I have a new love, the Honda Jazz. Bear with me on this.
So the last generation Honda Jazz was pretty decent, excellent interior space, a reasonably punchy yet frugal engine and some rather garish colours to mix things up a bit. Well, they’ve upped the game yet again while keeping the fundamental basics of what makes the Jazz such a great all-rounder.
Prices start at £19,000 and go up to £22,000. There’s just the one engine to chose from and the optional extras; well, they’re simply bump strips, a coloured grille insert and mirror caps in a choice of three colours.
Looks
Everything has gone very Japanese; the front looks like a little happy face, with bright eyes and a chirpy excited look. It’s keen to get out in the world.
Side on there’s that familiar swoopy profile, and the rear has an incredibly large boot lid…which is sometimes difficult to not hit yourself with when you open it as the handle is so high.
Drive
Probably the most impressive thing about the new Jazz is just how frugal it is. Powered by a new Intelligent Multi Mode Drive (i-MMD) 1.5-litre petrol engine coupled to two electric motors.
This gives a combined power output of 108 BHP and 253 Nm of torque. To make life easier that electric power is coupled with the engine through a new e-CVT gearbox, which is a darn sight quieter than the CVT of old.
There’s no manual option to be had and to be honest, it makes driving a breeze, especially for the type of around town work a lot of Jazz owners are likely to put it through.
Only one of those two electric motors drives the wheels though, the other is there to harness energy from the petrol engine. There’s also regenerative braking, which soon sees the bars on the battery meter shoot up as you come to a stop.
0-62 isn’t breathtaking at 9.4 seconds for the base model, rising to 9.9 for the off-roady inspired Crosstar model – more on that later. Thanks to the extra electric punch, though, the Jazz never feels that slow. Off the mark up until, say, 30, it’s actually pretty nippy.
In terms of MPG, I saw 79.9 over a 50-mile drive. Now that was in ECON mode, over a mixture of fast A and B roads, with a short motorway section. It bodes well for chugging around town though.
Ride is on the softer side, which isn’t bad as it soaks up a lot of the rougher terrain we have to cope with on UK roads. Pair this comfortable ride with good quality tyres—something easily found at competitive prices from online suppliers like tyres.co.uk—and the Honda Jazz remains surefooted even with some body roll in corners, confidently handling S bends at a healthy pace.
Granted, it’s not engaging to drive, but it felt spirited enough to have a sensible amount of fun along some B roads.
And while the new-fangled e-CVT is far more harmonious than a typical CVT, you’ll still get a flare-up of revs when really pushing the throttle to the floor, but that is how they work by design.
Interior
Inside is as plucky and Japanese as the outside; it feels like it’s taken some cues from the ’90s with its sizeable central LCD for the dials, which is inset at an angle and flanked by light-up bar charts. Think of an original Prius dashboard, but with more colour.
Now that’s not a bad thing; everything is minimal and shows what you need to know clearly and concisely.
A central infotainment screen measures 9 inches, the maps are Garmin powered, and the whole OS is similar to that found on the new Honda e, which is incredibly welcoming and slick to use.
It feels like the screen is somewhat more orientated toward the passenger though, it could be a trick of the eye. While the rearward angle can sometimes make it hard to see in direct sunlight; adjustment to tip it forward and back would have been nice.
Right by the wing mirrors, you’ll find two deep cup holders; these can also be used to plonk your keys, phone etc in.
But the major oddity was not clearing the centre console between the seats. If you have an ‘e-CVT’, then surely a push-button system to select, Drive, Neutral, Reverse etc – like in the CVT Citroen Cactus, is far more aesthetically pleasing than an old school ratchety gear stick?
Maybe Honda didn’t fancy alienating an older generation of would-be buyers by removing such a fundamental control item?
What you notice the most is just how light and roomy the interior of the Honda Jazz feels; the forward A-pillars are stick thin and remind you of how cars used to be. There’s a small triangle of glass between them and what you could call the main A-pillar, which makes the Jazz seem like a colossal MPV rather than a tiny hatchback.
The way the dash extends out far in front of you also gives a sense of space and roominess. Another great touch is the two-spoke steering wheel; it’s simple yet modern.
Everything feels good in terms of quality, all the touchpoints are great, and there’s little in the way of cheap plastic to be found.
Move to the rear, and the ‘Magic Seats’ are still in place. These fold totally flat with one pull, making the Jazz a cavernous tip trip lugger with ease. You can also store a decent amount of stuff under them when they’re in their normal position.
Boot space measures in at 304 litres, which expands to 1205 when folded. Rear seat legroom is worth a mention too, it’s easily enough for a full-size adult, with headroom to match.
It’s also worth noting the ton of standard kit it has; lane keep assist, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, collision mitigation, road departure mitigation and a whopping 10 airbags – including a new front-centre jobby which stops occupants from banging into each other in the event of a side-on collision.
2021 Honda Jazz Conclusion
We all know the Jazz suffers with an image problem in the UK; they’re all driven slowly by the white and grey-haired brigade. But the Jazz is simply a great car; this fourth generation is the most likeable yet, the frugality was downright impressive without me even trying.
Couple that with emissions as low as 102 g/km, the incredible practicality and happy go lucky design ethos, I can honestly say the Jazz is one of the top cars of the moment for me.
Honda Jazz Crosstar
To appeal to the soft-roader, mini crossover, lifestyle adventure bunch, Honda launched a range-topping Crosstar model.
It features a 30mm raised ride height, cladding around the lower half, a two-tone paint scheme, roof bars, bespoke 16″ alloys, an eight-speaker stereo with a sub, and the seat fabric throughout is waterproof.
Gimmicky? Maybe. And prices start at £23,445, which is a healthy increase from the base SE model at £19,000. Looking at that monthly, it’s roughly £199 for the entry-level Jazz or £259 for the Crosstar.
You certainly notice the increase in ride height from behind the wheel. You get a more commanding view over the road, but it doesn’t seem to hamper the body control at all. It still rides well over broken tarmac and can corner just as assertively.
The extra bass provided by the sub is a nice touch, but the standard speaker setup in the regular Jazz was better than most to begin with.
If you want some ‘active lifestyle’ looks or want a Jazz that’s a little more exciting, then the Crosstar is the way to go.
