The Honda Jazz is practical, frugal, and plush. What's not to like? See how it compares to all the other small cars it's up against
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Please give us a solid visual demonstration of the features on the new jazz without us having to consult the manual each time.
I recently bought one of these – my 3rd Jazz. I am really enjoying driving it. I have managed to get up to 90 mpg around town. In addition to the practicality, it also has loads of safety features, which weren’t mentioned in the review. It is relatively expensive, but it doesn’t cost much to run and holds its value well.
I’m getting one soon. It’s been out since 2020 and I’ve only seen 3 on the road.
People are missing a trick here. It’s a small car with massive room inside. Looks well built and designed and that hybrid motor is much better than toyota I’d argue.
Engine is only a generator until 60mph+ where the engine locks into 1 gear equivalent to 6th gear and electric motor provides extra power when overtaking.
All sub 60mph driving is done solely on electric motor. Which is why it’s quite fast for a small car doing 0-60 in 8.5 seconds.
I got 9 seconds on my test drive but that was with three people in the car.
No gears is bliss and it’s comfy.
Can’t praise this car enough.
Jack of all trade master of none – but better than a master of one comes to mind.
is the catalytic converter under the bonnet?
I think your comment on the car only going into electric only mode in “very low speeds” is not accurate. Unless you believe 60 mpg and over are very low speeds. I regularly go on motorway and sit at 60mph and more often than not it goes into electric mode.
I love the Jazz, I bought a Premium Crystal Red EX version in May 2021. My previous car was a Kia Sportage.
I have a mk3 jazz 1.2 and I find it fun to drive down twisty roads. I like the sound of the engine around 5-6k rpm ; it’s not as raw as the 1994 civic I used to own but the steering and chassis are better . I have a 500cc motorbike too but I still sometimes take the jazz out for fun from time to time . It’s also excellent at carrying mountain bikes .
Good review, but I felt reactive to to your opening comments about it not being exciting or fun. I have a 2019 Sport and I find it a good balance of being fun, practical and a great size. Perhaps not a “go-cart” as a mini, but the Sport is peppy and is the same weight as a Mazda MX5 so it’s a pretty good performer too. I like a manual gear car so I doubt if I’ll go for the latest Hybrid version. Why would I when a 2019 Sport is such good value? Apart from the subjective start (maybe save that for the end if you have to) that’s a great review thanks.
I have owned my Honda jazz crosstar for 9 months now and covered 8 thousand miles so far with trips to London from Devon about 200 miles x2 .I am 6’3” and about 17 stone I find I have plenty room for my size there is not a lot to dislike about this car in fact I find it easy to drive and park it’s a bit like the Tardis it looks small but is very deceiving for its size very economical and of course Honda legendary reliability I went for the cross star because it’s a bit bigger and a lot of protection on the wheel arches so overall I think it’s a great car one little niggly it has fantastic lights including the fog lights which unfortunately don’t operate from left to right when you’re turning like other cars it would’ve been nice if they had that but I suppose they just fog lights the sound system with eight speakers is amazing sounds and the Bluetooth connectivity without using a USB cable excellent seats very comfortable I have had three adults and two children in the car which even surprise me for its size very good turning circle and a very stable car to drive and surprisingly nippy .
alan mason ……yould get better mileage if you ate less pies and watched your diet
And all this in 1 (one!), but extremely long sentence without a single punctuation mark… 😉
We have the magic seats on our mk9 Civic and they are brilliant. Would definitely consider one of these as a replacement. I have seen a new Jazz with a lighter two tone coloured interior which looked really good, do you know which trim level this is available on?
Crosstar
The UK needs the Nissan Note E Power, the new generation came out in 2021 and it’s brilliant. I own the older model but the EV tech in it is just amazing and the range just fantastic. Also it’s so fast approx 0-62mph in 6.5 secs Highly recommend if it comes to the UK. At present I get 1000kms on a tank and that’s city driving, roughly works out at 95 mpg I think if my conversions are correct
Another concise review. Thank you.
I have had the Crosstar version of the Jazz for about 8 months now and I love it. Mid to high 60’s mpg in the summer, low 60’s in the winter. Plus, the Crosstar gets a better stereo.
Better stereo… but no blind spot information, no cross traffic monitor and no heated steering wheel.
Had a ride in a friend’s Jazz – everything impressed, except the seats. No lumbar support at all. So it is a no go for me. (Also no spare wheel – even as an option!)
Yes, it is the perfect car for us and we are driving it for almost 4 month, from early September. About 2200 mi with a (measured) average consumption of…. (not 56 mpg) 63.5 mpg!
And we’ve had some real winter here in Poland already for a few weeks…
I like the rear seat folding mechanism…
I have owned one for three month’s now. Very happy with the cars performance. I have achieved 67 mpg in September with warmer weather. Currently 58 mpg in colder weather as the engine runs more often especially in the morning on start up. As it is running to heat the heating system. If you switch off the heating the engine will stop. It is very comfortable and easy to drive and quiet running. Sometimes you buy a car and are not especially happy with the purchase, this certainly is not one of those. Well done Honda.
@Ian Hackney many thanks, I think you have sealed my decision.
Yes I bought it in September so have no summer experience but going by temperature at the time I would imagine a better outcome in warm weather. However Aircon would come into the equation then. It is quite noticeable when you switch on at first in cold weather that the engine runs quite fast if however if you switch off the heating the engine will stop.
@Ian Hackney Thank you, do you think your economy would be even better in summer if you only did below 50mph (only town driving)? I am considering it for only town driving..
I’m doing mixed local and distance
That’s awesome, what type of driving are you doing?
Looks apart it is better than the competition. Honda make well built and well engineered cars. I keep my cars for a long time and know that a Honda will serve me better than a German or French rival. The Crosstar is not bad looking in the right colour scheme either.
If they stuck this new model into a slightly revised version of the previous design, it would’ve been really good
Great review. Think I would be tempted by the Crosstar as to me it looks much better. Happy New Year Doug 🙂
What was not mentioned is its stand out safety kit, adaptive cruise, all options on the competition.
Same kit as the Yaris then?
