2005 Suzuki Reno: Edmunds First Drive

Sure people may dismiss the Reno as just another hatch from an inferior Japanese car manufacturer. But after I spent a week in the nicely appointed Verona I'm actually anticipating this nice looking little runabout. The review by Brian Moody makes some interesting points on buyers and the all important price point. The engine is a 2.0 liter producing 126 horsepower but I wonder with the growing interest in Suzuki (sales up 25% over the previous year) if a tuner aftermarket isn't ready to take on the Reno. And I don't mean the weak effort Suzuki attempted a while back. Moody suggests that the Reno and Forenza outmatch the Kia Spectra and Spectra5 but can't compete with the Mazda3. That's a pretty decent assessment that leads everyone back to the final price to make their decision.