Suzuki Liana Is Better Than Honda City…

68 1,297

Main accidental, chassis strength in shambles, 8 shades of paint – each one specific to a different panel, 250,000 kilometers driven, duplicate registration book, interior as if it is made from the rags of a homeless, electronics messed up, engine breathing its last and suspension which makes the car sway like an alcoholic all over the 5-lane Kashmir Highway.

That is the Honda City iDsi you get in 600,000 Pakistani rupees.

What if I told you that you can get a similar sized sedan, a few years newer, with just a couple of panels touched up, strong engine compression, less than 80k on the clock with interior still smelling new, kept with utmost care and suspension as herculean as an arabian mare’s legs – all for a similar price?  ‘Yes. Please. Now!’ – I hear you say.

What if I told you that I can make you reconsider your decision with just one word – Liana.

Arguably the most hated car in Pakistan, it was Suzuki’s jab at Xli and City. And it failed miserably. Extensive marketing campaigns were run, exclusive leasing options provided to promote Liana but all went in vain. There were a number of reasons for its failure as a new car with close to a million rupee price tag, but that is not the scope of this blog. The question is – does slashing down half of its price make it any better?

Yes, it is downright ugly. Yes, it is still a Suzuki. Yes, it has some understeer issues, and it can’t be run flawlessly on CNG. On the plus side, the interior is very decent, the boot space is very generous, there’s ABS in the LXi version and the car is known to grip to the road better than its bloated shape would suggest. The LXi also comes with a decent sound system, and the 1300cc engine isn’t bad on fuel economy either. Did I mention the only working theft prevention in Pakistan – immobilizer? And to top it all, it can be had for almost half the price it was available for a few years ago.

Now let’s come to the maintenance. I’m not going to beat around the bush – the maintenance isn’t cheap, atleast not as cheap as a Honda City iDsi. However the concept of cheap maintenance has changed over the last couple of years with the introduction of Kei cars in mainstream market. Used headlights, for instance, of some of the 660cc imports cost as much as 28,000 rupees a pair. Catalytic convertors cost no less either. Even for the locally assembled cars, things aren’t always as inexpensive as they seem. A good G10 for your awaami Suzuki Cultus will set you back up to 70,000 rupees. So yes, maintenance isn’t exactly cheap, but cheap maintenance is slowly becoming a tale of the past overall.

Getting back to the initial choice – we have two cars, a battered and shattered Honda City buying which may get your phonebook soon filled with entries like “Amjad Axle wala”, “Ahmed Car AC”, “Basheer bhai head gasket” and “Tony poshish”, OR a Liana, which in the common ownership tenure of 3 years would not bother you with anything except regular oil changes.  Tough choice innit?

There aren’t many less than 10 years old sedan options in the sub 600k budget at this moment. And that makes Liana a very strong contender.

Can the worst car 10 years ago be the best car now? Can the most hated car of the last decade be our wisest choice right now?

Is an excellent Suzuki Liana better than an effed up Honda City?

Click here to see used Suzuki Liana cars for sale in Pakistan

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68 Comments
  1. Abdullah says

    lol……yar comments reserved…… 🙂

  2. Zohaib says

    A big NO for every suzuki even for free. Besides everyone outside pindi and islamabad knows how senseless prices are quoted in these cities.

  3. Syed Sajid Shah says

    Liana is a highly disliked car with no resale value. If you dont care about resale and want real value for money, you should get a Chevrolet Optra in the same budget. Its 10 times better than any Liana or City.

  4. Mohsin says

    Good point, i’m sure people already fell for this so how about you ask someone who really made this decision if it has proven good for him/her or not?

  5. Danesh says

    What bull is this . Not expected on this forum .

  6. Muhammad Saad Zahid says

    i bought liana in last year in 610,000PKR and sold this year in 585,000PKR and it was awesome car … sold easily, chilled AC in summer, no heat-up problem, Very good average on CNG.

