Still in tune with the times. Recently, NZ Company Vehicle produced a Fleet Buyers Guide which required a detailed evaluation of a great deal of vehicles. One of the brands was Honda, something of a quiet disruptor, which remains a consistent and constant player in the New Zealand market.
Perhaps the best example of how well Honda is surviving in a very competitive market is the smallest Honda available, the diminutive Jazz, which just happens to own 48 percent of the segment it operates in.
With six models in the range, Jazz has an offering for every buyer, with a focus on the higher specification variants.
This doesn’t bode especially well for the cost-conscious fleet buyer – on the surface anyway – but not every fleet wants its drivers maximising their vehicle’s potential for performance. The entry level Jazz S therefore, more than answers the needs of this particular customer.
It may not be sexy ‘a la the Jazz RS, Sport or Mugen spec’, but the S model embodies everything that is the Honda Jazz: a fuel miser, packed with safety features which drives superbly and available at a very realistic price.
Anyone who follows the automotive sector will know this description of the Jazz doesn’t sound to dissimilar to when the Jazz was first launched by the company in 2001.
Almost two decades have passed, and the Jazz (a small car global platform for Honda) is now only in its third iteration, suggesting that Honda and Honda’s five million+ Jazz customers around the world (as at 2013 anyway) are happy with the product.
When Jazz was first launched, it was somewhat revolutionary showcasing the unusual-for-the-time monospace design.
This ‘single box’ exterior immediately generated thoughts of a potentially inflexibile interior, but this consideration
was quickly dispelled once the ‘magic seats’ – a hallmark of the Jazz – were explained and demonstrated.
Magic seats have clearly proven their worth. Today, the term encapsulates four different modes, Tall, Utility, Long and Refresh modes, with the terms being reasonably self-explanatory:
• Tall mode allows for a 1.2 metre of height with the rear seats flipping to an upright position,
• Utility mode takes the rear seats all the way down to a truly flat folded configuration.
• Long mode drops the flat folding front passenger seat to accommodate longer objects.
• Refresh mode refreshes the occupants. Remove the headrests, drop the front seats and the rear seats can adjust to form something of a bedlike layout.
OK, Refresh mode might be a little OTT for a fleet driver or even a long-distance rep, but there is still validity in the variable seating arrangements. To give the flexibility some numbers: Jazz offers five seat capacity with 18 configurations, a 2.4-metre long, 1.2-metre high load-space and a rear boot capacity which technically goes from 363 to 1323 litres: more space than you get in the CR-V!
Jazz is a small car with big car features. Reverse camera, hill start assist, touchscreen with Bluetooth are all standard features on all Honda Jazz models.
Under the bonnet, Jazz 2019 reprises Jazz 2001 with clever engine tech, the current iteration runs a 1.3-litre, four-cylinder, 16-valve, i-VTEC, chain-driven, DOHC engine, not with a partridge in a pear tree, but rather elements of Honda’s Earth Dreams technology to enhance driving performance and fuel efficiency.
It works too. The fuel efficiency of the 1.3-litre Jazz has improved 25 percent over the previous generation without any loss of power delivery refinement or sophistication.
Remember too, this is the S version. It’s good looking, practical, affordable and it still has the impressive driving dynamics which has earned it so many deserved global awards.
Specifications:
Body type Five-door hatch
Drive Front wheel drive
Engine type 4-cylinder, petrol with i-VTEC
Engine capacity 1395cc
Max power 73kW @ 6000rpm
Max torque 119Nm @ 6500rpm
l/100km (Combined) 5.1 litres per 100km
C02 emissions 106
Boot capacity 363 to 1323 litres
ANCAP rating 5 Star
Price $21,990
