21 June 2001: A new Suzuki car to compete in the C-segment (Focus/Corolla) will be introduced to Ireland on 13 July. The Suzuki Liana was first shown to the public in Geneva last February.

General manager of Suzuki Ireland Niall O’Gorman (pictured above) told IrishCar.Com at the international press launch in Italy last night that the new Liana is not a replacement for the marque’s current C-segment car, the Baleno, but adds a hatchback to the range in that segment.

The Liana is a 5-door hatchback which will be sold with a choince of 1.3- and 1.6-litre engines and in some markets will include a 4WD and automatic transmissions.

The Liana is a tall car with a mixture of compact MPV and estate attributes, and will sell in Ireland for £13,500 and £15,500 - the latter for a very highly-specced model with the larger engine.

Both engine are new, all alluminium with DOHC.

Suzuki, which is 50% owned by General Motors, expects to increase its European sales by 10% this year to 220,000 against last year. The Liana is expected to figure strongly in that growth.

Worldwide, Suzuki sold 1.8 million cars last year, and for the fifth year in a row its Wagon R was the best-selling car in Japan. BB