[Jazzper]

Hello Friends, I am glad to be part of Team-BHP family and this post/review is my first one in the forum. Before starting let me first Thank all of you for have guided me in selecting, buying and maintaining my Car, Mainly BHPians ‘adimicra’, ‘akp’, ‘Jazzman18’, ‘gnashokkumar’, ‘9thsphinx’ whose wonderful reviews of Honda Jazz had helped me decide on buying this car. Also special thanks to ‘Nikhilb2008’ and all the members who have posted so much information about jazz in ‘Honda Jazz: Test Drive & Review’ topic.

I may not be much of a bike guy but cars, I was born for them. I was hardly 13 when I first jump started a car (Dad’s Fiat Select, it was in gear and I pushed key in and started it! Well ofcourse Car jumped and got switched off), I was 17 when I properly learnt how to drive a car, 22 years old when I first bought my own car and it was not just any car it was the White Elephant, Hyundai Verna CRDI (Second hand) and finally this year 24years old I bought my brand new Honda Jazz X.

Why Jazz when you have a Verna? Well that question bugs me sometimes but it was the right move. Even though I had a diesel sedan my commuting was hardly 500 to 600 KMs in a month and once in every 6 months I used to get a service bill of 6000 to 7000 rupees and during the last service I had to spend almost 22000 rupees since I had to change the clutch assembly! So decided to sell this car (only if I am offered a right price) and buy a petrol car which would make more sense considering my very low usage. And to my surprise within a week or two of posting the ad in Team BHP classifieds I was over whelmed with calls and finally sold my car to one fine gentleman. He came on a Saturday morning, we went for a drive in the car and by afternoon car is sold, he paid in cash and took the car (well that was the condition I had maintained the car). Expected price 5.25lakhs and sold price 5.18lakhs. Below are few snaps of my White Elephant:






Now the process of deciding on the petrol car which I wanted, and there was no confusion at the beginning at all. I was thinking that when you have to buy a petrol car then buy a Honda and for me who had got used to big looking, comfortable and powerful car it was Honda City with no other option. So called up Justdial and asked for high rated nearby Honda authorized dealer and the name of Magnum Honda, Kanakpura road came up. Went there with no delay with a friend but to my bad luck there was no Test drive vehicle for Honda City though they had few show cars inside the building to tease your eyes. They were looking too good but only let down was that big chrome grille which was changed from the previous version and I dint like it that much. Checked the price and features of the base version and though the price was just a little over my budget of 8lakhs, lack of many feel good features was disappointing. This was the time my eyes turned towards Honda Jazz test drive vehicle placed outside and I asked if I could go for a test drive and the sales person obliged. And yes I did get blown by the ultimate experience, silent when driven sedately and that captivating roar when punched hard especially in the 2nd gear. Came back and asked the sales rep to give me details of this ‘Rare to Sight’ car and I did started liking it more after knowing that the top end Jazz X is well within my budget and also comes with Alloys, Seat height adjust, fog lamps, steering mounted controls and the one which impressed me was the Blue-Black Interiors which was something unusual. Told the sales rep that I would be coming back with family members and then finalize and so it happened that my sister was more interested in buying Honda Jazz than City and also asked me to book the car right away owing to the fact that the delivery might take more than 3 months since it was top end that we were interested in. But I was not completely convinced and asked him one week time.

This is the time when I started reading about Honda Jazz and all the reviews on Team BHP helped me a lot, though there were very few for all new Jazz, I was still convinced that it’s a good car and the price at which it is offered now was very competitive as well. Went to Showroom the next weekend April 14th it was and booked the Honda Jazz X preferably Tafeta white or else any color which will be available ASAP. The sales rep was trying so hard to make me book the select version and was saying that they can deliver the car within 2 weeks if it were select, but I stuck to my decision for top end. Early second week of next month that is May, got a call from the sales rep saying that there is a White Jazz X available and in transit, I asked the Sales rep to block this car for me and give me the VIN number (This was the only time that this sales guy had called me from his phone other than that all the time I had to call for the updates and follow ups. Possibly Poorest Sales Experience may be because the sales guy was a new and young chap lacking both experience and enthusiasm). Some how after multiple followups received the VIN number and checked as per the guidelines on TeamBHP and found out that the car was manufactured in first week of May! Asked for Delivery on 18th of May as the day was auspicious and also notified that I would like to do a thorough pre-registration inspection on 17th. Went there on 17th morning with a thought of doing thorough PRI but the car was full of dust and most of the functionalities were not working the reason told by sales rep was that the car has just arrived from the lot and they will clean it, do a PDI and then send for registration. Had to agree for that just made sure that there aren't any damages to body and checked whether the Engine number and VIN matched and left.

