Team-BHP - Honda Jazz : Official Review

Dropped in to have a detailed look at the Jazz and attempt a TD. Showroom was Whitefield Honda Bangalore.

Showroom Experience

Showroom experience was ok. The SA had most of the basic information right and was constantly with us as we were checking out the car and trying to point out features and differences between variants. 2 major bloopers she made
- When I said I was disappointed with no Magic seats in the lower variants, she insisted that the previous gen Jazz did not get Magic Seats at all and this was a new feature hence only there in the top variant. :Shockked:
- In the process of trying to explain the CVT, she said-'All other cars are only AT- Automatic Transmission, but this is CVT- First time in segment.' I had to struggle to keep a straight face. Not really sure what she meant. Did not attempt to ask further.

The Car

After reading all the reports here, I went with a slightly negative view, but was pleasantly surprised.
It looked really good from all angles. Felt reasonably solid.
The interior space-Just Wow. Nice big roomy cabin and the abundance of light flowing in, made it even more spacious. If I am not mistaken, this seemed more spacious than the S Cross and even the Creta (at the back)
Liked the steering and main cluster. The design and illumination was pretty good.
Not a big fan of the Touch Panel AC. Otherwise the interiors seemed nice and premium.
Good amount of boot space.
Another SA was doing a demo of the magic seats. Although I have read all about it, first time seeing it in action fully. That was awesome. Big Big miss by Honda in not providing it in the lower variants (at least the V). It is a big car and for a family of 2+1 or 2+2, the Magic seats really open up options for carrying additional stuff for that long trip.
They had the petrol MT and CVT for TD, also the diesel. Since it was evening and the traffic was building up, decided to do a TD of the CVT another day.

Availability

Most variants/most colors are almost readily available. The CVT can take up to 2 months. SA said there was no issue coming on a Saturday for TD's. Overall looks that the response is not as big as Honda expected when they dispatched 6000+ cars in July. The cars are moving, but are not flying off the shelves as Honda expected.

Summary

My initial reaction post the launch was negative, but after seeing the Jazz and the i20/i20 Active back to back, I somehow like the Jazz more. That feeling of space that it provides goes a long way in enhancing that impression.
The Magic Seats should have been there at least in V and the CVT should have been there in the VX. These 2 misses by Honda is causing a significant impact in sales IMO.

Wish item: A Jazz VX RS with the 1.5 from the City in MT and CVT avatars.

I have always been a huge fan of the JAZZ brand, but with HONDA focusing so much on cost cutting and stripping away features, it seems the Japanese car maker is in the market not to please an auto enthusiast. Did check out the car a couple of times in Crystal Honda, Wagholi, over the weekends. The sales reps were highly disinterested. The lady receptionist looked up as we entered the showroom. When is informed here I was here to look at the Jazz, the only response was a head movement in the direction of the car. First impressions count a lot for me. So that was strike one. Walked up to the car, the taffeta white Petrol V. The car looks great and has good road presence. I found the rear to be a bit squashed. This was proven true when i saw the car on the road a few days back. The rear, although looks fabulous when parked, from a distance, it does tend to look a bit small.

Interiors were strictly ok for an 8L car. However space and comfort was adequate. Mom and wife loved the car, however i was aware of all the imperfections, as mentioned in this forum & they were coming up in my mind like thought balloons every minute. The TD was very short and on a busy highway, so couldn't judge as well as i would have wished. Felt the power was inadequate in petrol. The 1.2 was talking, or rather shouting. Was expecting more of a City like experience in the petrol (engine noise & vibrations) but did not get what i was looking for. Handling was good, but again, a short TD does not do justice to this statement. I did manage to take the car on a stretch of road next to our place which is rocky and a suspension nightmare. The SA didn't mind. Ground clearance & suspension noise was the same as my Indica. Found the suspension to be a bit hard. Since i have to cross this stretch daily i wanted to ensure a new car can pass the test. Found it to be 50-50.

