Suzuki Forenza and Reno: Daewoo Lacetti with Suzuki badges

The Suzuki Forenza and Suzuki Reno were the names given in North America to the Daewoo Lacetti, a compact car designed and built by GM Korea. The Forenza covered the sedan and station wagon, the Reno the hatchback.

Suzuki Forenza at a glance

History of the Suzuki Forenza

A Daewoo design

The first-generation Lacetti was developed from the earlier Daewoo Nubira before GM took over the Korean company. The four-door sedan, designed by Pininfarina, went on sale in South Korea on 25 November 2002 after two and a half years of development. A pre-production hatchback styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro was shown at Frankfurt in September 2003, with production from December; it had its own exterior and interior.

Wagon and facelift

At Geneva in March 2004 Daewoo showed the wagon, also penned by Pininfarina, with the hatchback’s updated interior and a facelifted version of the sedan’s nose. The three-slot grille gave way to a single full-width item with a bold horizontal bar and the logo in the centre, and the door handles changed from lift-up to pull-out. A sedan facelift followed on 25 March, and some markets received another front-end update from 2007.

Suzuki’s versions

In North America the sedan and wagon were sold as the Suzuki Forenza and the hatchback as the Suzuki Reno, both built by GM Korea rather than Suzuki. The same car appeared in other markets as the Chevrolet Optra, Holden Viva in Australia and New Zealand, and Daewoo Nubira or Chevrolet Nubira in Europe. Despite its compact size, the American 2.0-litre version was thirsty, rated at 10.7 l/100 km in town and 7.4 on the highway.

Design and features

• Italian styling: Pininfarina for the sedan and wagon, Giugiaro for the hatchback.
• GM Korea build: the Forenza and Reno were imported, never made by Suzuki.
• Three bodies: sedan, wagon and five-door hatchback.
• Global badges: Suzuki, Daewoo, Chevrolet and Holden versions.

Suzuki Forenza versions

• Suzuki Forenza sedan: the four-door Lacetti for North America.
• Suzuki Forenza wagon: the estate shown at Geneva in 2004.
• Suzuki Reno: the five-door hatchback in the United States.
• Daewoo Lacetti5 / Lacetti Wagon: the same cars under the Korean name.
• Chevrolet Optra and Holden Viva: other export badges for the family.

The Forenza’s stablemates in North America included the Verona and the Equator, while the SX4 followed as Suzuki’s own compact. More Suzukis are in the Suzuki collection.

Sources

• Daewoo Lacetti, English Wikipedia: design, bodies, Suzuki names, engines