And so it was May 18th, car was due for delivery in the evening took permission to leave early bought a couple of sweet boxes from A2B and reached home by 4. Took dad along and as we reached the car was getting cleaned by couple of workers and we had to wait for a while. After that the sales rep took me to the car and started explaining the different functionalities to my surprise I had to tell this guy how the headlights, wipers etc work! They had some priest do pooja and also handed over the keys to me and a fancy bag with few cadbury chocolates. I gave a box of sweets to the sales rep and asked him to distribute the other box among others in the showroom. After receiving all the documents and confirming the same we went out for a ride along with sales rep and asked him if it is necessary to meet the service people, he said that wouldn't be necessary as of now and he would introduce me to them during first service. No discount, No freebies nothing what so ever.





Well that was very quick turn of events for me had got the car in just about 1month and now it has been with me for 3months and been a absolute gem, I love the car very much have driven about 2200KMs till date and I guess my usage is also slowly increasing, nevermind the petrol prices! The car itself looks very good from almost all angels except the side one (I think it looks weird) and I guess any neatly thought out modification will only add to the character. The engine bay is tiny and stuffed with whatever you need to put under the hood and there is very little room to do anything inside the engine bay, for example changing the parking lamps is also a difficult task. I have already planned for few visual modifications to be completed in next couple of months (will post few queries on this topic in my next post) and also have promised myself that no performance upgrades atleast until 6 months.





The much discussed topic about Jazz X which is the X-kit was delivered to me after 3months that is received it just a week before. And I have to say I am not much impressed with the additional look it would add to the car, so asked the dealer not to paint the kit and give it to me as it is and brought to his notice my intention to sell it. The accessories guy agreed and told me he would paint it to any color I need if at all I intend to sell them off. Already placed an ad in TeamBHP classifieds should probably sell it off soon or later.





Let me list out few points I like about this car:
1. Car is an absolute rocker when driven above 2000rpm and thrill only increases with increase in rpm and I have already reached as high as 6000rpm, especially the second gear love the way it pulls and the sound of the IVTEC roar.
2. Beautifully put together interiors, dashboard design is awesome, lots of space, lots of bottle holders, seats are highly comfortable, Magic seats are very handy (you can sleep inside the car same as if sleeping on your bed when the seats are folded down, I have done it recently when I had been to friends farm house).



3. Many handy features like steering mount controls, onboard mileage indicator, remote boot release etc
4. AC is efficient beyond requirement, I usually use the fan speed of 1 with intermittent cooling in Bangalore. However once had been to chitoor(AP) and had to use fan speed of 3 with complete cooling, that was during mid day and we were getting cooked due to absence of Window tints.
5. Complete view of the surroundings (in fact I can say 360 degree view) when sitting inside the car with the help of mirrors and such large glass area.
6. Gear shift is effortless almost all the time but sometimes I feel that switching to second gear is hard.
7. Fuel efficiency is decent, I am getting an average mileage of 13KMPL in the city even though I drive during peak traffic hours and around 17 to 18KMPL during Highway drives all this even before 1st oil change, hope it will increase after (All figures taken from Onboard indicator, never have calculated the actual as I never keep a record of how much money I spend on fuel!). Please do not consider my review in order to decide upon the Fuel efficiency of the car because I dont have a particular driving style, sometimes I drive sedately but can't stick to that way and turn into a speedomaniac often whenever I see a open road as the IVTEC calls for it.
etc

Some Dislikes:
1. My car is a 'Rattle Snake', yes my 5year old Verna never use to rattle so much! There is lot of rattling noise from the driver side A-Pillar, some rattling noise from the rear side (this is not getting caused by magic seats- have taped the hooks, or from the parcel tray- I have tried driving without it but the noise still exists) and some minor rattling noise from the door pads, sun visors sometimes. Had asked the service guy to fix these two rattling noise during 1st service but no use, they had taped the seat holding hooks and i guess had done nothing about A-Pillar rattling as a result both of them exist and irritate me like hell.
2. Engine feels so underpowered if AC is on, need to apply more pressure on pedal to move the car forward.
3. Other than that only other few missed ones are feel good features like auto door lock, auto lights off on engine shutdown, better lighting to dashboard which wouldn't heat up as the current ones do etc

