The Maruti Suzuki Splash!

" The Maruti Suzuki Splash! car is Indian car. "

Another i10 Killer
Sporty Feel
Swell Interiors

Few had thought that the Hyundai i10 would be such an extraordinary success - though it started slow, the sales have boomed in the later half of 2008.

But its not all plain sailing for the i10 in 2009 - to beat its closest rival, Hyundai, the largest passenger car maker Maruti will do all it can to hurl the current darling i10 off its throne.

Although it was shown as a concept at Maruti Suzuki’s pavilion at Auto Expo ‘08, Splash has been in the international market for a while now. The Splash is Suzuki's fourth strategic world model and is based on the hot selling Swift. Targeting the Indian families, Splash will roll out to Indian roads in Q1 2009.

The Maruti Suzuki Splash comes in three engine flavors - a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder petrol unit producing 65 PS and a 1.2-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine developing 86 PS. The 1.2L petrol Splash feature an optional 4-speed automatic transmission.

The 1.3L DDiS will deliver 75 horses to the front wheels to reach a 100 clicks in 14 seconds to keep the power-hungry blokes happy while the 165Nm of torque will ensure smooth drivability.

The seats are high-set and gift the driver with excellent visibility. The dashboard exudes dynamism and energy. The large speedo in the instrument cluster is complemented by a tachometer which is mounted as a separate unit on the dash.

The display below the speedometer gives you vital information like outside temperature, fuel consumption etc. The boot too is extremely spacious and with the seats down would liberate over 1000 liters of storage space.

The rear looks rather sporty with a inward angling windscreen and side pillar tail lamps. The flared wheel arches lend the Splash a masculine appeal.

The pricing would be a little higher than the Swift in the range of Rs. 4.5-5.5 lakh, which is essentially the same as the Hyundai i10.