  7. Rahatullah Mallick says

    The problem that I have with Liana is that it’s distasteful. Some cars are good some are bad but then there are some which tell the world that you have no motoring enthusiasm or any interest in how you look. Thats Liana for me

  8. Ahsan says

    A Lancer or Sunny or optra would be even better choice

  9. Baber says

    What people are failing to understand is that currently, Liana offers the best value for money. If I were just looking for a “utility”, I would definitely go for a Liana.

  10. Abdullah says

    Lee Aaa Naa……..lol

  11. Junaid Iqbal says

    liana kbi na lana city is much much much much much much much better than that shit in any case

  12. Sheikh Wahaj says

    Just try to drive Above 100km/h.. You’ll feel the difference in both 1300cc’s

  13. Saad Akmal says

    Seriously man you shouldn’t have wrote that LIANA is better then CITY, its just cheaper then it.

  14. D Sami says

    As a Honda City owner myself, I agree the Liana gives better value for money and is a reasonably priced car. But who are we kidding; anyone of us will pick a City over a Liana anyday

  15. Hassan Raza says

    I had it once, sold it out the very next week. Too bad!

  16. Hassan Raza says

    Now i have a City ’13, Liana does’nt even stand a chance.

  17. Ahmed Khan says

    poorly written article you could have just mention the high speed stability of liana of any car in 1.3l class comfortable drive over city etc the article is only based on I think I assume like understeer issues, and it can’t be run flawlessly on CNG you kidding right?

  18. usman niazi says

    i don’t know what is with this car… never driven it… but whenever i have seen it on motorway, it is always being driven at atleast 140kmph… is the car fast or the owners are just like that? and wasn’t this the old “reasonably priced car” on top gear which they would recently bring back only when f1 car drivers used it?

  19. Aamir Bashir says

    Suzuki Liana and Toyota Platz are both the ugliest cars i have ever seen … Hate them both

  20. Ahmed Khan says

    liana is super smooth at high speed I once took it to 180km/h with 5 people on board and no one noticed I later slowed down when I saw speed at speed-o-meter 😮 BTW it high speed stability is also very good I bet you or anyone would have ever heard of “high speed mai gari bekabo se bahar hogai thi” from a liana owner or ever seen a liana with side impact due to skiding on high speed

  21. sibzz says

    guys im no motorhead, but all these people have driven a Suzuki Liana:
    Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Rubens Barrichello,Jenson Button and many more. its the reserved car for F1 racers in Top Gear, so may be its not as bad as you guys are portraying it.

  22. usmannet says

    Joke of the year 🙂

  23. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    out off six liana’s i’ve driven, each and every had stability issues at 100+kph, the rear end of this car is too damn high, aerodynamics are messed up, the car feels like loosing straight line even if a swift overtakes you at high speed and wind noise above 70kph is unbearable, a cultus is more silent at highway speeds if only tyre and wind noise is considered.(cultus’ engine is more noisy).

  24. Muhammad Awais Akram says

    I have had this experience and I preferred 2006 Liana over 2001 city, in 2010. It was a good experience and I must say that you may floor it to 160-170 km/h easily. I never had a problem with its “rear dragging” and/or “car shaking like hell at over 100 km/h”. I think its just how you maintain your car. and the most important thing is if you can find a good condition Liana.

  25. Muhammad Awais Akram says

    and I used it for over an year, and then replace it with a brand new Swift. I would rather recommend Liana, if you have a low budget and you are eyeing for a big car.

  26. Kashif Baig says

    I used to own Lancer and driven city as well, now I have liana I must say that liana is best value for money, if you go with the specs its far batter than city as it comes with DOHC engine, excellent chilled AC, nice interior and good performance however a bit high maintenance.

    and brothers do not compare lancer with these local crabs it far batter then even honda civic…..