Few things I have spent on for this car:
First one is the tyres upgrade, car came with Goodyear GT3s and I had called Nikhil from Tyre professionals even before taking delivery in order to upgrade. Nikhil promptly gave me a choice of MRF ZLO 195/60/R15 (Lesser price) and Michelin Primacy LC 195/60/R15 (wee bit costly) to my bad I asked him to put on the ZLOs and I made a mistake. Soon later that day I realized that there is some humming noise at the speed range of 40KMPH speed and a lot of resistance to the drive, called up Nikhil and showed him the problem. He said that this could be since the tyres are new and would reduce once I have driven few hundred KMs. Later the same month we had been to Chitoor and drive was good except for the humming noise at 40Ks and was highly irritating. Soon after I returned got in touch with Nikhil and he had one of the MRF engineers look into my problem, After few trial run for few days, balancing and rebalancing, the engineer (a pretty humble guy, we have become good friends) told that the problem is due to the Balancing of the tyres during manufacture and 3 of the four tyres require almost 80 to 100 gms of counter balancing weight which is inturn making the tyre to wobble and cause the humming noise. By now the tyre had run almost thousand KMs, but due to his reputation with the MRF manager Nikhil was able to replace the tyres (all four of them even though one was good) free of cost, and this time I did not want to make any further mistake asked him to put the Primacy LC tyres and I would pay the additional money and Nikhil obliged. This was one of a kind experience for me, I had learnt a lot about tyres, tyre balancing, rotation etc and also almost all of the Tyre professionals staff became good interms with me, especially Zameer, Sunil, Lokesh etc who are really amazing at the work they do. This Zameer guy is so professional that he is able to tell whether the tyre is balanced or not just by looking at the wheel rotate! Well coming back to Michelin tyres, they are amazing I suggest that everyone who owns a Honda should switch to Michelin tyres. No significant noise even at speed of 140-150KMPH and the drive is so smooth. Also there is an increase in the mileage, I used to get a mileage of around 12KMPL with MRF tyres but with Michelin I get 13KMPL.

Second upgrade, rather than upgrade a protection. Got underbody coat from 3M near Silkboard and again the people here are very professional and really good at their work. Also got a free body wash and quick interior cleaning for free. I have opted for 5year warranty underbody coat, though there is no noticeable reduction in the noise level which they claim, I only hope it is protecting the underbody from scratches which is more frequent if 4 to 5 passengers are in the car.

These are the major ones I have spent money so far, other than that few small things like LED parking lights, In-mirror Convex mirrors(also adjustable), Chrome finished stainless steel plates for handles, Hybrid bulb with white light for the boot etc stuff almost all of them bought from the shop called 'Car Culture' from KR road. This guy has amazing collection of Sparco goods, if you have a taste for Sparco stuff then this is the place where you should go.



Few small things I have noticed about the car:
1. Stock music player is very good and I dont feel requirement for any upgrade as of now. I keep a music volume of 8 and with increase in speed there is auto volume increase. Usually volume increases by 1point with increase in every 20KMPH speed starting from 40KMPH.
2. Real-time mileage indicator is very good feature, I guess it is calculated based upon the three factors 'Pressure applied onto acceleration pedal', 'Speed of the vehicle', and 'Gear in which you are'.
3. Windows operation feature even after engine switch off is present and you can operate windows anytime (without time limit) even after engine is switched off as long as the key is in position 1. If the engine is shut and key is turned to position 0 then you can operate windows only for 30seconds.
4. During morning, engine starts with a idling rpm of 1400 due to low temperature of the engine oil (you can see the 'C' indicator) and slowly steadies down to a rpm of 800 as engine gets heated up.

That's most of it for now, whatever I have forgot will remember and write it up later(I am sure I have forgot lot of things) and also have some queries which I will write up in the next post. Here are some more photos of my Shadowfax (haven't done a serious good quality photoshoot till now)
If you have any question or queries or suggestions please let me know.







That is the EK9 squad decal, got it imported from JDM decals and modified a little bit to look like 'EKI' my pet name!



Had been to friend's farmhouse:







Thanks
Ekz

PS: For those who does not know what Shadowfax means, It's a white horse featured in Lord of the Rings trilogy and is considered as Lord of all Horses. Well I consider Jazz to be Lord of all hatchbacks in India so the name. (Just my opinion).

[Vik0728]

Congrats on your "Bright Shadowfax" of an Acquisition Jazzper.

I am not a Movie Buff and sure's hell would not watch a Fictional Movie anytime, but I can Gurantee that Jazz is the Best Hatch a 'Petrol Customer' can buy.

