Just about the only complaint you could level at Honda’s Jazz was the limited choice when it came to engines. Honda went some way towards rectifying this issue with the last facelift but is it enough. Andy Enright reports…
We’re all agreed that Honda’s Jazz is one of the best superminis you can buy. It’s well built, smartly styled and fun to drive. The problem with the Jazz range has always been one of choice. Want a diesel engine? Tough. Want a quicker version? No dice. These would seem to be the key areas Honda needed to address but instead of offering an oil burner and a pocket rocket, they decided to launch a junior sibling and give the remainder of the line up a wash and brush up.
Jazz buyers these days have two engine choices to consider, a 1.2-litre petrol variant as well as the 1.4 litre petrol. In fact, the 1.2-litre engine develops almost as much power as its larger capacity stablemate. Whereas the 1.4-litre unit is good for 82bhp, the 1.2-litre is only five ponies shy at 76bhp. Top speed is identical and the smaller engine is only a mite slower to 60mph. Fuel consumption goes up from 48.7 mpg to 51.4mpg in the 1.2-litre car, which would seem to make it the sensible pick.
The 1.2-litre model is offered exclusively in entry-level S trim and comes with a CD stereo, electric front windows, split-fold rear seats and central locking. The 1.4-litre car, which is available as either an SE or a Sport, gets 15-inch inch alloy wheels, door-mirror mounted LED indicators, rear electric windows, remote central locking, air-conditioning and a height adjustable driver’s seat. Prices start from £9,055.
The most recent interior refresh saw a variuety of improvements on the SE and Sport models with a more hard wearing textured seat fabric, Accord-style self illuminating instruments and a sportier design for the steering wheel. Other refinements include a revised stereo system with wheel mounted controls, an exterior temperatiure indicator and chrome detailing for the handbrake. Should you opt for the CVT gearbox, you get proper shift paddles instead of the rather unsatisfying buttons that originally featured.
"Honda have still to plumb a diesel engine into the Jazz"
The 1.4 Sport can be picked out by its sports front grille, unique alloy wheels, a more aggressive looking body kit plus front fog lights. The value proposition was also improved by the fitment of fully automatic climate controlled air conditioning and a smart black interior trim.
Success in the supermini sector is all about managing compromise. Manufacturers strive to build a car that’s small on the outside yet spacious indoors, that’s quick off the mark yet able to return impressive fuel economy. It’s also about being able to create a stylish shape given all of the previous constraints. Some cars manage it far better than others, and the Jazz is prima facie evidence. The car market isn’t entirely meritocratic though. The Jazz may well be the best supermini money can buy but it won’t outsell a Peugeot 207.
The Jazz has been on sale in Japan for much longer than we’ve seen the car in Europe (badged as the ‘Fit’) and there, as here, has set class standards in terms of interior space. The designers have thought long and hard regarding the packaging of the car and have utilised Honda’s expertise in MPV manufacture to engineer in a number of fundamental advantages. Moving the fuel tank from beneath the rear seats to a position under the front pair liberates the floor of the cabin and allows the seats to be folded into all sorts of permutations. Granted, you don’t get the option of removing the rear seats but they almost make up for this in their sheer versatility. An innovative retraction system means that you’re able to collapse the rear seats into the footwell with the headrests in place.
What’s more impressive still is that this action doesn’t involve scurrying around the car to manually slide the front seats forward, it can all be accomplished from the rear door thanks to a convenient set of levers. The result is a perfectly flat load floor 1740mm in length. Sports fans will appreciate the fact that if you then recline the front passenger seats, there’s enough room inside the diminutive Jazz for a pair of 240cm long downhill skis! Honda have focused on making this trick seating system as user friendly as possible. Although the external dimensions only read 3,830mm long by 1,675mm wide, the Jazz is a good 1,525 mm tall. The driving position is fairly upright as a result and even those well over six feet tall should be able to find a comfortable position behind the wheel.
It seems that Honda have rather sidestepped the ‘problem’ concerning the Jazz. With no diesel-powered version and no really convincing sporting tot, the Jazz range looks a little two dimensional. Even the 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre petrol engines are very capable supermini powerplants but two engines just don’t make a mainstream supermini range. Having said that, if the Jazz does fit your needs, you’ll find one of the best cars in the class. If only Honda would let the Jazz off the leash, it could do so much more.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Honda Jazz range
PRICES: £9,055-£11,955 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 2-3
CO2 EMISSIONS: 129-137g/km
PERFORMANCE: [1.2] 0-60mph 13.7s / Max Speed 106mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.2] (combined) 51.4mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags, ABS with EBD
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 3830/1675/1525mm