MORE details of Suzuki's new minicar, the Splash, have been released ahead of its debut at September's Frankfurt Motor Show.

The car is all-Suzuki engineering and specifically styled for Europe and is based on the Swift platform, which is also used for the SX4.

Splash is the fourth new Suzuki model within three years and, in the European context, will replace the Wagon-R.

The car will also form the basis for the next Opel Agila, which will be manufactured for the German company by Suzuki at the same plant in Hungary.

The Splash was previewed in concept form at the Paris Motor Show in September 2006. The 3.72m-long car offers space for up to five occupants plus sports and leisure equipment.

When the car goes on sale in early 2008 customers will have the choice of three engines . . .two petrol and a diesel.

The petrol units are a 1.0litre three-cylinder unit producing 65hp and a 1.2litre four-cylinder engine producing 86hp.

The 1.3-litre common-rail directinjection diesel will be available with a diesel particulate filter. The 75hp four-cylinder unit is manufactured by Suzuki at its new dieselengine plant in India under licence from Fiat Group Automobiles.

Active safety features include ABS, brake assist, electronic brake-force distribution and ESP.

Passive safety features include six airbags (dual front, side and curtain airbags), a crash-optimised rigid passenger cell, plus seatbelt-force limiters and seatbelt pretensioners for the front seats.

Keep tyres at bay on eBay

EBAY shoppers looking for a bargain are being warned to steer clear of secondhand tyres being sold on the site. Independent testing revealed half of the used tyres listed on eBay are too dangerous for use.

The warning follows research by Continental Tyres, who commissioned technical specialists Entyrety to check the safety of the thousands of used tyres that are up for sale on the site.

Twenty used-car tyres were purchased and tested to see how they performed in terms of legislation and safety. Continental say one in five were over the recommended age limit for tyres, meaning they could fail or 'blow out' on the road.

A further 20% contravened the UK Sales of Goods Act by not having a legally required 'E' marking. None of the tyres fully conformed with regulation which says they should be marked as part worn.

Two of the tyres were well below the minimum tread depth and were even bald in places. One was found to have an illegal and dangerous repair and another had been stuck back together with superglue.