The Honda Jazz is another small car with a big presence. It is very well recommended thanks to the reliability of the Honda dealers and with exceptional safety records too.
The Car
It comes with 5 ANCAP safety stars and that means airbags, electronic stability control, hill-start assistance and a city braking system from Honda which helps to prevent impact at low-speed as standard on the basic S trim.
The SE and EX trim offer a lot more other safety systems but you’ll have to monitor your fuel economy as you move up the range. Either way, even the S trim gives you pretty decent equipment in the basic kit including automatic electric windows, air-conditioning, height-adjustable driver’s seat, and DAB digital radio.
The Drive
The Jazz is an easy drive, very characteristic of the Japanese to make it simple to operate their machinery. But with the stability and predictability, it’s not a vehicle that’s going to give you very much excitement. That holds true when it comes to handling and steering too. With the conventional strut front and simple torsion beam rear suspension as well as the electric-assisted steering, it’s almost bordering on boring when you get in.
But with the lack of feedback and the predictability comes a pretty decent and uneventful drive, which is pretty much all you could wish for when you’re on the road. The car is easy enough to park thanks to its size and together with the relative quiet you get when you’re travelling at speed, there are much worse options out there in comparison, so best to thank your stars for the good points of the Jazz here.
The Interior
The quality of the materials inside the Jazz is excellent and it’s easy to mistake it for a much more expensive saloon, especially since everyone inside gets a huge amount of head and leg room. The fact that the seats can fold in 18 different configurations is another plus point to the Jazz and its “Magic Seats” can fold entirely flat to give you a whopping 1,492 litres of cargo space when set for maxsimum cargo space.
For the driver, there’s a pretty good view of the surroundings since the windows are big and let in a lot of light into the cabin. The seats are a little on the firm side though, but that’s a small price to pay if you’re going to have that much versatility in seat placement.
Overall
The Jazz is an impressive car for its size, as well as efficient and safe, even at the basic trim level.
Original: Reviewing the Honda Jazz