If you don't have a lot of cash to spend on developing your own fancy new cars then you have two options - either buy someone else's car and stick a few of your own touches on it, which is when you find yourself with a ten-year-old Mitsubishi and a dwindling market share, or you can enter into a partnership with another manufacturer.
The second option is exactly what Suzuki has done with its Splash supermini. Sharing a platform with the Vauxhall's Agila, the Splash is a cute miniature MPV designed to tread on the toes of the likes of the Citroen C3 Picasso and Nissan Note, although it is smaller than those rivals.
It has a footprint on a par with a Fiat 500 or Nissan Pixo, but thanks to MPV-like design cues that have origins with Japanese kei cars, the Splash enjoys an upright stance which is intended to create as much space as possible inside.
There's actually a surprising amount of space, so it isn't too much of a stretch of the imagination to imagine the Splash being used as a teensy people carrier. Four can travel in reasonable comfort and the Suzuki shows the maturity of a bigger car both around town and on the motorway.
It's quite an entertaining car to drive, and the smaller petrol units really suit its peppy character, willing to rev and be pushed about town. The 1.2-litre petrol unit is the pick of the range and despite its small size is more than capable of hustling the Splash along.
General refinement is an issue - road and wind noise are noticeable on the motorway, and the quality of materials used inside the car is quite poor. This is something the Splash has in common with its Agila sibling. Whilst the Splash is a reasonably inexpensive package, there are rivals who can manage a better effort at a similar price.
The Splash might have carved out a niche for itself for people who want an MPV-like supermini, but its price and lack of quality are likely to keep it out of the mainstream consciousness.