  27. Shahid Mehmood says

    You are so right about the last line, its far better than HONDA CIVIC. but many would be your enemies if you create a blog on it. HAHA mad people who thinks Civic is the best car in the world lolz. Nissan Sunny and Lancers both are better than Civic

  28. Muhammad Ahsan says

    What’s the main reason of failure of Liana in your opinion? I’ve heard like Baleno it has some engine issues?

  29. Khurram Altaf says

    The pricing was the main issue. It cost almost as much as its well established competitors at the time of launch.

    PakSuzuki were under the impression that since they can pull of Mehran for twice the price its worth, they could shove this car down the throat at over a million rupees as well.

  30. Sabeeh Ur Rehman Tariq says

    Reminds me of Top Gear…… :/

  31. Aneef Izhar says

    KIA Classic? 🙂

  32. gem says

    My cxn owned a reborn and lancer he hates his reborn ..give it to his driver … now he bought a 2014 civic and thats a good choice

  33. Hamza says

    U r right but Liana is as u said very ugly looking car and in Pakistan i think as generally people don’t know much about the interior car stuff so they go for Looks and accommodation 1st.

  34. Ubaid says

    Does Suzuki intend to relaunch Liana? Reincarnation? Im witnessing a campaign on Internet…

  35. Yasir Ahmed says

    The main problem of liana is as under his body is to heavy and engine is to small the engine is not able to take load of his body thats the main failure of liana…!!

  36. Saquib Baqai says

    The biggest (and perhaps the only) problem with Liana was its SIS CNG kit, local mechanics could not figure it out, they screwed the system up and since they are mostly “since ustaad cant fix it, it can’t be fixed” mentality the hue and cry over Liana being a failed car began, i personally know people who have had the car for around 200k and still smooth running (on petrol only)

  37. Mian Rizwan says

    No bia oly na aly Optra

  38. rizwan says

    where you had been getting CNG setting .

  39. faraz says

    I really dont agree at all, bcoz i had liana 2011 for 2.5 years and had a terrible time and cost me alot on its maintenance almost every month. Then i eventually sold it at very cheap price. Now im having honda city aspire 2015 and i must say its wonderful car with awsome driving experience.

  40. Irfan says

    Liana is the worst car ever made, its interior is pathetic, its road grip is total failure, and its maintanance is shit

  41. Khurram Altaf says

    The interior and the road grip are the two strong points of Liana. You calling them a failure suggests you have never owned one.

  42. Khurram Altaf says

    The key to Liana is buying a good car in the first place. Trust me I have been dragged to my knees trying to fix a Honda Civic for the one year I kept it, and I still couldn’t.

  43. Khurram Altaf says

    Not that we know of.

    Still if you look carefully, the gist of the article is about a used Liana being a reasonable option at half the price it was introduced for, and 30% cheaper than any of its counterparts. The accent is on the word “USED”.

  44. Kamran says

    Please be a little mature in writing articles. How can u compare a Honda City with Liana… Sounds funny.

  45. Doctor says

    The best theft prevention is the fact that it’s a Liana

  46. Eshal Asad says

    Honda city is more better than liana it is very ugly car in the whole world

  47. Irfan says

    lol. in my case it left two wheels on a simple cut at speed of 60km/h.

  48. Javed Khan says

    About the wind noise, that can easily be fixed with a good quality silicon sealant application. I’ve done the same with my Liana and its quieter than either Honda City (2003-2006) or a 2006 Corolla Gli. 2ndly, the car losing control at 100+ is due to need of alignment and wheel balancing issues. Fix those and I’ve not seen a better car in 1.3 that can take 140+ with such ease on motorways.

    And let me remind you, there’s no such thing as cheap maintenance. If you wish to keep your car in mint condition, proper care and routine maintenance will cost you not much, but not cheap either.

  49. faizan says

    true words.

  50. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    I don’t get it, how does one change the shape of a car to a more aerodynamic one by application of silicon sealant?

    I accept the fact that one was accidental and one really had wheel alignment issues(government cars) but the rest had their wheels balanced and properly aligned.

