With the introduction of the Forenza, Suzuki goes head to head with the big boys in the hotly contested compact class. Segment leaders Civic and Corolla have long had a comfortable chunk of this sector, and the field is further populated by quality entries from Nissan (Sentra), Mazda (3) and Korean offerings by Kia (Spectra) and Hyundai (Elantra). Into the mix comes Forenza, a four door, front drive sedan offered in three trim levels. The base, Forenza S stickers for $12,499, and is well contented at that price. Standard are air conditioning, AM/FM/Cassette/ CD sound system with eight speakers and redundant controls on the steering wheel, tilt wheel, floor mats, heated mirrors and power windows and door locks. Next up is the mid-level LX, with a starting sticker of $14,399. LX adds the following to the list of standards: leather-wrapped wheel, remote keyless entry, aluminum alloy wheels, fog lamps, cruise control and a power moon roof. Topping off the line is the EX. At $15,999, it has all of the foregoing equipment plus leather seating surfaces

Forenza’s design was penned by Pinanfarina. The Italian studio has styled many exotic cars over the years, and this, of course, is not one of them. With the subject economy and not exotic, the charge and the challenge are obviously different, and the designers have responded well.