Suzuki's sensible splash-out

The Splash delivers a far more assured drive than you might expect. Photo / Getty Images

They say there's strength in adversity, and Suzuki NZ has proved it. The mild-mannered Clark Kent types at Wanganui headquarters donned their capes to find a solution to tsunami-triggered stock shortages.

The answer? Kiwi-Euro exchange rates, which made importing this Splash from its Hungarian factory a no-brainer.

What's new?
Splash borrows its underpinnings, transmission and engine basics from the larger Swift.
Atop that sweet-handling platform is a body 135mm shorter and 15mm narrower, designed to make the most of cabin space and deliver a practical alternative to its sportier relative.

There's 80mm more headroom and a higher seat to ease entry. The boot is smaller than Swift's but there's a 36-litre hidden space for your valuables and you can fold the back seat to liberate 573 litres (40 more than Swift) with a flat floor.

The car's 1.2-litre engine uses variable valve timing on the exhaust as well as the inlet valves, the first Suzuki car engine to do so. That smooths torque delivery and delivers a claimed 5.1l/100km thirst for the manual, and 5.7 for the auto.

The company line
Marketing manager Tom Peck says: "We believe there is room for another Suzuki in the sub-20K bracket." The high hip point will endear Splash to older buyers while its perky persona and relatively roomy cabin will also see it marketed as a family runabout.

What we say
Suzuki already holds 29 per cent of the rapidly expanding light vehicle segment in which Splash competes, and it may cannibalise Swift sales given its more practical character. Swift looks sharper but it won't carry the luggage or basketball-playing teens Splash will swallow.

Specification levels are good, with six airbags, ABS brakes, air-con and steering-wheel controls for the radio included at $17,990 for the five-speed manual, or $19,500 for the four-speed auto, including five years of roadside assistance. The one glaring omission is stability control. That should arrive within six months. Expect a price rise to accompany it.

On the road

This may look like a sensible little car but it delivers a splash more vivacity than expected, in part because of the 69kW/118Nm performance dropping just 1kW and 12Nm on the bigger car, and in part because a track almost as wide as Swift's and underpinnings shared between them deliver a far more assured drive than expected. It may not be as agile as Swift, but what's lost is more than repaid if you need headroom and boot space.

Why you'll buy one?

Cheap, cheerful, well built, frugal, easy on creaking joints to access and will easily carry four.

Why you won't?

It lacks Swift's cheeky style and the stability control which helps keep you safe on slippery roads.