Suzuki to make a Splash with all-new small SUV

Suzuki has confirmed it will unveil not one, but two concepts at next month’s Geneva motor show. The first will be a replacement for the Splash that was sold in Europe, the second a compact SUV that’s set to do battle with Nissan’s Juke.

It had been hoped the Japanese car maker might use Geneva to unveil a successor to its ageing Jimny Sierra but, from the moody silhouette released today, it’s clear it plans to unveil a bigger five-door SUV.

Called the iM-4 the small SUV is described by its creators as “an iconic mini 4x4” one that from the look of it clearly pinches the Jimny’s tough squared-off utilitarian look.

This means the poor Jimny, despite being in its 17th year of production, will have to soldier on a little longer.

The other concept that’s set to be unveiled at Geneva in March is called the iK-2 that’s said to be a rival for the Honda Jazz and a replacement for the Splash hatchback that was available in other markets.

Created under the slightly bizarre theme of a “harmonised force” and to “raise compact car values to their limit” the five-door hatch will slip beneath the current Swift and sit above the new Celerio as a bigger, more spacious budget hatch.

Suzuki will release more information, and official pictures, at the Geneva motor show but both models are destined to come here following Suzuki Australia’s announcement that a glut of new models (including the new Vitara) is crucial for its ambition of 30,000 annual sales by 2017.