MENTION Suzuki to most people and it's more likely to bring to mind images of leather clad men tearing around on high powered motorbikes than any more sedate four-wheel modes of transport.

The fact is, however, that the Japanese company has for several decades now been, with no little success, gaining a significant foothold in the car market.

Much of that progress has been down to their knack of knocking out small cars which are a whizz in the city and have running costs that would keep Scrooge happy at Christmas.

At the forefront of this success has been the Swift, which undoubtedly has the highest profile of the fleet, but there is also the Alto and the Splash.

The latter is the newest model and represents Suzuki's fresh take on the compact MPV sector, effectively replacing the Wagon-R, but shedding it's predecessor's unimaginative box shape in favour of a more sporty look designed specifically to appeal to the European market place.

Although a completely new project the Splash is based on the successful Swift platform and is built around a slighlty shorter wheel base version of the latter's chasis.

This is good news as it means the splash drives not unlike the Swift - so while being fun it is precise and sure footed.

The extra height of the MPV body shape means there is more lean in corners but the car never feels anything but planted on the road.

The 1.2-litre petrol engine in the GLS+ also proves very nippy around town, where the compact dimensions also mean you'll be able to go almost anywhere, but at the same time you'll be more than happy at cruising speeds on the open road.

And you should also be relatively happy with the impact on your wallet with average fuel consumption of 51.5 miles per gallon proving very respectable and CO2 emissions of 131g/km meaning road tax of £110 per year.

And despite it's external dimensions the Splash does a reasonable job of fulfilling its MPV billing as Suzuki have pulled off the neat trick of providing decent people carrying space for such a small vehicle.

The high roof means headroom is not an issue in the front or back and legroom is comfortable for adults in the back too.

And three adults will fit in the back although those, like me, who are falling victim to what's euphemistically called middle aged spread may find the fit a bit snug.

The compromise for all this room in such a small car is a relatively small boot, but folding down the 60/40 split rear seats when not carrying a full complement improves luggage space considerably.

There is also a handy waterproof storage compartment beneath the boot floor and plenty of places to stash your stuff around the cabin, including a useful sunglasses holder in the roof lining and drinks bottle holders in the front door interiors.

The large speedometer, positioned centrally in the driver's eyeline, with it's black on white display and the complementary stalk mounted rev counter atop the dash give a fashionable and funky feel to the interior.

And although the plastics are hard to the touch they do have a quality look to them which is enhanced by silver coloured accents around the well laid out centre console, which is angled to make everything easy to reach, and elsewhere in the cabin.

Passangers in the Splash are not left wanting for comfort or entertainment with electric front windows, remote central locking, air-conditioning, an MP3 compatible CD stereo and a leather-covered steering wheel with audio controls standard across the range.

And the higher-trim GLS+ I drove adds alloy wheels, front foglamps and rear privacy glass to that list - creating an overall package that has quite a sporty feel and look.

With small cars often seen as being more vulnerable in the constant flow of HGVs, buses and SUVs these days Suzuki certainly haven't skimped on the safety equipment either.

Twin front, side and curtain airbags are standard in the GLS+ along with ABS featuring brake assist and electronic brake-force distribution plus electronic stability control.

So, although at £10,315 the Splash may not be the cheapest mini-MPV out there, you do get a lot of kit for your money and better refinement than many competitors.