Couldn't drive the Diesel due to some bogus registration issue, but got a chance to start the engine & drive around in the parking lot. NVH is marginally better than Mobilio diesel but still needs a lot of refinement. Basically, I am still undecided. Even i20 suffers from a weak engine & space but scores everywhere else. Also the i20 is not in the favorites list of my family. Maybe the next gen, but still no clarity on timelines. I had too much hopes from Jazz. Looking at the way other car manufacturers are pricing their products(Creta, S-Cross), i feel i will need to take a decision pretty soon. Seems any facelift/next-gen/all-new will henceforth be OOA (Out of Aukaat) lol:

Well, I had gone to Pride Honda Madhapur today to check out some accessories for my old Jazz - parking sensors and seat covers (mine are 5 year old and showing some signs of ageing )etc.

Obviously, I also checked out the new Jazz in detail. No test drive but a good look inside out.

When I walked into the showroom, I expected it to be pretty much empty given the feedback in this thread. It was not! In the 20-25 mins I was there, there were at least 3-4 families checking out the Jazz. And I saw only one family checking out the City in the same time.

There were 2 display cars - the SV variant in pearl white and the VX variant in the Red color. To be frank, the car is a stunner. The pearl white one looks really fabulous and I think this is the best looking car in the Honda stable in India right now and also the best in the segment. The I20 has excellent rear lights but the Jazz scores from all angles - the front in particular is much better looking IMO. Looks are subjective though.

Also, the build quality seemed decent. The doors shut with a decent thunk but felt less solid than my car. The shut lines are uniform but not up to the typical Honda standard, my car has smaller shut lines for sure.
I spent a good deal of time examining the interior quality given so much criticism about the same in this thread.
To summarize, the interiors do look good enough for the most part and quality is definitely more than acceptable for the segment. The plastics on the top of the dash is hard and the grain is not that great but it seems sturdy enough. The door pad plastics had a slight rubberised feel. The speedometer console looks real good with the always on meters and the LED MID. The ICE integration in the dash could have been better. The silver finish around AC vents look good and upmarket. Overall, no complaints.

I wanted a quick test drive but there were a few in queue and I din't have time to wait any further.

I also talked to my old SA and he was very happy with the response of the new Jazz. He said that last month they have delivered around 70-80 cars and this month they will deliver more than 100 easily. Some variants in some colors are readily available but most others have some waiting period. When I specifically asked about the white one in SV and V, they said they can deliver by end of this month. The waiting period for the sunset orange color is 2-3 months as there is hardly any supply for it. The diesel one has a longer waiting period of 1-2 months due to less supply from Honda.

I will say, for someone who has not read the Team BHP review and this thread, goes in there with an open mind, will likely be impressed by the car just going by the exterior design and interiors/equipment. Whether he/she likes the car after a test drive or finds it VFM is a separate point altogether.

P.S. - It might be a good time for old Jazz owners to pick up some accessories at dirt cheap prices as they are trying to clear stock. I saw some good stuff like carbon fiber panels for the dashboard and proper Honda seat covers in PU at 4000-5000 bucks. I might pay another visit to check out those and do a proper test drive of the new Jazz.

I had gone to the Whitefield Honda showroom twice over the weekend to take test drives of the Honda Jazz CVT.

What we are looking for - A new premium automatic hatchback since a sedan just doesnt make sense for our usage. The two obvious competitors were the Polo GT TSI and the Jazz CVT.

What we thought of the car - Loved the space all around. It isnt often that the missus and I will have passengers in the rear seat but when we do, they will be very happy with the leg room. The engine was definitely a step up from the laidback 1.2 litre in my Fiat Punto. Interiors were nice, I think they couldve been better designed but no complaints on the quality front. During the test drive, we asked if we could take it on some kuchha roads to test ride quality and the sales advisor readily agreed and guided me to a small inner road. The Jazz passed that test rather easily. Overall a very likeable & sensible car. Did I mention that we loved the space?

What we thought of the Polo TSI - Loved the engine and gearbox. I had taken a couple of test drives earlier and the driving experience was great. The space at the rear was a huge downer and to me it really doesnt make sense to put down 10 big ones for a car and then have to depend on Zoom Cars or cabs if we have guests for extended weekends.

