Hm.do not know if the case can be made for the Jazz as welll at this price. After all there is a math behind the price for this car, its not a arbitrary pick from Honda. Why would the Jazz be priced at this number? Lets try to look.
1. The Jazz shares the platform with the city and so the component manufacture cost per item (production or procurement) will be the same on the shared parts so that forms the bulk of the basic price.
2. Since the platform is the same the basic platform parts cost (like what it takes to build the chasis for the same wheel base, etc) will be the same. So some cost inline with the city can be added up
3. Same level of localization with the city, again same cost numbers
4. The only difference b/w the city and the Jazz is the mill, the power train and the chasis length, also substantial changes in the drive mechanisms.
So all in all a total difference of approx 20% from the city.
now if we look at the cost of the Jazz as 80% of the city price then it works out to be the same. What about the benefit on the 1.2 mill? Well, the R&D cost of "Indianization" a 1.2 needs to be accounted somewhere, right? Also how much is the Tax sop? is it not already factored in the cost. I guess so.
Now assuming some how (just for the sake of argument) the price is justified. What do you get when you buy a Jazz?
1. A hatch back that is unlike others in terms of drive experience and interior space. There is no other car that can match this in this segment (not even the sedan's which cost the same)
2. The Honda quality and reliability. It matters once you buy and car and use it. One can not feel the difference on paper or in a discussion on this, but who can dispute the quality of refinement and care-for-detail when you drive a say City and any other sedan in the same space?
3. The acceptability of the car. The car is not just of its features. The overall feeling about the car is not a sum total of the features (just an example on the lighter side: any body here who is married I guess agrees with me that the acceptability or the liking to you wife/GF is not a sum total of the height, weight, skin color, intelligence, cuteness etc of your better half. Its much more than that, and its also subjective). In that sense, even the city despite all the cry for being low of VFM is selling hot. The same applies to the Jazz.
4. The opportunity cost, if not Jazz then what? Do you loose a premium because it was expensive considering the term of ownership one has in mind when buying this?
5. What is you always wanted a City, but not as big as a City but still everything else remained the same? Would the prayers of these guys not be answered?
I am not batting for the Jazz, its a nice car in its own way and well it might not be a student car in India (a lot cars in India which are prized possessions are actually student cars or cheap taxi elsewhere so this not a right comparison) nevertheless the point is will you buy if you have the means to buy it, and if you will not will you feel you missed it?
I am planning for my second car and this is my thought, I want a nice car to drive in the city not a big one, but something that is as good in terms of the drive pleasure that a big sturdy car would offer but made sense for city dynamics.
The swift is old, Tata is out, Fiat the small car is just a super engine in a badly built car, Fabia forget Skoda, I20 all is well except the power (you can feel it on a long stretch), GP well - total feel of the car sturdy but not as smooth as the City (so Jazz I assume), Polo - cabin size and seating no match to the city platform. Ford and GM not at the moment not sure where it will be in a years time, have a left any other competitor?
All in all, I am not bothered about the "who will beat whom" in the sales figures, but what I will be more comfortable in driving. So if you get what you need is money really a problem?
(By the by I have driven the Polo, its bother Golf in Germany and so can say with experience. I own a Indica, Fabia TD 5 times all different variants, I20 TD twice on 2 different crowd combinations and my brother owns a Swift).
IMHO, Honda might not be way off mark with both the product and the price!
Comments welcome (I one stop then anyways
)
- Harish.