Akira Kamio, the styling designer responsible for the Splash’s design and also a fundamental contributor to the earlier development of the Swift, started analysing the characteristics needed for a future European mini-MPV in 2003. It quickly became clear to him that the car should not look like a shrunken van but should, at the same time, offer the same advantages as a van: a slightly higher seating position; oncomitantly good all-round visibility, a pleasant feeling of roominess and easy configurability enabling the entire rear part of the cabin to be turned into a large luggage space. In short, Kamio saw the need for a charming design without any oncessions made in terms of functionality.
To gain a thorough understanding of current needs, a 10-man Suzuki design team travelled from Japan to Germany in January 2004 and spent six months there researching European car trends and developments in fashion, lifestyle and design. Their impressions and findings led into model studies involving so-called “car clinics”, where potential customers showed a preference for a design that combined
dynamism, sportiness and youthfulness with a pleasantly positive interior ambience and maximal practicality for everyday use. At the end of September 2006, Suzuki gave a preview of the forthcoming Splash in the form of a “Project Splash” study at the Mondial de l’Automobile show in Paris. A highly positive reaction from the public confirmed that Akira Kamio and his team had taken the right route with the Splash by
creating it for tight parking spaces yet ensuring sufficient room for
five people and their sport or leisure equipment.
