GO
GoAutoLogo
MENU

Make / Model Search

Car reviews - Suzuki - Liana - range

Overview

Out goes Baleno and it's in with Liana at Suzuki - for under $20,000

1 Oct 2001

SUZUKI has made it very simple for small-medium car buyers. Out goes the aged Baleno with its multiple body, engine and specification choices. It's in with Liana - one five-door body style, one 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine and one specification grade.

And perhaps most significantly, a $19,990 recommended retail price.

That means Liana is the only Japanese-built car in the booming C-segment - and that includes the Ford Laser, Mazda 323, Nissan Pulsar and Toyota Corolla - to still offer a recommended reatil price below $20,000.

Of course, you can still buy any one of the above for $19,990, just check the Saturday papers for confirmation. But according to the official price lists they have all crept up above $20K. Just the Koreans - and now the Liana - remain at or below one of the hottest price flashpoints around.

Suzuki Australia says this price will hold until at least mid-2002 despite the soggy Aussie dollar, thanks to head office's willingness to take the risk on currency and its lean manufacturing processes - which are legendary in the car game.

The Liana first broke cover at the Geneva motor show in March and was presented by Suzuki as new from the ground up. In the flesh it retains a freshness and style that was apparent in those first photographs, although it's perhaps a bit heavy around the bottom. But its tallboy look is pleasingly reminiscent of the Honda Civic hatch and a far-cry from its utilitarian little brother, the Ignis.

Same applies to the interior, which presents the driver with a geometric dash area complete with digital speedometer, and comforts all passengers with a pleasant cloth trim. Again like the Civic, there's an almost flat floor and a reasonable amount of rear seat space, which should accommodate two adults in reasonable comfort, although they do sit very upright.

Suzuki is pushing the equipment level hard, saying it is the only sub-$20,000 C-segment car with dual airbags. However, it's also let down by having only a lap-belt in the centre rear seating position and that passenger also misses out on a headrest.

Other standard equipment includes air-conditioning, remote central locking, power windows and mirrors, a CD audio system and split-fold rear seats.

The mechanical side of the equation is handled by an all-aluminium 1.6-litre, twin-cam, four-cylinder engine, producing 76kW at 5500rpm and 144Nm of torque at 4000rpm, mounted transversely and driving the front wheels.

Fuel consumption is claimed at 7.2L/100km on the city cycle and 5.2L/100km on the highway cycle for the five-speed manual. The $1990 optional four-speed automatic achieves 7.8L/100km and 5.4L/100km on the two cycles.

This is where the value equation suffers a little, because the Liana does have a smaller engine than most of its rivals and therefore less power and torque. Its 1.6-litre rivals from Ford, Mazda and Nissan also outdo it, albeit marginally.

The underpinnings are standard fare with MacPherson strut suspension all-round, disc brakes up-front and drums at the rear and 14-inch wheels. In measurement terms compared to the class-leading and soon-to-be replaced Corolla, it is a little shorter at 4230mm, as wide and substantially taller. Its 2480mm wheelbase is just a tad longer than the Corolla.
Model release date: 1 October 2001 to 1 August 2004

Click to share

Click below to follow us on
Facebook  Twitter  Instagram

GoAuto can help you buy a new Liana

Customer Terms and Conditions – New Car Lead enquires

Agreement

This is an agreement between GoAutoMedia Pty Limited ACN 094 732 457 of PO Box 18, Beach Road, Sandringham, VIC, 3191 (“we/us”), the owner and operator of the GoAuto.com.au website (“the website”) and the person wanting GoAuto.com.au to provide them with a lead for the purchase of a new car (“you”).

By completing a New Car Lead Enquiry, you agree to the terms and conditions and disclaimers and acknowledge the policies set out below.

Terms and Conditions

  • In order for us to effect a lead you must you must complete a New Car Lead Enquiry (“Enquiry”).
  • We will call you as soon as possible after you complete the Enquiry and certainly no later than the next business day. When we call, we will discuss with you your new car requirements.
  • You consent to our passing on the Enquiry and your requirements to an appropriate authorised motor car dealer as a lead.
  • We will contact you again in approximately eight days following your initial enquiry to check on the progress of the Enquiry.
  • While we will provide the dealer with the Enquiry and details of your new car requirements, we take no responsibility for what happens after passing on that material as a lead.
  • You acknowledge that we are a new car information service providing new car editorial information, pictures and prices to our customers as a guide only. Any new car prices published on the website are the manufacturers’ recommended retail prices and do not include delivery charges and on-road costs. Any authorized motor car dealer to which we pass on your Enquiry as a lead will provide you with full details of the price at which the vehicle will be sold to you.
  • You acknowledge that we do not sell motor vehicles. Any sale of a new car to you by a dealer after we have passed on your Enquiry to that dealer as a lead, is a sale by that dealer not by us.

Privacy Policy– New Car Lead Enquires

  • We take privacy very seriously. We understand that you will only complete an Enquiry if you can trust us to protect your personal information and use it appropriately. Our policy is to ensure that the personal information collected when you make an Enquiry is only used for the purposes of connecting you with an authorised motor car dealer.
  • We do not on-sell information collected from you or any other customer.
  • From time to time, we may email you with information or promotions that may be relevant for car buyers. You will continue to receive communications from us unless you tell us that you do not want to receive any advertising or promotional information in the future by unsubscribing from these communications.
close
* Denotes required field
** Australian inquiries only

Motor industry news

GoAutoNews is Australia’s number one automotive industry journal covering the latest news, future and new model releases, market trends, industry personnel movements, and international events.

Catch up on all of the latest industry news with this week's edition of GoAutoNews
Click here