    I used cultus for road noise comparison, I assure you, I’d spend as much on a liana as I’d on the city. You don’t need to remind me of anything, I didn’t mention any person in my comments, just wrote my personal experience. It isn’t like that I’m new to owning a car.

  51. Javed Khan says

    As I wrote previously, I currently own a Liana and have not experienced many issues. I agree that there are issues with the car no doubt, every car that is locally assembled does. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be remedied if you’re willing to spend time and effort on its maintenance.

    Our experiences overall are subjective. While I’m in agreement that you definitely had some issues and dislike it, you can’t rule out the fact that there are others who had zero issues and couldn’t be happier with other alternative options in the price range its been sold at.

  52. Sam Khan says

    You need to learn how differently a car responds to break pedals. You just not go and push the pedals of all cars the same way. I have tested, and I can bet on that. Pull out your honda city and I will pull mine. I can go on key to key bet on this. Please comment only when you have owned both, like i did, for years, and multiple units of both, liana and city.

  53. Sam Khan says

    True, log machis ki dibya le lete hen 7 lakh me aur aa ke bat karte hen liana pe jo 7 lakh me ABS/EBD k sath hai.

  54. Sam Khan says

    In my opinion, the factory installed CNG, and poor after-sale service support. Pakistani people have no independent thinking who check the cost vs benefit thing. They are the ones who have failed many hi-tech cars in competition with match-box cars (Mehran and XLi). Our people? Yeah, a doctor, a qualified and well educated person will go after a mechanic review (a person who had nothing to do in childhood so became a mechanic and now reviews hi-tech cars) about a car which has been produced after a hell lot of research work. This is what we are!! Know yourself. No faults in liana. In my honest views, Liana is the best value of money. Best one!! You can get an all round package (ABS/EBD, Immobilizer, AC, PowerWindows, Full Size, Space, Comfort) in almost 7 lakh. Bhai aur kya chahye apko?

  55. Sam Khan says

    Okay, I agree, I hundred and ten percent agree!!
    A year ago, I had the same opinion as people say, Market nai hai kaam nikalti hai parts nahi hain and bla bla. The problem is not in Liana, the problem is in people. The build opinions from no where, what percent of people have owned Liana? And what percent of those who already own liana; ever owned xli or IDSI City? That turns out to be some 2 percent? okay lets assume it 5%. The rest have not owned liana and have built an opinion without experiencing it.
    Furthermore, our mechanics are lazy. Lazy and most of them thieves. Most the most, illiterate (illiterate towards their jobs). Once a mechanic cannot fix any problem, they blame the car or the manufacturer.
    Be honest, Suzuki? Yeah, Hayabusa, and GSXR, made by the same Suzuki thing. Why do they take Mehran as a sample from Suzuki?

    Coming to the point. I had been owning multiple local and Japanese sedans and I am not a dumb person who cannot judge cars from engineering perspectives. There are a few things to consider honestly.

    Safety
    Cost vs Benefit
    Fuel Efficiency
    Space
    Comfort

    Factors I mentioned above; are the features of Liana, I was not talking general. Yes, Its liana. Safe because it has ABS and EBD.
    – M13B which is ECU controlled, and is an efficient engine used in Liana (same as Baleno and Swift DX/DLX).
    – Very spacious (Please give it a try, get a ride in corolla or city, and then after, get in liana, and come out with the honest feelings). And a very spacious trunk. I couldn’t once place a trolly bag in civic’s trunk and it went easy in Liana trunk while CNG cylinders were also there.
    – And Liana is very very soft when you drive it on bumpy surfaces like most of our streets are.
    – About the maintenance, Liana is way cheaper than corolla and city both. Let me tell you how.
    If you need to overhaul engine (either of corolla liana or city) it costs a lot, roughly at-least 15k maybe. But if you think your Liana is getting low on engine, weaker or faulty, you can swap entire engine against 12000 to 14000 Rupees. Yeah, a fresh imported engine in this price.
    – Suspension? Everyone knows Honda got expensive suspension maintenance. Corolla as well. Liana suspension is more tough but you can replace entire suspension with a brand new at 22k.
    – Liana got an excellent air-conditioner, with a very powerful blow fan. I have been experienced it better than my brand new GLi while stopped in a traffic jam in full bright sun, with no engine load issues.
    – Liana has good ground clearance and tough load carriage. It is safe in face crash as it has a crossed chassis support under main bars.

