Honda Jazz 2018

Overview

Not many could contradict that the Honda Jazz is probably one of the most popular cars from the company in the Philippines and has been liked by many since its inception over one and half decade ago. Yes, Honda managed to keep the design of this quirky little hatchback intact ever since it first made an appearance here, which was in 2001. Despite not being the most successful model for the company in the Philippines, the Jazz could successfully keep a lot of motorists and car enthusiasts interested in everything that was offered.

The Jazz received a mid-life facelift back in 2017, which saw a new variant, called the “RS”, joining the lineup. However, don’t be mistaken as the RS here does not stand for Rally Sport or Racing Sport for the Jazz. Honda used RS for the abbreviation for “Road Saling”.

The Honda Jazz goes up against a good number of competitors but still manages to keep the buyers attracted to itself without a fuss. Two of the most prominent competitors are the Ford Fiesta and the Mazda 2.

Interior & Features

Due to the size and the wheelbase, the cabin is extremely spacious and generous on the legroom as well as the cargo space. The 384-litre of boot space seems to be enough to carry almost all of the luggage you may want to take in for road trips and picnics.

Get into the front seat and you will love almost every bit of the things offered on the dashboard. The base variant gets a 2-DIN audio system with AUX, USB, and Bluetooth connectivity. The top models get a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. However, hands-free audio streaming of calls from mobiles is given as a standard feature.

The car does not get leather upholstery in any of the trims but still manages to be comfortable and likable with the black fabric. Plus, barring the base trim, all the other variants have speed-sensing door lock. Power windows are given as a standard fitment, along with auto up/down for the driver.

Exterior

The Honda Jazz has an unmatched styling to its credit. Up at the front, the Jazz has a set of sleek headlamps that continue up to the opening of the grille. The grille also has chrome outlining, which sets it apart from most of the cars in this range. Down below, the lower lip of the bumper has excessive black plastic cladding and blacked out mesh design on the air intakes. The fog lamps are also set on the pool of black surrounds.

There are two character lines passing from the side profile of the car, which makes it look muscular despite the wheel arches not being so prominent. The low variants of the car have 15-inch wheels with 175-section tyres while the top-spec models have 16-inch units with 185-section tyres. Even the alloy wheels have different colour tones with the most attractive one being the Gloss Black of the RS variant.

Halogen headlamps are standard in all the trims except for the RS trim, which has LED lighting. The side turn indicators are built on the fenders in the low trims while on the higher trims, they are added to the ORVMs.

Ride & Handling

The engine used under the hood of the Honda Jazz is a Euro-4 compliant unit and does not gobble up much of the fuel due to the Programmed Fuel Injection delivery system and the “Earth Dreams” CVT gearbox.

Paddle shifter makes sure that the smoothest ride is prevalent in all conditions and lets the driver take over in case he/she senses lagginess on roads that are a little too congested. The addition of cruise control adds to the convenience of the drive when driving on the freeways.

However, one of the main highlights of the car is the addition of an “ECON” button. This button activates the economical side of the Jazz that helps the driver save a lot on the fuel consumption by trimming down the throttle response, air conditioning and the transmission.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The Honda Jazz is offered in just one engine trim for all the variants, include the RS-badged model. The 1.5-litre, naturally-aspirated, four-cylinder engine can make a good power of 120 PS along with a peak torque of 145 Nm, which comes at 4,800 rpm. The power is sent down to the wheels via a 5-speed manual gearbox for the base model and a CVT (along with shift lock) for the rest of the variants. Plus, a paddle shifter is added to the top-spec model and the RS version. Despite its big size, there is no compromise on the performance and the auto gear shifting prowess of the Jazz.

Braking & Safety

The Honda Jazz has ventilated brakes for the front wheels while the rear wheels have drums. Anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic brakeforce distribution are given as standard in all the variants.

Other major safety electronics are Vehicle Stability Control and Hill Start Assist, which prevents the hatch from rolling back when starting on an incline. However, these two features are added to the top trims only, including the reverse parking camera with guidelines.

One of the most important safety additions in the Jazz is the generosity of the airbags. The company has been generous in adding dual front airbags as standard. Plus, the RS version has up to six airbags, which includes side and curtain airbags as well. However, given the price and the competition in the segment, side airbags could also be added as standard.