[gnashokkumar]

Finally the Honda comes home after some wait and I could get my hands on it. The car is really very much worth for the money and let me put down my views with an experience of owning it for a couple of weeks now.

My car search :
I have decided to buy a car during Feb-2010 and been going through team-bhp articles and reviews as a lurker for over one and a half years. Close to all the hatchbacks except one car in the current Indian market were considered by me during this period. And the one that I never dreamt I would buy was the Jazz. And now time had its own answers.
I was totally sold to the VW Polo during July this year and was about to book it. The same night i happened to see the thread 'Honda slashed jazz's price'. I had my decision on hold till the day the face lifted jazz becomes official with the new prices announced. The wait was worth and the new Jazz had the reduced price. The next day went to the nearest Honda showroom in Bangalore and found the Rallye Red Jazz select standing in the middle surrounded by Cities. I didn’t ask the sales person to guide me, just checked the Jazz myself. Didn’t even ask them for a test drive, Came home the next week to home town and handed over the booking amount of Rs. 15000 to TVS Sundaram Motors - Salem.

Booking Experience :
As mentioned above, We have booked the vehicle with a booking amount of Rs.15,000 on 2nd of September this year. The Sales person was very helpful all through the phase from booking to delivery. He even brought a test drive vehicle to my native which is about 65 kms distant from Salem for my dad to have a better look at the vehicle. We have been promised a waiting period of one and a half months.

Waiting :
We waited for a month. Time was going terribly slower that month than I expected. By then i had watched almost all the videos related to Jazz in youtube, I had gone through the brochure more than a dozen times, visited the Honda showroom on and on to at least look at the display vehicle (because they had a Rallye red Jazz select for display for few days). I did not see many new Jazzes on road in Bangalore; parallely learnt about Thailand floods and how it affected Honda, I was worried that my waiting period could be prolonged even more and then decided to call the sales person. Kept on calling him and had some answers from him but still he was also not quite sure about the delivery date. He then called us and informed that they have got a Jazz Base UT and asked me if I would like to go for it. But we opted to wait. And after about 15 days of follow up with both Honda and the sales person, we had a reason to smile. They have got a Rallye red Jazz X delivered to their showroom. We wasted no time, cleared all other documents and remaining payments and scheduled a delivery date with them.

Delivery :
It was a Friday (Nov-4th-2011). My wife and me took a train morning from Bangalore to Salem. We reached the showroom by 1:00 o' clock noon. My parents reached the showroom ahead of us and were waiting. Since the vehicle had gone for a temporary registration I could not have a glimpse of it. It was 3:00 o'clock and Hiccup came out after a water wash. That was a great moment, most of the bypassers paused a minute to get a good view of the car; It was gorgeous with its Rallye red outfit. The showroom people were very much patient enough with my father's questions about the vehicle and gave prompt answers. We did not receive the accessories (Front grill and spoiler) during our delivery due to stock unavailability. we were promised the accessories during our first service. After a brief inspection and a small pooja, We took the car to our native.

An Embarrassing moment:
On the way to my native (Dharmapuri) after covering 30 odd kilometers from Salem on NH7, we had a flattened tire. We were totally unaware what might have caused it. We changed to a spare tire and reached our destination. There we checked with a local puncture guy who said it can't be mended since the puncture looks like a cut at the side of the tire for about an inch. This was a total shocker. The next working day, we took the wheel to the showroom and demanded a new tire as a replacement. They took the wheel and said they would talk to the tire company. After a week they came back telling the tire company told the damage did not look like defect and denied a free replacement. I had a look at the damaged area; the rubber was very thin at the sides. I did not expect an international tire company to build tire like these. I am yet to receive a positive response from the tire company to Honda; One thing for sure is the showroom people and Honda seems to have taken the issue seriously and following them up. Hope to get a solution sooner.

First Month with Hiccup :
This is my first car and am just loving it every moment. My father drove the vehicle for the first 800 Kms.
Left the car for the first service after 20 days from the date of delivery(My dad used the car for the first 20 days). The service did not cost me anything. The car is with me for the last 10 days; Did a long drive (Bangalore >> Madurai >> Bangalore in one day; A total distance of about 1000 kms approximately) with five occupants including me. The car behaved exceptionally well in all aspects. The overall fuel efficiency throughout the trip was between 15.5 to 16. The only thing that bothered us was the ground clearance. We had to scratch the under-body a couple of times on unrealistic speed bumps which we could not ignore even after careful driving.

