IT’S no wonder the Honda Jazz is such a popular car, especially among young people, and young women in particular.
It has chic looks, it’s easy to drive, easy to park, has lots of zip, uses very little petrol and doesn’t cost much.
What more can a girl want?
More than 2.5 million Jazzes have been sold since they first appeared. Now, some seven years later, Generation II has emerged.
But the original one was so good that there’s not a great deal of change in appearance – something that augers well for retained values on the early ones.
I had the latest GLi manual as a runabout for a week. At $15,990, it’s the cheapest of the Jazz trio and has a 1.3litre engine, whereas the $19,200 VTi and $21,600 VTi-S are 1.5s.
All have Honda’s pioneering Vtec (variable valve timing) technology and the GLi has been given 12 more kiloWatts and eight more Newton metres, bringing the important numbers (to most men, at least) to 73kW and 127Nm.
The new model has bigger lights, a new bumper and grille, and it’s grown somewhat too: the wheelbase is 50mm longer and it has a 35mm wider track and is 30mm wider inside.
The five-door hatch weighs only 1000kg, so the extra power and torque make it quite a spritely performer, while at the same time using only about half as much petrol as most cars that claim to being ‘economical’.
I liked the speedy take-off – it’s very zippy and can reach the Mitchell Freeway’s 100km/h limit in just a few seconds – and the handling around corners was very good.
It was very solid and stable on the road, had good visibility and excellent brakes. They tell me its power steering has been upgraded. I don’t know what the earlier one was like, but the test car’s wheel was no problem at all.
And it was tilt and reach-adjustable, so in conjunction with the fully adjustable driver’s seat, anyone from Sqidjet the Midget to Nicole Kidman will find a perfect driving position.
I thought its size was ideal for the city; it’s roomy enough for a driver and three to four passengers.
The seats are comfy and the instrument panel is very user-friendly.
I especially liked the knurled knobs for the airconditioning. Also, the seating can be easily adjusted to expand the boot space.
The Jazz is in what the sales people call the ‘light’ car class. But it’s actually as big inside as some in the ‘small’ car class, which is the next size up, car-wise. Four of us piled in and had room to spare, so ‘small’ hardly fits the bill.
And people who like using cup holders will find no fewer than 10 in the new Jazz!
Far from being a base model, the Jazz GLi is comprehensively-equipped and comes with standard features such as airconditioning, power windows and mirrors, central locking, driver’s seat height adjustment and a single in-dash CD stereo system.
Also standard are anti-locking brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD). Dual front airbags and front seatbelt pre-tensioners are standard.
There’s also an optional ‘safety pack’ at $1000, comprising side and curtain airbags and a multi-information display which includes a speed alarm, trip computer and seatbelt reminder for all passengers.
Well worth it, I’d say.
The test car was the easy-shifting five-speed manual, though a five-speed automatic is an option at a $2000 premium.
Another one of the car’s many appealing features was its negligible use of petrol.
I used it for everyday things such as trips to the city, the suburban shopping centre, my favourite coffee shop and so on. I drove it quite briskly – because it’s such a fun thing – and the consumption worked out at 6.0litres/100km. I’m sure I could get it down to 5.5 if I tried. But life’s too short.
My dad told me to be sure to also list any dislikes. However, I found none at all! The new Jazz is tres bon!