Suzuki's Splash is gonna make some waves.

These days there's a growing trend of people opting for shrinking cars. While many people do want the bigger and faster cars, in today's economy an affordable, reliable car is becoming a popular choice.  When the public is able to opt for one of these cars from a well-established brand, the choice is practically made for them. The 8th car in Suzuki's local lineup is called the Splash, and yeah, it will be making some waves in this segment that's known as Minicars. With a small exterior size (and a surprisingly roomy interior) the Splash is powered by a revvy Suzuki 1200cc motor that makes 63kW at a 6000rpm with torque at 113Nm (from 4500rpm). It can be had with a 5-speed manual or a slightly more expensive 4-speed auto.  As saving money is usually the aim of the game with minicars, the claimed figures show that the stylish little car will just sip on the fuel, they say that a combined-cycle will come in at 5.6 litres/100km for the manual models while the slushbox goes up to a still very good 6.4 litres/100km.

Youngsters and students will probably be looking at transport like this, and they'll love the car. It has some great looks, all the modern angles and cues are just right. The interior is also aimed at the younger crowd, it has a level of funkiness to it that I'm sure they'll appreciate. Also, students need to be safe, especially if daddy is buying a car to keep his little angel safe. The Splash range, incuding the very affordable GA derivative, features dual airbags and ABS brakes.  Besides the Kizashi, the rest of the Suzuki range is made up of small cars, and this one fits slap-bang in between their entry level Alto and the very popular Swift. 

The Splash starts at a light on the pocket R124 000 for the manual 1.2i GA and the slightly higher spec'd manual 1.2i GL comes in at R134900. The auto version will set you back R149 000 and these all include a three-year/100 000km warranty and a two-year/30 000km service plan.  I'll let you know more about the car after I've driven one, which will hopefully be soon. As a minicar I'm sure it will be just great, and with Suzuki being one of my favourite brands these days, I'll be setting the bar high. I'm sure the segment rivals will have to GO a long way to beat the Splash.

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