The following were few points I observed during our trip.
- It gets huge attention on roads.
- 3 occupants did not feel cramped at the rear . I am 5 ft 7" and felt leg space is abundant.
- I felt driver seat height adjustment is a boon for me but still unable to see the front corners due to its aerodynamic design.
- Engine was ultra smooth with great gear shift. To me the first and Reverse gears are a bit notchy. My friend who has a Vento petrol felt the gear shift to be too good comparing the two vehicles. But I feel vento has a great gear shift somehow .
- Drove the car for a stretch of 60 kms without exceeding 80 kmph to test the fuel efficiency of the car. To our surprise we got an average fuel efficiency of 20.5 Kmpl with A/C ON all the way. The drive was on a flat road which did not require much gear shifts.
- Good year tyres are good but not sure how Micheleins would be! I would plan them after doing 15K to 20K Kms. Please advise me on tyre upgradation. (both brand and upsizing them)
- While coming back to Bangalore at 5:00 o'clock, the visibility was poor due fog and dust. We were travelling at a speed of 60-70 Kmph in outer ring road. My friend who was driving the car happened to see a speed bump when we neared it. There was hard braking that brought the car immediately to a speed of less than 5Kmph. Though was nervous we were really amazed to see how the car managed to slow down so quickly.
- Audio system is pretty decent and delivers good amount of bass. It has earned all praises from my friends and family. Though I am not sure, I feel the volume of the audio system to be decreasing when the vehicle slows down.

I feel Jazz would be complete as the best hatch-back only if it is bundled with bluetooth music system and Automatic climate control.

I would have missed many points writing this article. Please post your queries and I will answer back. The Car have just clocked 2000 kilometers; Will give you more updates as I drive more.

Planning to take Hiccup for a photo shoot soon; Will get back with good exterior and interior images. Few pics for you until then.















Thanks,
Ashok.

[swiftnfurious]

Hey..congrats on hiccup!! Err...don't you think the name is a bit absurd?? I was left wondering what hiccup did you have in the first month, that too from a Honda [yeah, my mistake that I didn't read from the beginning and was reading the first month update first] !! If you plan to use the tyres for 15-20K kms, then you could use it as well till the end-of-life. You will hardly get any value for a tyre that's used for 20K kms. If you plan to drive this car in good roads, be assured you could extract anything from 50-60K kms on the tyres.

Anyway wish you miles of happy & safe motoring - please keep adding your experiences and top it up with lots of pics.

[prashant.dinkar]

Congratulations on buying one of the best hatches available in India .

I am sure you will love the "Magic Seats" and acres of space which can put some of the sedans to shame.

Do you mind sharing the OTR price with break up.

I love that color on jazz , I have similar color on my swift , which is pain to maintain.
Wish you thousands of miles of happy ownership. Drive safe and drive hard.

[himavanth_m]

Originally Posted by gnashokkumar

- Engine was ultra smooth with great gear shift. To me the first and Reverse gears are a bit notchy. My friend who has a Vento petrol felt the gear shift to be too good comparing the two vehicles. But I feel vento has a great gear shift somehow .
- Good year tyres are good but not sure how Micheleins would be! I would plan them after doing 15K to 20K Kms. Please advise me on tyre upgradation. (both brand and upsizing them)

Congrats on your car. It looks great in Red.
As far as the gear shift is considered, both have really smooth gear shifts and on Petrol side of things, I feel Jazz has better gearing. But diesel Vento and Polo's are really good in diesels. (I am not comparing Polo 1.6 gearing as I have never driven that car)

I do not see too much advantage of Michelin's over Good year's if one is driving sedately either in the city or on highways. Go for change in tyres only if you are planning to upsize is my suggestion. If you are going to drive aggressively at highspeeds, then make sure you upsize immediately for better road grip. Otherwise, for regular use, Good Years are good enough. Also the best time to upsize is either while buying the car or during a tyre change after the tyres are worn out. Changing tyres at 20k does not make any sense unless you distinctly feel the need for more grip at this stage which is very unlikely. Need for more grip can be guaged within a few 1000 kms of driving in city and highways. Additionally if you are driving in city most of the time, I think the Good year's will last a good 60k kms without any fuss.
Could you please elaborate on the reason you are planning to change tyres?

