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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  Surprised by Suzuki - 2005 Suzuki Forenza
  By Richard G II - November 14 - 9:13 am

  Being in a labor Union (local 1175 baby!) comes with it an unspoken rule to buy american. I went to dodge, ford, and chevy looking for a compact car to fit my needs (being 21, my dream vette is still a bit out of my league). After thorough review, I ended up in a suzuki dealership. The warranty alone justified me buying brand new (upgraded to 7/100k bumper2bumper) but the car itself was full of options! I couldnt make myself go back to the other dealerships and pay more for less!

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  Best Deal Ever - 2008 Suzuki Forenza
  By Pittsburgh Kid - November 3 - 2:53 am

  We bought this for my wife, after looking at numerous cars and sitting behind the wheel, she like this the best. She was happy with the styling, performance and handling. No other manufactor could come near the price and the warranty is great. I have owned Suzukis before and Im very happy with their reliabilty. She wanted the sunfoof model but they were sold out.

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  Door Handles - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By KarmicX - October 4 - 10:00 am

  I just called Suzuki because I heard of the recall on certain Suzuki models. The door handles have all broken. They want to do nothing but charge me a phenomenal rate to fix them. Its a flaw they had when using cheap door handles. I love that Suzuki is standing behind their product. I drive with my kids all the time and this is a safety issue. If you cant exit the vehicle without unrolling the automatic windows and the back passengers cant even reach their exterior door handles to exit doesnt this constitute a severe safety issue.

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  Ive had no problems... - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By liljohn32 - August 6 - 3:37 pm

  Im sorry to the people that have had bad luck with this car, but I cant say the same thing. My wife and I bought our car in 2007 and it has about 95000 miles on it now. We have had to replace the tires twice and two of the indoor door handles broke off, but that wasnt the cars fault, that was stupid peoples faults. We just had to put it in the shop and have to have a sensor replaced on the transmission, but besides that, it hasnt given us any problems.

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  This car has been great! - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By Emily - July 6 - 2:00 pm

  I own the base model manual 5 speed when I bought it I compared most cars in its class. I found the brakes and airbags seemed to be extra on all the other cars. I needed a good reliable car to take me around the Western US. I am not technical or know much about cars but I think I did great for the cost, quality and warranty.

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  Awesome! - 2006 Suzuki Forenza
  By Marty Charette - May 7 - 2:50 pm

  I just bought this beautiful car and I love it! I havent had it for long, so I cant say much, but I am so far satisfied! But what does that hold button do next to the shifter?

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  DOOR Handles - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By Door Handles - April 18 - 4:53 pm

  Ive had my 2007 Forenza for a year now, it runs good and gets good gas milage but 2 of my door handles have allready broken off and i treat my car very good, both broke on the inside of the car, i think that this is a defect in the materials. whats the chance of breaking off two of them?

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  This Car has been Good to Me - 2007 Suzuki Forenza
  By Kerry - March 22 - 7:36 pm

  Yes, this is a cheap car, but I paid a cheap price. I got what I paid for. Never a break down, always reliable, NO problems at all and I have driven this car hard since Nov 2006 when I bought brand new. I didnt know there was a recall on seat belts, was not notified. Guess I should check on that. I have never had one single problem. Not sure why everyone else is.

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  Great first car - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By NIUman - February 7 - 10:00 am

  I really like this car. It is fun and easy to drive. I do not like the gas milage, but I guess that expected when I drive 80 miles a day. $20.00 a tank every four or five days is pricy, but the overall price of the car is unbeatable. It is not much more than to buy a quality used car. Great car, I would definatly buy another.

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  Loved my Forenza (yes LOVED) - 2004 Suzuki Forenza
  By DF - January 14 - 1:30 am

  I bought my Forenza new and have had little problems with it. Replaced the headlights within two years and just recently one taillight. The reason I say loved, is that I totalled it this past weekend. I was involved in an accident and the whole front end of the car whas demolished. Yes this is good news, the whole passenger compartment was fine. The officer said he was amazed that the four of us walked away. Ive heard good things about Suzukis safety and now I can say that they are true.