than reasonable price with no haggling.

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  Not Too Bad - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By mark - December 8 - 6:56 am

  I purchased this car new in Sept. 06. I have already put 5,000 miles on it and have not had any major problems. The air bag warning light came on and it turned out to be a wire connection in the drivers seat was loose. Next was the check engine light, that one turned out to be the gas cap not sealing properly. As far as the gas mileage goes, I have found that if I use a higher octane 91 or greater the fuel mileage improves. 87 octane is just no good in this car. I drove mine from San Diego to Texas and back and found I was getting about 360+ miles per tank with 91+ octane as opposed to about 300 to 325 mi on 87 octane fuel.

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  Happy so far - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Mstarr - November 25 - 6:03 am

  I have had my Forenza now for 2 years. No major problems except for the seat fabric keeps coming off. Fuel mileage is poorer than expected. Ride is ok.

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  Great car! - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By kinkyllama - October 28 - 11:10 am

  Ive had my Forenza for over 40,000 miles and Ive taken it to about 20 hours of open track events plus autocrosses and she just keeps holding up! Have only had one problem which the dealer fixed. I have no complaints, I love this car!

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  Interior Problems - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By Gladys - October 26 - 12:23 am

  Me and my husband bought this car in 2007 and was very satisfy at first. Later, our door handles start falling off, we took it to the dealer to be repaired, and they told us this problem was not under warranty. At this point, we are very dissatisfied.