[don_carmaster]

Hello Ashok,

That one beautiful car you got there, it is on eof the most reliable and complete hatchbacks of this time.
Would you share for the OTR price and what freebies they offered?


If Honda further slashes the price of the jazz and makes it near the swift top end pricing to its base model, i am sure to see jazz flowing as hotcakes, it is one accurate piece of machinery.

Wish you loads of Happy (s)miles in your Hiccup

Cheers,
Sahil

[aaren]

Hello Ashok,

Congrats on getting the Red beauty !! And, now I have the pleasure of having a fellow mate in having a rallye red car Jazz X !!

Originally Posted by gnashokkumar

An Embarrassing moment:
There we checked with a local puncture guy who said it can't be mended since the puncture looks like a cut at the side of the tire for about an inch. This was a total shocker. The next working day, we took the wheel to the showroom and demanded a new tire as a replacement. They took the wheel and said they would talk to the tire company. After a week they came back telling the tire company told the damage did not look like defect and denied a free replacement. I had a look at the damaged area; the rubber was very thin at the sides. I did not expect an international tire company to build tire like these. I am yet to receive a positive response from the tire company to Honda; One thing for sure is the showroom people and Honda seems to have taken the issue seriously and following them up. Hope to get a solution sooner.

Did you not do any PDI ?

The following were few points I observed during our trip.
- It gets huge attention on roads. - Does it not !!!!
- 3 occupants did not feel cramped at the rear . I am 5 ft 7" and felt leg space is abundant.Correct
- I felt driver seat height adjustment is a boon for me but still unable to see the front corners due to its aerodynamic design.Yes, it is a great boon
- Engine was ultra smooth with great gear shift. To me the first and Reverse gears are a bit notchy. My friend who has a Vento petrol felt the gear shift to be too good comparing the two vehicles. But I feel vento has a great gear shift somehow .
- Drove the car for a stretch of 60 kms without exceeding 80 kmph to test the fuel efficiency of the car. To our surprise we got an average fuel efficiency of 20.5 Kmpl with A/C ON all the way. The drive was on a flat road which did not require much gear shifts.Outstanding !! I have not got such a FE so far. I guess, AKP has touched a good FE
- Good year tyres are good but not sure how Micheleins would be! I would plan them after doing 15K to 20K Kms. Please advise me on tyre upgradation. (both brand and upsizing them)
- While coming back to Bangalore at 5:00 o'clock, the visibility was poor due fog and dust. We were travelling at a speed of 60-70 Kmph in outer ring road. My friend who was driving the car happened to see a speed bump when we neared it. There was hard braking that brought the car immediately to a speed of less than 5Kmph. Though was nervous we were really amazed to see how the car managed to slow down so quickly. It is the ABS that s at work here,
- Audio system is pretty decent and delivers good amount of bass. It has earned all praises from my friends and family. Though I am not sure, I feel the volume of the audio system to be decreasing when the vehicle slows down.Yes. Auto Volume level is one of the features. You can get to adjust it, however. You can check the manual as to how to do it. I figured it out by fiddling with some the audio controls in the car.

I feel Jazz would be complete as the best hatch-back only if it is bundled with bluetooth music system and Automatic climate control.

Again, Congrats to you on having a well rounded hatch and wish you many miles of safe driving !!

[ghodlur]

Ashok,

Congratulations on the Red Jazz, the colour looks scorching on the new car.

Sad to know about the tyre hiccup, which are these stock tyres which developed a cut. Is it Goodyear? Did you write to the Honda about the replacement, I suggest you should write to them online.

Just wondering have you been driving without a front number plate?

[revintup]

Originally Posted by gnashokkumar

. Though I am not sure, I feel the volume of the audio system to be decreasing when the vehicle slows down.

You are right, the audio system has a built in variable sound setting that increases and decreases with speed variations. You can alter the settings or even cancel it. Check out your owners manual or just fiddle with the menu controls.

NB: I am assuming it as it does have this setting in my ANHC.

[S_U_N]

Congratulations! Very few Jazz purchases and ownership reviews these days - thanks to the long delays.

Glad that you did not have to wait much for your "Hiccup". (I wonder what made you select that name.)
Please get the car waxed so that the paint is protected.
If you are driving on bad roads in rural areas, then probably Michelins should be avoided.
Goodyear or MRF should be a better option for such conditions.

BTW, is the spare wheel still with the dealer? Are you traveling without the spare at the moment?

