Sunday, July 12, 2009

Car Review: Suzuki Foreza

Overall Impression: Not impressed
Pros: Reasonable entry-level vehicle
Cons: A lot...see below

This weekend I rented a Suzuki Foreza. When I first sat in the thing, the armrest popped up of its own volition. I closed it. It waited about 10 seconds (long enough for me to put it in gear) and popped up again. This set the proper tone for the remainder of the time I had the car: annoying. The general ergonomics of the car are okay...it's just constant details grate against me. The arming the alarm makes you think you just stepped on a squirrel as you walk away. The power steering pump sounds like a small screaming child. The automatic transmission selector is too complicated for easy use (not only must you navigate the steps through the gears, but you must push down in order to move to park and reverse...which results in me looking at the selector to figure out why it's no longer moving).

Power is adequate for the level of vehicle. The steering (despite the positively weird noise) was reasonably precise but not very communicative. The suspension was about right for an econo-car, but body roll could become excessive quickly under heavy loading. The Stereo isn't bad...though can be easily turned up and distorted.

All-in-all, I would look elsewhere for a car. It seems to be okay if it is simply a tool to go from A to B. Build quality just doesn't seem to be there, though.