My Brother is on the hunt for a hatch and I could only suggest him the Jazz if he wanted to go in for a Petrol Version.

P.S - Please paste some 'Identifiable' TBHP stickers on your stead Jazzper, Shadowfax will get spotted soon by Bhpians now.

[VishnuNarayanan]

Hello jazzper,
Congrats on your new acquisition !
Your Jazz looks good.
Seems like Honda has done a great job by cutting down the prices and making it more affordable and VFM . The number of Jazz's are increasing in TeamBhp !
Wishing You Happy Miles with your 'Shadowfax'
Drive Safe

[rkurup]

Wow Jazzper, that is a cool baby that you have got. Seems it is raining Jazz' in here - I'm loving every bit of it. Please do post some pictures on the awesome blue-black interiors. Seems that slotting into the 2nd gear is indeed a bit of an issue - I believe Aaren and Peregrine too have experienced it.

Thanks,
Rahul

[shadows123]

Jazzper, Congrats on your purchase.

I totally agree with you on all the points. Even i have experienced all of it like the Cold Engine indicator, Engine underpowering a bit when you have A/C on and mileage(not really sure how others say they get 15 in city! maybe have to wait till 2nd service to notice some improvements).

Regarding the 2nd gear being difficult to slot in esp when you're downshifting, well the gear is a bit tricky. Suppose, if your speed is 25 and you're downshifting from 4th, then 2nd and 1st will be very difficult to slot in. I generally find it difficult to slot if you're trying to put wrong gear for a particular speed. For the above example, put it in 3rd and it will slot in fine. Slow the speed further down to say 15, then the 2nd gear will not have a problem and it will slot very smoothly. Try it out!! I think its all about putting the correct gear at the appropriate speed. Once you figure that out, you wont have any gear issues! I think this is a good feature for new drivers but not so much for others!!

[nurni76]

Congrats on the new Jazz X. Looks like a lot of BhPians are getting their Jazzes now. I somehow feel the X kit looks good on the Jazz X, and find the grill (minus kit) to be too old fashioned.

Surprised to hear about the rattles though. Honda's are never known to rattle, that too when they are new. Guess they might some loose screws which you could set right at the service centre

Enjoy your new ride and drive safe

[Jazzper]

Thank you guys, more updates coming soon stay tuned.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

P.S - Please paste some 'Identifiable' TBHP stickers on your stead Jazzper, Shadowfax will get spotted soon by Bhpians now.

I will, I like the Live to Drive Sticker very much and I am ordering one more set of TeamBHP stickers since the last LTD one I had stuck it onto my Verna.

Originally Posted by rkurup

Please do post some pictures on the awesome blue-black interiors.

I will post the interior pictures by weekend after second service. Actually interiors are little bit dirty now so you have to wait till saturday.

Thank you shadows123 on your suggestion, let me check and try slotting gears as you have suggested.

Rattling noise is there in the car right from first week of purchasing, I am not sure why. I guess most of the owners are having this rattling noise coming from rear and as most of them has suggested that it is coming from the magic seats, I asked the service guy to fix it during first service. Probably he had done this before to many other cars before so he had simply taped the seat holding hooks and told me that after lot of test drives they had figured the problem and rectified it(he had thought that i wouldn't know about taping solution). After service when i was checking car I went right up to the seats and collapsed them down to see if they had taped the hooks and they had done the same, when I turned to him he made a small face and said that this is the only solution as of now (thanks to teambhp I knew what would happen already).
But anyways the rattling has not stopped and still exists I doubt that this might be getting caused by the 3rd brake light. Have booked a slot for saturday morning for 2nd service and told that lady that I would stay with my car and get it serviced this time, hopefully we will be able to rectify the rattling noises.

Thanks
Ekz

[coolmel]

Jazzper: Many congrats on a 'jazzy' purchase! Wishing you many many happy miles ahead matey

With regards to your rattling noise, well as far as I know, they dont exist, could very well be something stuck in the front suspension, loose gravel or something. Get it sorted under warranty.

[arup.misra]

Congrats on your shadowfax. Its the best petrol hatch you can buy in the market today. Nice choice of color, though maintaining it in rains will be a pain.

The rattling sound may be due to a loose screw or some missing packing. Very minor niggle which can be solved by you service advisor.

Enjoy the vtec and rest assured it'll serve you for a long long time.

[shadows123]

Originally Posted by Jazzper

Thank you guys, more updates coming soon stay tuned.


I will, I like the Live to Drive Sticker very much and I am ordering one more set of TeamBHP stickers since the last LTD one I had stuck it onto my Verna.