    Rest of all, all of above features in a full sized family car, what do you think its price will be?
    No!! 550k to 800k only.

    Come out of the typical approach brothers. Stop buying mehran @ 7 bucks and Cultus @ above 10 bucks. City and XLI costs you double, why not to get two lianas instead of one lame XLi or a city?

    No offense brothers, I am a honda Lover but I have kept Lianas, and I always recommend it to those who are looking for an overall good and reliable car under one million.

    Jazakallah

  56. Sam Khan says

    okay, Here i am. The first hand witness of everyday speeding on liana (I use motorway everyday) and man you had some problems with your liana. Come drive mine, make it run the fastest you can bear. The car wont say no to anything. Bro, relax. Liana are good cars. I had the same opinion about liana ke yar kya badlooking gadi hai, but when i owned it, i fell in love with it. PS i also have an imported honda civic, and owned many other good cars, which means i have a few other tastes in mouth when saying liana is worth buying.

  57. Sam Khan says

    Yes it can run flawlessly on CNG (if you remove the factory installed CNG and install the aftermarket CNG kit) but running on petrol and yes i bet honda city 1.3 cant tail it.

  58. Sam Khan says

    there are other reasons bro, the car itself has nothing to do with that, i hope you will agree at this point.

  59. Sam Khan says

    it do it everyday as i use motorway everyday. I love it, meanwhile when i have an imported CIVIC at home, and i had been keeping multiple high priced sedans, i will still say liana is worth buying. PS I make it run above 140 almost everyday, and there is nothing lesser than any other good sedan man.

  60. Sam Khan says

    In what capacity of expertise do you say so? Brother?

  61. Sam Khan says

    bhai there must have been some problem specifically with your liana, as i keep it speeding almost everyday at above 150 and so, no shaking problems and i love the comfort drive on high speeds. It justifies its cost.

  62. Ali Faraz Haque says

    I think a comparison between two cars on very valid and logical points isnt immature. Maybe one’s childish obsession with a brand sounds more funny and highly immature.

  63. Simplelife says

    lets make it simple. liana is the biggest shit ever made by any automobile company

  64. Sam Khan says

    haha aise nai kehte, discussion ek standard hota hai kisi bhi insan ki maturity ke liye benchmarking me assist karta hai. We can know people by the way they discuss on conflicting opinions.

  65. GulKhan says

    and they rated it worst car of the year. check youtube baby

  66. Nasir says

    o maro pare, liana vi koi gadiaon cho gaddi aa. Even rikshaw is better than liana

  67. S.Zaryab Hussain says

    Sam Khan I am considering buying Liana and I have researched a lot about it and have observed mixed comments. So, far your points have substance and makes sense. Can you please clarify a few things for me:

    1- Is Liana good even on CNG? or it’s good only on Petrol ?
    2- How much can I expect to be spending on its maintenance/spare parts let’s say if I get liana of 2008-2010.?
    3- Did you just mention the whole engine cost only 14-15k? 😮
    4- What points should I keep in check specially when buying a used Liana?
    5- Currently I am able to see Liana RXI 2008-2010 good condition in 6-6.5 Lacs while LXI at around 7 Lacs. are these prices fair enough considering if the condition is great?
    8- any other tip?

    Thanks.

  68. Emran Abbas says

    I want to buy Liana , your comments helping me to buy liana.

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