Visited Honda showroom with couple of my friends yesterday at 7pm. They are both looking at buying a car in the immediate future and Jazz is in their consideration set. All SA at the showroom were wearing a yellow and black Jazz T-shirt. We were greeted by a SA who seemed quite knowledgeable and was patient enough to stay with us for about 30 to 45 mins we spent there.
Test drives have already started and is available from 10am to 6 pm. Unfortunately we reached at 7pm so test drive was closed.
Surprisingly or unsurprisingly the showroom had a barren look with no prospects. During the entire time we were there, only 2 families walked-in. One to check City and other to check Jazz. This was much unlike what I experienced during EcoSport launch when there were 20 odd prospects at the showroom.
In the showroom, VX variant was on display in my favourite colour - Urban Titanium metallic while the test drive car which was parked in the backyard was a V variant Silver colour. Both were petrol manual variants. No CVT or diesel available for test drives.
First impression - Exterior
* The car looks smashing from outside. In fact with the body proportions and specially the front grille. I think it looks better than Honda's current best seller - City.
* Panel gaps were well controlled and minimal and paint finish is top notch
* Sporty rear spoiler in VX variant does look really good
* Character line on the side is prominent and adds to the sporty looks of Jazz
* Wheel well cladding is missing and noticeable. I am sure 3M will be happy to know this
* Alloy wheel looks good though I love the Tosa alloy wheels offered by VW on Polo and those on Elite i20 more
* Tyres do appear to be skinny on what is a smart and sporty looking hatch
* Doors seem to be light but do open wide open hence ingress and outgress is a breeze
* Boot space is huge and bigger than most hatch and compact sedan out there. Low and wide loading lip makes it easy to load and unload your luggage. However, rear parcel tray is fixed and does not move up when the hatch is lifted. This hinders loading luggage deep inside the boot as it is obstructs your visibility
* Tools are neatly placed in the boot with 14" spare tyre under the tray
Overall there was no major noticeable difference between exteriors of V and VX variant except for sporty rear spoiler. The one on V variant too looks fine and well integrated so no complaints
First impression - Interior
* The cabin is airy and roomy where black dash gives it a premium feel. Looks just like City
* Both black and beige interiors look good so it is even-steven here
* Steering of Jazz just like City is a delight and leather wrap makes it look premium and offers good grip. It offers adjust for rake which is good because I usually prefer driving with the wheel at a higher position. Adjust for rake would have been good but me being 5ft 8", its not something I will complain about. One of my friend is 6ft and he thought rake was a must given he had to push back his seat
* Steering mounted controls are easy to operate and well placed
* Quality of plastic on the dashboard and sides is acceptable though not comparable to Polo. However look and feel is good
* There was no dead pedal available. Team BHP review showed a piece of rubber stuck onto the carpet to act as a fake dead pedal. This was missing possibly because the mat was full size and hence either this piece of rubber was under the mat or Honda has removed it from production version
* Dummy switch and cover is bit of a sore. While one can ignore dummy switch on the drivers side armrest, it is difficult not to notice dummy cap in place of Push start/stop button
* Touchscreen AC panel is a breeze to operate and adds to premium cabin feel
* 6.2" AVN in VX variant did not look very appealing to me, I rather liked the normal 5" non touchsreen unit in V variant. Also the advantage of this 5" unit in V variant is the AUX and USB slots which are available on the centre console as compared to loose cables in the glovebox
* For those buying V variant, there is an option to upgrade to 6.2" AVN
* Sound quality in both variants was good. However, it is not as good as what we get in cheaper cars like Zest and Bolt
* Dials are clear and well illuminated. MID offers a lot of information so one can play with it for a long time
* Coming to rear seat, in VX variant the rear seat is a tad more comfortable than in V variant. The problem is that in V variant the rear seat is about couple of inches lower than VX variant and that adds to discomfort. Having said that, I think under thigh support was comparable to VX variant. I did not take a test drive so this impressions is basis what I experienced in a static car. But it looks like Honda has offered better rear seats in production version of V variant than in media drive vehicles
* Surprisingly in VX variant, middle passenger will feel quite uncomfortable. The section in the middle is for some reason raised by half an inch. The width of this raised section is about 6 inches. You can imagine sitting on a 6 inch seat, after sometime your body will start moving left or right begging for more support. Comparatively, there is No such problem in V variant and feels comfortable
* Magic seats are brilliant for the flexibility it offers. While Honda claims that rear seat can be folded to form a flat floor, I noticed that the rear seats are about half an inch above the floor level of boot. This gets masked by the mat of floor which is attached to rear of the seats and hence hides the difference in level. On close observation you will notice that there is a slope at the joint between seat and boot. Comparatively, in V variant the seat when folded is about 4 inches above floor level of the boot
* Fixed headrest for rear seat in V variant is quite uncomfortable and this is a big sore point for me. They feel literally non existent and in fact it is a very important safety feature which is missing. I wish Honda had offered a way to add it later as an accessory.
Pricing
*Pricing sheet was not available yet so we will have to wait till tomorrow.
*In Mumbai ex-showroom price is 20k to 40k higher than Delhi price. Just adds that much more to an already premium price tag for top Diesel and CVT variants
My one friend is considering Diesel VX along with other cars including Elite i20 while my other friend is considering V (CVT). Both of them will take a decision only post test drive next week.
Snaps of VX variant
Snaps of V variant