I will post the interior pictures by weekend after second service. Actually interiors are little bit dirty now so you have to wait till saturday.

Thank you shadows123 on your suggestion, let me check and try slotting gears as you have suggested.

Rattling noise is there in the car right from first week of purchasing, I am not sure why. I guess most of the owners are having this rattling noise coming from rear and as most of them has suggested that it is coming from the magic seats, I asked the service guy to fix it during first service. Probably he had done this before to many other cars before so he had simply taped the seat holding hooks and told me that after lot of test drives they had figured the problem and rectified it(he had thought that i wouldn't know about taping solution). After service when i was checking car I went right up to the seats and collapsed them down to see if they had taped the hooks and they had done the same, when I turned to him he made a small face and said that this is the only solution as of now (thanks to teambhp I knew what would happen already).
But anyways the rattling has not stopped and still exists I doubt that this might be getting caused by the 3rd brake light. Have booked a slot for saturday morning for 2nd service and told that lady that I would stay with my car and get it serviced this time, hopefully we will be able to rectify the rattling noises.

Thanks
Ekz

I havent noticed any rattles in the car. Maybe its probably because i always keep the music in around 10-12 volume when i drive. Mostly i cant even hear honking from behind or any of the hassles on the road because of this(plus the very good noise insulation you get on the Jazz).

Regarding the gear shift yea you try that. Remember the 3rd gear is very flexible on the Jazz and it will slot in and drive comfortably even at speeds as low as 20. Havent tried speeds below that!

[vasanthn21]

Congrats on the purchase!

Jazz is an immensly practical hatch. With almost the same exterior dimensions as Swift, Jazz is so well spaced; it feels much more roomier than Swift.

I remember seeing a pic (first pic in the 2nd post of this thred:http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ore-again.html from Suhaas307), where the boot gobbled up all the luggage comfortably. I do not know of any other hatch that can do this.

Congrats once again.

[dZired]

Congratulations on your shadowfax. Jazz looks best in white and that greyish shade (dont know its correct name). I too think Jazz is the best available petrol hatch in the Indian market.
Well I am quite confused as to why didnt the dealership offer any free accessories since a friend of mine bought the same model a month ago and got art leather seat covers, ambi-pure car perfume, steering cover, etc free.

[Jazzper]

Originally Posted by shadows123

I havent noticed any rattles in the car. Maybe its probably because i always keep the music in around 10-12 volume when i drive.

I used to listen to music all the time when in a car but after buying jazz now like to listen to the engine's sound rather than music, that is why I am able to hear all those mild ratling noises aswell! When music is on except for the A-Pillar rattling no other noise is audible.

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

I remember seeing a pic (first pic in the 2nd post of this thred:http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ore-again.html from Suhaas307), where the boot gobbled up all the luggage comfortably. I do not know of any other hatch that can do this.

I never got a chance to fill the boot up like here, but I am sure it can take so much, and even more if you remove the parcel tray.

Originally Posted by dZired

Well I am quite confused as to why didnt the dealership offer any free accessories since a friend of mine bought the same model a month ago and got art leather seat covers, ambi-pure car perfume, steering cover, etc free.

Good to know that atleast some where some dealer has started offering the freebies for jazz.
And I made a mistake, I did get one freebie Ganesha's Idol.

Thanks for all your responses.
Ekz

[S.MJet]

Congrats for your Shadowfax.

Originally Posted by Jazzper

Some Dislikes:
1. My car is a 'Rattle Snake', yes my 5year old Verna never use to rattle so much! There is lot of rattling noise from the driver side A-Pillar, some rattling noise from the rear side

Can't believe a new Honda rattling. This is a trademark of TaMo & to some extent Fiat.

Hope all are fixed in your second service.

Any ways, it's a wonderful package, well thought out & clever design liberates so much space inside.
Easily the best petrol hatch available.

Wishing you happy ownership throughout!

[shadows123]

Originally Posted by Jazzper

Good to know that atleast some where some dealer has started offering the freebies for jazz.
And I made a mistake, I did get one freebie Ganesha's Idol.

Thanks for all your responses.
Ekz

Thats a first i guess.. Are you sure the freebies arent for the Brio? I got Jazz from Magnum@ Kanakpura road only..and there was absolutely zero freebies on offer except for the ganesha's idol which they give and the bag of chocolates! The dealers were almost crying when you ask for freebies infact

and regarding the rattles you're the first who;s complaining of that. I havent heard any rattles from A-pillar even though the music system is ON. Let me try it today with music turned off!