Overview & Reviews

No matter how you slice it, the departed Suzuki Reno was basically a Suzuki Forenza wagon with a slightly more stylish body. It shared that car's basic architecture, engine and transmission. A four-door compact hatchback, the Reno should make for an affordable used car with plenty of interior space and lots of features. Don't expect class-leading performance, however, as the Reno lagged behind the competition in virtually every driving-related category -- even fuel economy.

Most Recent Suzuki Reno

The Suzuki Reno debuted for the 2005 model year. With its emphasis on value, the Reno's long list of standard features took center stage. Many modern compact cars come standard with power door locks and windows, a tilt wheel and other convenience features, but the Reno went a little further by offering such features as a micron air-filtration system for the cabin, a CD stereo with MP3 capability and a height- and lumbar-adjustable driver seat -- all without requiring the buyer to check a single box on the options list.

Clearly the Suzuki Reno has excellent value as a used car. Still, "excellent value" doesn't exactly mean comfort or power. While the EX trim level was loaded and included features like leather seats, remote keyless entry and cruise control, the Reno in any trim offered barely adequate performance. This was particularly true in the acceleration department, with subpar fuel economy adding insult to injury. Handling was also less than spectacular, as Suzuki endowed the Reno with a soft, smooth ride at the expense of cornering ability. However, this is a trade-off that the average consumer will likely appreciate.

Because the 127-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine has to work so hard to keep up, a good deal of engine noise makes its way into the cabin. Competitors like the Mazda 3 are more refined and quicker by comparison.

The Reno's interior came up short as well when compared to other domestic and import-branded small cars. The materials were of low quality and many panels simply didn't fit correctly. We suggest that shoppers looking for an inexpensive used hatchback skip the Reno and check out more viable choices.

Changes were minimal during the Suzuki Reno's run. Model year 2006 brought the addition of a standard tilt steering wheel and new seat fabrics, while '07 saw the inclusion of a standard tire pressure monitoring system for all trim levels. Unfortunately for audiophiles, the formerly standard eight-speaker stereo was dropped altogether for '08, leaving a meager four-speaker unit in its stead.

User Reviews:

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  Under the Shadow - 2006 Suzuki Reno
  By JP007 - July 16 - 1:43 am

  While overshadowed by bigger names such as the Toyota Scion series, Mazda, Honda, and others, the Suzuki Reno stands as the under dog. With "European Styling", a comfortable and spacious interior,a fun driving experience, and an affordable price tag, the Suzuki Reno is perfect for the average college student or young person. The Reno is an all-around fun car, and you wont be embarrassed to show it off to your friends. I would suggest the Suzuki Reno to anyone in the market for a very nice and practical new car.

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  I dont get it - 2006 Suzuki Reno
  By aaron98762001 - July 5 - 1:22 pm

  Ive been reading reviews and not one was good. My reno will fly, i read one that said it had trouble keeping up in traffic. To be a 2.0 this car is fast, i believe very dependable. Ive had no trouble, its a little rough on gas. But alot better than my 6 cylinder.

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  Extremely Well Thought Out - 2007 Suzuki Reno
  By Charley Reno - June 4 - 11:13 am

  The Suzuki Reno is a superb value. Up and coming Suzuki delivers with just the right formula. It has unique and attractive styling, in and out. It also has lots of standard features, pretty darn good stereo CD with four 2-way speakers and four 1" tweeters (all 8 are door-mounted). I like its smooth acceleration and seamless shifting. It has nice 15" tires with full wheel covers. I also like the 8-way driver seat plus 3-position lumbar support. Its no hot rod, but for less than $14,000 theres a DOHC 2.0 liter 4-cylinder GM-designed engine that is more than adequate (made in Australia). Obviously, the gas mileage will not be 33/38 like the tin cans out there get, but 22/30 aint bad. Plus, youre getting a lot more car for almost the same price. Definitely check this one out.

