Suzuki Splash 1.2 SZ4 review
by David Finlay (3 May 2011)
We last dealt with the Suzuki Splash nearly three years ago (see review) and not much about it has changed since then. But there are a few differences. One is that the trim levels have been renamed to match those of other Suzuki ranges, so the car tested here is called an SZ4 rather than, as it might otherwise have been, a GLS+.
More importantly, the 85bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine - now the only alternative to the one-litre petrol unit, since Suzuki has abandoned the idea of a diesel Splash for the UK - has been revised so that it meets Euro 5 emissions legislation, and has had a considerable boost in terms of both fuel economy and CO2 emissions.
The official figures are now 55.4mpg and 119g/km, making the car theoretically cheaper to run (depending on how you drive it, of course) and unquestionably cheaper to tax, as it has dropped down the VED scale to Band C.
That's assuming your Splash has a manual gearbox. There's a 1.2 automatic as well, but it costs more, it's much less economical and it emits a lot more CO2, though I can see how it would appeal to people who for one reason or another are unable or unwilling to have gearchanging in their lives.
Still, the manual makes more financial sense, but the gear linkage is a clattery old thing which makes the Splash fell very low-rent. And that's a pity, partly because it surely wouldn't take a lot of effort or expense to fix, and partly because in most other respects this is a very appealing car.
It seems well-built (admittedly from what seem to be fairly cheap materials) and it has so much interior room for its overall size that, not for the first time, I'm left wondering why non-Japanese manufacturers seem to find it difficult to permit four large adults to sit comfortably inside a small car.
It's also as quick as it needs to be, the ride quality is excellent, and the roadholding is good enough to let you drive quite enthusiastically over suitable roads in appropriate conditions.
The severely curtailed back end means that there's much less room for luggage than there is for passengers. With the rear seats raised, the capacity is just 178 litres (barely more than that of a MINI), and 36 litres of that is accounted for by a waterproof compartment underneath the false boot floor. What you see when you open the tailgate is therefore a 142-litre space which hardly looks large enough to contain a week's shopping.
If you're prepared to run the Splash as a two-seater, the rear seats fold down nearly flat without the need to remove the headrests first and turn the car into something which might occasionally be used as a very small van.
The Splash also has two of the failings most likely to set me spluttering in coherent rage, namely a steering wheel that isn't adjustable for reach and rear windows of such unhelpfully small design that you might as well paint over them for all the good they do. If I owned a Splash I might refuse to reverse it on principle, citing the high likelihood of colliding with an unseen pedestrian.
The 1.2 manual is the only Splash with a choice of trim levels - SZ3 (shared with the 1.0) and SZ4 (shared with the 1.2 auto). A high proportion of the extra £540 charged for the SZ4 specification pays for extra safety, and in all truth you should really spend that money on the ESP (electronic stability programme), curtain shield airbags and front foglights.
Also included in that sum are the 15" alloy wheels, which look nice, and rear privacy glass, which I can see the reason for though it does make reversing even more exasperatingly difficult.
Minor gripes aside, the Splash is one of the more appealing small cars on the market, and although I reckon that the Swift is probably Suzuki's finest achievement, the Splash is certainly one of its better efforts.
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