It may have enjoyed a starring role on Top Gear for nearly three years but the Suzuki Liana never made the leap from automotive also-ran to motoring megastar. Now cast aside by Top Gear in favour of a Chevrolet Lacetti, the Suzuki has fallen off the motoring road map.

But was the decision to use a Suzuki Liana as the model in the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car slot a bit of motoring irony or were there some sensible reasons behind its selection? Well, first of all, filming cars on television can be a tricky job: cameras require space. And here the Suzuki Liana fitted the bill perfectly with a surprisingly light and roomy cabin.



Of course, under normal circumstances it’s not batteries and cables that occupy the space but family and friends, so here the Liana scores well as a family transporter.

Second, to comply with BBC budgets the car used had to be one that was cheap to buy. With a list price of just £9,500 for the 1.6 GL model and just £1,000 more for the GLX, which comes with air-conditioning, the Liana undercut a Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf by around £2,000.

On the second-hand market, depreciation means that the difference is even more marked: a top spec three-year-old example can be yours for less than £4,000.

Third, Top Gear needed a car that was easy to drive. Many of the celebrities who sat behind the wheel had never visited a race track before, let alone driven on one, so a sports car was out of the question. Again the Liana came up trumps. Its 1.6 litre engine produces a modest 105bhp, ensuring the manual version takes a less than life-threatening 11.7sec to reach 60mph and even with a good run-up would be hard pressed to match its published top speed of 109mph.

The Liana, therefore, is perfect for those who need to to get safely from A to B without much risk of a speeding ticket.

Then, of course, there is the issue of reliability. Just like the average second-hand car buyer, the last thing the producers of Top Gear wanted was a temperamental car. Being Japanese, the Liana was always going to handle this issue with ease. Like a good gun dog, the Liana is not afraid of hard work and does not want to let you down.

So the Liana is spacious, cheap and a cinch to drive. On top of all that it is also slightly amusing. The car’s ungainly lines are not helped by wheels and tyres that look barely larger than a dinner plate. Add to that a strangely sterile name and you have the perfect anti-car; something that can make even the coolest of celebrities look ever so slightly sad when they try too hard to complete a quick lap.

The Liana is set to be phased out by the middle of next year and Suzuki is pushing newer versions of the Swift and the Grand Vitara 4x4. This means that buyers can find plenty of used Lianas languishing on dealer forecourts at very attractive prices.

So what are you waiting for? It may be the cheapest way to own a bit of television motoring history. And if it is good enough for all those Top Gear celebrities, surely it is good enough for you. Assuming you don’t mind the neighbours having a laugh.


Servicing Due every 9,000 miles but check that low-mileage examples have still been in to the garage annually



Standard equipment All models get front and rear electric windows, electric door mirrors and a CD player. The GLX adds alloy wheels, air-conditioning and a rear centre three-point seatbelt





Boot The 296-litre boot is enhanced by split-fold seat back and base

Engine Above 4000rpm the engine note gets raucous





Interior Post-April 2004 Lianas benefit from a smarter dashboard and adjustment for the stereo via controls mounted on the steering wheel





Warranty New cars were originally covered by a three-year/60,000-mile mechanical warranty

Gearbox Manual five-speed is standard with the four-speed automatic a rarity





Bonnet Check the leading edge, it is prone to stone chips





Exhaust On ultra-low mileage examples the rear box can be prone to corrosion





Paint Avoid non-metallic finishes, they don’t suit the shape of the car

VITAL STATISTICS

Model Suzuki Liana 1.6 GLX
Engine 1586cc, four cylinders
Power 105bhp
Transmission Five-speed manual
Fuel 40.9mpg (combined cycle)
Acceleration 0-60mph: 11.7sec
Top speed 109mph

THE ONE TO BUY

Suzuki Liana 1.6 GLX saloon 2003 03 registration with 20,000 miles. Pay £4,275 at a franchised dealer £3,750 privately

OR, FOR THE SAME MONEY...

2001 51 Peugeot 307 1.4 Style
2002 02 Citroën Xsara 1.6 SX
2002 52 Ford Fusion 1.4
2002 52 Skoda Fabia 1.4 Classic
2005 54 Daihatsu YRV 1.3 Radical

VALUES

GL models worth about £600 less than GLX. Automatics worth about £250 more than equivalent manual. Source: estimates based on confidential CAP black book prices. ‘Trade’ is what a dealer would pay to buy your car; ‘Retail’ is what you would pay a dealer