2008 Suzuki Forenza - Page 1 Review

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Shopping for a 2008 Suzuki Forenza? MSRP: $14,489 - $17,689

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The 2008 Suzuki Forenza, built by Daewoo in South Korea, is a small, inexpensive sedan and roomy wagon that were first sold in the U.S. as the Daewoo Nubira, but later updated and sold under the Suzuki brand. For 2008, the Forenza is basically a carryover with only minor changes.

The Forenza’s shape was originally styled by the design house Pininfarina. The design is still quite clean and attractive, and wagons have bright roof rails as a functional accent. The interior follows a nice, basic design, but it uses a hodgepodge of mismatched surfaces and hard plastics. Seating is a high point for the 2008 Suzuki Forenza, though. In front, the seats are among the better ones in this especially low-priced car class, and in back there’s just adequate legroom for average adults, though headroom might be tight. With the seats folded forward in the wagon, an already impressive 24.4 cubic feet can be expanded to 61.8 cubic feet.

The 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine in the 2008 Suzuki Forenza produces 127 horsepower and drives the front wheels via either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission, but with either transmission it’s just adequate and noisy under moderate or hard acceleration. Fuel economy is poor for such a small car, at 19 mpg city with the automatic.

The 2008 Suzuki Forenza rides on MacPherson struts up front and a dual-link suspension in the rear, with variable-assist power steering and four-wheel disc brakes. The tuning is such that the Forenza has a rather firm, pitchy ride, but handling doesn’t feel especially confident either.