Honda Jazz Review

Hey Guys, Siddharth Lal here with the review of Honda Jazz (also known as Honda Fit in many other countries) based on my yesterdays test drive of both the petrol and diesel variants. The test drive was arranged by Courtsey Honda showroom (Okhla, New Delhi, India) and I was really pleased with the service and support offered by Courtsey Honda. To my notice, Courtsey Honda is one of the best Honda dealerships in Delhi/NCR and you’ll feel welcomed and indulged as soon as you enter the premises; the hospitality, cleanliness and services of this showroom is upto the upmarket Honda standards. Honda introduced Jazz in the year 2009 and Jazz being the second premium hatchback to enter the Indian Auto market after Hyundai i20, failed to attract huge number of sales like the Honda City and Honda Amaze due to it’s price which was slightly less than the price of a sedan (correct me if i’m wrong). Honda later discontinued Jazz in the year 2012 and It was in the year 2015 that it got re-launched with a complete makeover and a diesel engine option. The Jazz is much improved now and is more appealing. Lets find out how the Jazz is in the review below:

Exterior Styling:

The Honda Jazz is full of style and looks modern and funky with futuristic crossfade mono form design. The front imposes a confident and stylish stance with Honda Civic lookalike double-halogen lamp wraparound headlights which are sharp and stretched onto the radiator grill and the black garnish high-glossy wavy radiator grill with bold chrome lining and Honda signature. While the sculpted front bumper with wide honeycomb bumper grill and big fog lamp housing accentuates more to a bolder look. In my opinion the front look of the Jazz resembles a bit to the Honda Civic (previous generation).

The bold, sharp and aerodynamic character lines on the side profile with large windows and dynamic 15” alloy wheels reflects true craftsmanship, but the 175-section tyres looks skinny though.

The rear appeals sportiness and style too especially with a sporty raised tailgate spoiler and funky LED taillights which are elongated till the roof. The rear licence chrome garnish above the number plate and the bold rear bumper adds more to style.

The overall design of the Honda Jazz is sure to turn heads every time on road.

Interiors, Comfort and Convenience:

The interiors of the Jazz even though with goodies and sophisticated futuristic design feels boring according to me. The appeal of the interiors doesn’t go well with the modish exteriors. The Jazz gets a single tone all black dashboard with silver accents surrounding the front A/C vents, on the dashboard centre console and around the gear lever housing plus a high-glossy black accents on the dashboard centre console. The leather wrapped gear knob and multi-function leather wrapped steering wheel with silver inserts appends urbanity.

The dashboard has a integrated in-dash 15.7cm touchscreen audio system with CD/DVD, AUX, USB/iPod, bluetooth connectivity, GPS navigation and reverse camera view with three angles (Top-Down view, Normal view and Wide view). The Jazz also gets a first in class automatic climate control A/C with touch-screen control panel.

The cabin of the Jazz in not only futuristic but also has a best in segment space. The jazz has wide front seats offering excellent support and comfort while the rear seats comfortable too and offers excellent space with good leg-room and shoulder-room.

The Jazz also has a massive 354 litres of boot space which is best-in-segment.

Engine and Gearbox:

The next gen power packed engines of the Jazz has unparalleled performance with best-in-segment fuel efficiency. The petrol motor is 4 cylinder 1.2L i-VTEC engine with 90ps power combined with 18.7 km/l milage and 110Nm torque at 4800RPM while the diesel mill is 4 cylinder 1.5L i-DTEC engine producing 100ps power and 200Nm of torque at 1750RPM returning 27.3 km/l.

The petrol mill is really refined, silent, tried and tested with very less NVH levels (Noise Vibration Harshness). Whereas the diesel motor is powerful with higher NVH levels, the motor sounds a lot while revving and while idling as well but I kind off loved the engine noise of the diesel as it sounded like a powerful motor.

The petrol variant gets a 7-speed CVT automatic transmission and a 5-speed manual transmission and the diesel variant gets a 6-speed manual transmission. All these transmissions are silky smooth like all the other Honda cars and the gear shifts are not quite prominent in the CVT variant.

Performance:

Petrol Variant (Manual i-VTEC):

The i-VTEC petrol mill is a rev happy engine with excellent acceleration and pickup, it reaches from a speed from 0-100 km/hr in over 13secs. The Jazz lacks initial pickup but has excellent acceleration past 4000RPM mark and doesn't feel stressed even at over 6000RPM levels whereas the throttle response is moderately good. Overall the Honda Jazz petrol manual variant offers a zippy performance with exciting drive.

Diesel Variant (Manual i-DTEC):

Whereas the diesel motor though powerful lacks excitement and feels not as exciting to drive as the petrol model. The diesel variant has no turbo lag and has liner power delivery. The low-end torque delivery is superb and the car picks up easily from RPM levels below 1500 mark. The acceleration in the 3rd gear is quick and the RPM levels above 4000 RPM mark is where the diesel mill looses breath. Overall the diesel mill is not the car for the enthusiasts but the impressive 27.3 km/l milage overshadows it’s unexciting drive.

Petrol Variant (CVT i-VTEC):

I would rate the 7-speed automatic variant of the Jazz to be mediocre in terms of performance as compared to the manual petrol and the diesel model, it is not as exciting as the manual petrol variant and not as dull as the diesel variant. I loved the CVT (Continuous Variable Timing) variant and is my personal preference over the other two as it is more convenient to drive in the city as well as on the highways plus the trip-tonic paddle shift manual mode makes it easier for the Jazz to climb hills and helps in sudden overtaking. The CVT also gets sports mode where the gear changes automatically after redlining in each gear.

Handling and Controlling:

The Honda Jazz gets the traditional McPherson strut with coil springs in the front suspension and torsion beam axle with coil spring suspension in the rear. The suspension does not feel sturdy and the ride is quite bumpy on potholes and on uneven roads (as reported by Vaibhev). Even though the tyres of the Jazz are skinny (175-section),

the Jazz handles and controls superbly on sharp curves, turns and feels stable at 3-digit speeds (the wind noise is quite noticeable in the cabin on high speeds). The Jazz easily turns at a speed of 60 Km/Hr on sharp curves.

Braking and Safety

Overall the Honda Jazz doesn't feel solid and sturdy but is high on safety features like the ACE body structure and pedestrian injury mitigation technology which minimises injuries during collision.

Jazz also has dual front SRS airbags and impact mitigating head rests.

The brakes are excellent at both high and low speeds with ABS and EDB in the braking system.

Verdict:

In my opinion Honda Jazz is the most stylish and distinctive looking premium hatchback loaded with features and futuristic cockpit, moreover it has a reliable and peppy petrol engine which is quite efficient too and a powerful diesel engine with best-in-segment fuel economy.

I would suggest for the diesel variant if and only if your daily running is more than or equal to 70 km and if not then the petrol CVT variant is the best buy as it’s more convenient to drive and returns a superb fuel economy of 19 km/l (Claimed) which is even more than the manual transmission petrol model.