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  A Good buy Even Better - 2007 Suzuki Reno
  By SportDog - May 22 - 12:33 am

  The Reno has a lot more get up an go than I had expected. On my trip home from the dealer I had stopped for a traffic signal and pulled out when the light changed and was up to 35 mph when I realized I was still in 5th gear. I got 29 mpg on the trip home from the dealer. I decided to drive from home to the top of Whitetop mountain (1,600 ft to 3,100 ft altitude). It went up the mountain at 40 mph in 5th gear with no feeling of strain or handling problems on the 25 mph curves. When the pavement gave way to gravel and 4 inches of snow I down shifted to 4th gear and slowed down to 35 mpg and zipped past several 4 wheel drive vehicles sitting in the ditches. Mu 49 mpg on the trip was excellent.

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  Awesome Small Car - 2007 Suzuki Reno
  By shintaro - May 21 - 12:26 am

  I had this car for almost 6 motnhs and never had a problem with it. I enjoy driving it and not bad on gas mileage, actually I bought the car to save gas even if I was looking for Chevy Cobalt. The dealer gave me this because the cobalt was a little bit expensive and I have another loan thats why they didnt gave me the Cobalt. Anyway, I didnt regret having this car. And it can fit up to 5 people including driver and you can park anywhere (easy to park) and as most everyones saying. I did expect to get more than 31+ miles per gallon but Im only getting 31 on highway and 24 city. And I compared the back seat to a Chevy Impala SS and the Reno was bigger. I like this car

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  2nd Reno and would buy again - 2006 Suzuki Reno
  By CableGuy30 - February 3 - 5:13 am

  Ok. So I see all these bad reviews on here, and dealing with the public I know more people complain than compliment. So here goes my story. This is my second Reno. First one had for 9 months, 27,000 miles. No problems. Until it got totaled when got hit by a semi truck. I walked away from the wreck. This one now has 76,000 miles and no problems. The a/c is poor, but tint the Windows and that takes care of 2 things at once. Makes the car look even better and helps the a/c. I wish they still made this car cause I would buy another one.

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  Excellent Value - 2005 Suzuki Reno
  By driver003 - September 23 - 11:28 am

  I bought this car brand new seven years ago. now have 80,000 miles on it. Only thing that went wrong was powersteering box which I couldve prevented. For a "cheaper" value car, man does this top expectations. Has rigidity of a honda body (not so much paint finish though). The most standard features for a better price than any car in its class and best acceleration in class (manual). And this is compared to 2005 compact vehicles. Not best on gas, but fun to drive. I will def. put suzuki and Sx4 on my short list. Dont let people tell you theyre crap...one of the highest selling cars in the world just not as popular in USA.

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  Lights Out - 2005 Suzuki Reno
  By datmo - August 7 - 5:43 pm

  Bought the car and have only had problems. I had the light harness replace a year ago and just the other day i smelled smoke and poof lights out on a dark back road. Went to the suzuki dealership "same splice pack but the recall was done your gonna have to pay $200." Suzuki has no customer service and besides this my airbags lights have screwed up twice my mastercylinder went my check engine light wont go off ive replaced about everything in my exhaust system to try to get it now i need to replace the catalytic converter

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  Deceptive Warranty - 2005 Suzuki Reno
  By Patrick - June 4 - 8:10 am

  I purchased this vehicle in hopes of getting an inexpensive dependable commuter car.When driving home one evening the car quit on the interstate.The car was under warranty so I wasn’t worried.I sat in the dealership the entire next day? After a couple of weeks the dealership called and said the serpentine belt broke and caused the timing belt to jump time, ruining the engine.The icing on the cake is that Suzuki refused to cover it under warranty because the serpentine belt is not covered and according to Suzuki it caused the engine to blow up.I disputed called protested, it didn’t matter, that warranty is a teaser, they never expect to honor it.The dealership wanted $7800.00 for a new engine

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  A Great Deal! - 2005 Suzuki Reno
  By reno - February 10 - 1:56 am

  We needed a car with more interior room than our previous Hyundai Accent, which otherwise had been a great car. After shopping around we chose the Reno. We received a lot of rebates with this car and found all of its features very intriguing. So far the car has been great, even though we only have the base model it has power everything and A/C. The gas mileage is a little disappointing, but is in no way terrible. All in all a great car so far!