I like the looks of the Forenza with sort of a European flavor, but by far my favorite thing is the number of items that Suzuki offers for the money. Our test car, which listed for $14,300 (US) had a sunroof, four-wheel disc brakes; air conditioning; eight-speaker, a fairly nice 140-watt stereo with a CD player, equalizer and steering-wheel audio duplicate controls; and power windows, mirrors and locks.
There were some items that bothered me as the testing went on and which should be checked by potential buyers who usually only get a short drive. First, the speedometer is difficult to read as the markings are very limited. The small light that goes on when you are low on gas is difficult to see and there is no audio warning. The trunk does not open wide enough when you unlock it with the remote. When you have your hands full of shopping bags you want the rear deck to open enough so that you don't have to get your hands dirty on the rear bumper. The engine sometimes runs rough, especially with the air conditioner off. Once it stalled at a stoplight, but it quickly restarted. I want side airbags. The low beam headlights are very good, the high beams border on very weak. The horn buttons need to extend to the center of the steering wheel. As it is you have to find one of two small buttons located near the side of the wheel to use activate the horn. This is non-intuitive. The stereo is good, but the reads should include more if you are playing a CD.
On the plus side of the ledger is a well laid out dash, storage space except for the center console, good seats, spacious trunk, nice interior gauge illumination at night, comfortable cruising ride, peppy engine, and the warranty.
Young working woman's view: Anyone in the business of business knows that you need to find a niche if you hope to survive with the big people. Suzuki is going against the titans in the form of the Neon, Sentra, Echo, Scion, Corolla, Focus, and even the Kia and Hyundai to name just a few. But to me, the greatest challenge is within its own company. The Aerio is similarly priced, comes with available all wheel drive, and has the same warranty and nearly the same price and it has better crash test scores.
The Forenza is available in three trim levels but all of them are well equipped. As you move up in price Suzuki provides more items to make travel easier such as cruise control, remote entry, antilock brakes, and some interior trim bits. Fortunately, the Forenza has seatbelt pre-tensioners, dual-stage airbags and daytime running lights.
I never felt deprived when driving the Forenza. It is comfortable and quiet while giving you such goodies as a cabin air filtration, a rear seat that has a 60/40-split folding arrangement and a 12.4 cubic feet trunk. I could keep up with traffic and, once you get used to the manual-shifting pattern, easy to downshift. But, I would highly recommend you spend a lot of time getting to know the gearshift because it does not like to be hurried. I never needed more power. Driving on even rutted roads wasn't a chore, but the softly sprung Suzuki did not cater to turns at anything but conservative speeds.
Overall, this is a car for those who seek a computer vehicle with a low base price and are willing to forsake the glamour and higher resale of the competition. For the money, there is little that can compete feature for feature. The crash test scores, lackadaisical fuel mileage, and lacks of side airbags temper my enthusiasm.