The Honda Showroom Visits - Overall it was a positive experience. There were a few Jazz cars being delivered on Saturday and more for delivery on Monday so we got to see almost all the colours in the showroom. The sales experience was good. There were other potential customers in the showroom on both days. We walked across to the Hyundai showroom just to take a look at the Creta and see if it could surprise us. There were hardly any potential customers and the showroom was virtually empty. We also found the interiors to be rather ordinary considering the 17 lac price tag for the automatic.

Decision Time - Honestly the lack of space in the Polo GT TSI put it firmly in second place from the beginning. The Jazz had to do something really wrong to eliminate itself but it did everything well enough to convince us easily.

Finalizing the colour turned out to be a tough decision for my wife and me. The silver blends in well in a mixed parking lot so it was off our list. We felt the orange was too look at me and not surprisingly it has the highest number of bookings. The white was too plain according to the wifey though I warmed up to it on day 2. The Carmelian Red Pearl was our common choice after day 1 but we saw the Urban Titanium Metallic today we finally decided on that as our first option.

Waiting Period for automatics - They are getting some stock of the white CVTs this month so the waiting period is the least for that colour only. All other colours come with a waiting period of 2 months.

Modifications Planned - Better tyres from Madhus and seat covers from Imperial. There was a Urban Titanium Metallic V CVT which was getting delivered today with beige art leather seats that looked really nice.

Other observations -

The lack of magic seats doest matter to me, I dont think Ive ever folded the seats in my Punto over the last 4 years.
The urban titanium makes the rear of the Jazz look larger than what it actually is. Are my eyes playing tricks on me?
Honda missed a trick with the colour selection of the Jazz. The blue of the Amaze would've been perfect for the Jazz. Other than the orange, the colours are safe & sensible and not really exciting.
You can get your own insurance from outside
Real world mileage that they quoted was 10 - 12 kmpl but my cousin's automatic City returns 8 kmpl in Bangalore traffic so I'll be happy to get into double digits.
They were telling me that many owners struggle with the paddle shifters in S mode while taking turns (and hence in the ghats) and come to them for advice so they recommend that those owners stick to the D mode for in city use & S mode for highway use.
They are taking two colour options one booking and will notify you when either your preferred or backup colour option becomes available.

Doubt
I was talking to one of the sales / service advisors and was asking about the recommended RPM at which one should switch up a gear when driving in S mode. He said that if you are driving in D mode and want to overtake / move into S mode then you need to have speeds drop to 80 kmph or below. If you shift from D mode to S mode above 100 kmph you are going to end up damaging the gearbox. True?

Jazz is doing same what Ecosports did for Ford, attracting/pulling crowd to showroom. I have booked V CVT in white color and hopefully will get it on 12th. I do visit Honda off and on to check cars, but never had such crowd response for any model so far. Whosoever paying visit to showroom they are there for Jazz.

Though none of CVT is available for TD, but drove V in manual. Doesn't look heavy as compare to Polo TDI which I am driving since last 4 yrs. And transmission, I just love it. Never felt like going for CVT, but this one is for females in the family and my father gone a use it (who knows :uncontrol). I just checked the rear spoiler price, though none was available, but seems like Honda want to rip you off with 15K price for the same. Only mud flaps are available.

Planning to go for 195 XM2 in place for 175 goodyear. And leather seats somewhat in reddish or honey brown color, as it will contrast to white color.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam003 (Post 3775426)

Same situation in Hyderabad. None of the dealers have a CvT for test drive. Given the good response to the CVT, I wonder why Honda can't provide a CVT for test drive. Come on, a person spending 8-9 lakhs on a car at least deserves a test drive. I guess someone needs to escalate this to the Honda India management.

About the spoiler, the one fitted in VX looks nice and big but it comes factory fitted only. It's NOT available as an accessory. The one available is a smaller one and costs 9-10K but doesn't look as sporty as the one in VX.