[avira_tk]

Congratulation on a terrific choice, Jazz is a car I have always liked, "its a first world hatch not a developing market sedan" - that was my explanation to those who complained about its earlier high price.
One question, have you done something with the alloys, I thought the city and Jazz shared the same alloy wheel , yours has a matt finish or is it the camera?

[Fortuner71]

Congrats Ashok. The red Jazz is looking fabulous. Wish you many miles of happy and safe motoring . Honda cars always bring smiles and you will enjoy many years of trouble free driving.

[fiat_tarun]

Congrats on the car. She looks lovely, although the name you've given her is kind of puzzling ! Hope the car does not give you any hiccups !

[gnashokkumar]

Thanks everyone for the wishes.

Hey..congrats on hiccup!! Err...don't you think the name is a bit absurd?? I was left wondering what hiccup did you have in the first month, that too from a Honda [yeah, my mistake that I didn't read from the beginning and was reading the first month update first] !! If you plan to use the tyres for 15-20K kms, then you could use it as well till the end-of-life. You will hardly get any value for a tyre that's used for 20K kms. If you plan to drive this car in good roads, be assured you could extract anything from 50-60K kms on the tyres.

Anyway wish you miles of happy & safe motoring - please keep adding your experiences and top it up with lots of pics.

I do not have any specific reason for the name Hiccup. I've named my Pulsar 200 as toothless (Inspired from the movie 'How to train your dragon'). Wanted the choose a name from the same film and hence found Hiccup for my car. May be I would call myself Gobber .
About the tyres; I have gone through many reviews which say the stock tyres are narrow and does not provide enough grip for the vehicle which influenced me to think about upsizing the tyres to a 195/85/15. I am not an enthusiastic driver and hence would like to run on the stocks for close to 50K Kms and think about upsizing them after reading through your inputs.

Do you mind sharing the OTR price with break up.

Prashanth, Please find the breakup of OTR
Vehicle ex-showroom price : 6,11,000 (Price after a corporate discount of Rs. 5000)
Temporary Registration : 5,500 (Since I got the vehicle from a different city, I had to do a temporary registration)
Insurance : 15,801 (Done through Royal Sundaram)
Road tax + RTO : 63,000 (approx amount, might be +100 or -100)
Accessories : 8,000 (Included spoiler and front sporty grill)
Total expenditure : Rs.7,03,301 (Could have avoided temporary registration fees if I have got it registered in Salem itself.)

And I had the following things done to my car

Under body anti-rust coat : 5,300 (from showroom)
3M Sunfilm for all the windshields: 4,300
IND number plates : 1,100
Road side assistance : 1,500 (One year)

Would you share for the OTR price and what freebies they offered?

Sahil, The dealer did not offer me any freebies. I too did not insist much on them. I just got a corporate discount of Rs.5000 and a 30% discount on insurance.
One sad thing was that the spare key did not come with a remote.

Did you not do any PDI ?

Aaren, Thanks for your wishes. We have done PDI before delivery. The tyre seemed to have developed the cut while driving. I shall post the image of the damaged portion soon.

Is it Goodyear? Did you write to the Honda about the replacement, I suggest you should write to them online.

Its the front right tyre as shown in the first pick. Yes, the tyres are goodyear tyres; We have a complaint registered with Honda. The final offer from the tyre company as per last saturday was that thay asked us to bear Rs.1800 and the rest to be borne by them. But people from Honda called us and told they would try further and get the tyre as a free replacement.
I have installed the number plates; Did not take any snaps after that

Please get the car waxed so that the paint is protected.

SUN, I am not sure what waxing is ? Is it the teflon coat what you are talkiong about ?
For now we have installed a patch and a tube inside the damaged tyre for temporary use.

One question, have you done something with the alloys, I thought the city and Jazz shared the same alloy wheel , yours has a matt finish or is it the camera?

Avira, The alloys are kind of titanium coloured. They come as default with only Jazz X models.
Honda calls them sporty alloys. I feel they pretty much suit the red coloured Jazzes.

-Ashok.

[Pancham]

Congrats on the read beauty. It surely turns heads. Seen quite a few red ones in kolkata and all look damn hot. The colour is quite unique.

[ashis89]

Congrats on your new Jazz X. The car with it red color is real looker and the alloys compliments its looks to the T. Please post some interior pics. And have the car waxed as red color fades pretty quickly.