Suzuki Splash test drive since 2010 hatchback

Suzuki splash test drive: in someone else's stream

Soon the last Suzuki Splash cars will be separated from the car dealerships - the car leaves the market. The Kolesa.ru portal escorts micro -lines leaving from us and draws conclusions that the Russian motorist will lose from this, and at the same time what mistakes should be avoided by other brands with their subcompact brainchilds.

Translated from English, Splash means a surge (water or other liquid). This letter combination is often found in English -speaking comics, and it is possible that having selected such a name, Suzuki hopes to establish contact with an audience of this kind of literature. On professional jargon of artists, Splash is a drawing that occupies the entire page or even a U -turn in a comic book. It is usually used as the first page of the new story. As a name for a car, it sounds promising

Splash is not the smallest in the market segment A+, but definitely the youngest in the Suzuki family. A five -door hatchback is shorter and on a matchbox already than Swift, but a splash is as much as 8 cm higher. So he looks: short, narrow and tall. Not for a large family, not for long trips, but for a close city, perhaps, it is.

Surprisingly, the salon does not seem so tight. And the landing for such a baby is high; Great review is more comfortable for the city’s trip ...

Blue inserts are joyfully sewn in the harsh seats and in the upholstery of the doors. The steering wheel and radio are familiar by Swift; The first is hydraulically enhanced, equipped with buttons, it is convenient to rotate it. The second is minimalist, but do we ask a lot from music in a small urban typewriter? MP3 discs are played, the name of the radio station is highlighted, the sound does not wheeze and does not choke.

The dashboard on long trips does not load the tired gaze of the driver. Probably because it consists of just one large speedometer, occupying the entire intra-regional clearance. The lower half is occupied by the on -board computer screen in the form of a horizontal capsule stuffed with information. Everything that can be needed on the way is displayed on it, but to isolate the necessary data from there is more difficult than we would like. On the right, at the top of the front panel in proud loneliness is a remote tachometer. He is much smaller than speedster, and reading his testimony from this is a little more difficult.

Seats and steers can be configured in height. Is it easy to sit down to conveniently? Since a tall (190 cm tall), the tester of one of the most authoritative Russian automobile newspapers was able to without problems not only in front, but also for myself, then where will I get difficulties with an increase of 178 cm?

Noise insulation is not so bad, but the fact is that for dynamic driving the motor has to twist above 4,000 revolutions per minute this is not a premium sedan, here comfort depends on the speed of movement

AKP note, not a robot and not a variator, but a classic machine gun is one of the main advantages of this car. It smoothly switches speed, and most importantly, does not strangle the 1.2-liter motor and allows you to move quite briskly. A rare subcompact on the machine allows you to so confidently bypass several trucks on a 600 meter strip for overtaking! And in the city with such a box you can safely and confidently stay in the stream.

The trunk is not enough only 200 liters, and even then taking into account the narrow and deep underground. True, several packages from the hypermarket will fit there without problems. But there is also a rear seat! ...

The SPLASH chassis was clearly transmitted by the Suzuki racing roots: the suspension is dense and even harsh, which is why Splash characterically bounces on numerous irregularities of Russian roads. Thanks to the settings of the electromechanical amplifier, the steering wheel is heavy in place, and only at the beginning of the movement does the effort begin to appear. The information content of the steering is unimportant, but the direct Splash holds confidently, the benefit in the wheel arches there are 14-inch wheels.

Prices
The base equipment of Splash costs 489,000 rubles. All hatchbacks are sold in a five-door version with 1.2-liter 94-horsepower engines. The equipment is actually one GLS, but there are still two prices: with a mechanical and automatic gearbox. With automatic transmission, of course, is more expensive for 51,000 rubles. The GLS package includes: ABS, 6 airbags, air conditioning, steering wheel, electric grinder and electric windows, seats heating, steering wheel and driver's seat, ondious computer, full -time audio system with CD and MP3, fog lights.

After the Russian premiere of Splash at the Motor Show in Moscow, the correspondent of the Kolesa.ru portal Vitaliy Egorov introduced into editorial everyday life a free-playing translation of the name of the subcompact: plum!. Witty and accurately. Subjected as it may seem, the fate of the model has developed: instead of the beautiful and sonorous, like the roar of the splashing waves, the future, Suzuki plopped into a puddle and abandoned Russian sales Splash. It's a pity...




We liked Suzuki Splash
Convenient place of the driver, minimum fuel consumption, decent acceleration dynamics

We didn't like Suzuki Splash
Unimportant handling, modest trunk, hard suspension, low front bumper

Class A+car length, mm
Suzuki Splash 3 715
Chevrolet Spark 3 640
Daewoo Matiz 3 495
Citroen C1 (5 doors) 3 435
VAZ Oka 3 200

Competitors Suzuki Splash in the Russian market
Chevrolet Spark
PEUGEOT 107


The car was provided for the test by Suzuki Motor Rus, the Russian representative office of Suzuki.

Author: Maxim Sokolov
Photo: Roman Ostanin
 

A source: Wheel magazine [March 2011]