[blackasta]

On July 2018, almost exactly 9 years after booking my Hyundai i10, I thought long and hard, and finally decided to get a new car trading my current ride.

After some deliberation, consultation with friends & family, multi way comparisons on spreadsheets, and a test drive later, booked the 2018 Honda Jazz Petrol VX CVT in Modern Steel Metallic color on 22nd August 2018.

The car was delivered on 12th September, and the following ownership report covers the journey from contemplation, to finalization, booking, delivery and initial ownership experience.

Why a new Car

Requirements from the new car

Shortlisting & Finalization of Jazz

Enquiry, Test Drive, Booking, Financing and Delivery Experience with the Dealership

Exterior Styling / Design & Build Quality

Interior Design/Quality, Space & Comfort - Part 1

Interior Design/Quality, Space & Comfort - Part 2

Engine Performance/Driveability/Autobox

Summary

[blackasta]

A very valid question that Dbhpian 'CrAzY dRiVeR' asked me when I posted the booking details in the booking thread - why the upgrade? Doesn't 9 lakhs over the i10 feel a bit steep for going just a segment higher?

I had thought long and hard before taking the plunge of getting a new car - of how much monetary effect would it have on my finances if I rejuvenate my i10 vs getting a new car.

What I came up with is the following set of expenses, which were all considered by me till then, but not quantified anywhere:

The i10 had run for 9 years and 95K+ kms, and needed the following minimum investment to keep it on road for the next year and beyond:

1. Insurance renewal on Sept 2018 (6K)
2. New set of tires in the next couple of months as the current ones have run for 45K+ kms (16-18K)
3. Road tax on Sept 2019 (25-26K)
4. Steering wheel clock spring replacement which had resulted in horns not working intermittently (3-4K)
5. Some noise is coming when I engage the AC - possibly the water pump or belts (cost unknown)
6. Rusting started on lower edge of running boards (no real remediation beside changing the entire panels - cost unknown)
7. New seat covers (7-8K)
8. Planned to change the A/T oil after 100K kms (appx cost about 10k)
9. 2 Periodic Maintenance Service (7-8K)

When I took the above facts into consideration (expense of about 80k plus), it seemed that this is the tipping point where putting more money into the existing car is not really justified.

Mechanically, there was zero problem with the engine + gearbox of the i10 till I parted with the car.

[blackasta]

When I made up my mind of getting a new car, I laid down the following guidelines which would help me to shortlist my probable choices.

Must have - minimum features which should be present, missing which it would be a deal breaker

• Budget - less than or around 10 lakhs.
• Petrol Engine
• Automatic - Torque converter or CVT - No AMT (not a proper autobox) or DSG (reliability issues)
• Hatchback or Compact sedan - in that order. Less than 4 meters desirable due to garage space restrictions
• Must be less than 1700mm wide - again due to garage space restrictions
• Dual airbags minimum
• ABS (with strong inclination towards ABS + EBD)
• Front & rear adjustable headrests
• Factory fitted central + remote locking
• Auto A/C
• Leather steering + gear knob
• Rear wash + wipe
• Rear defogger
• Tilt steering
• Height adjustable driver seat
• Height adjustable seat-belts
• Electrically adjustable ORVM
• Better front seat comfort than my current car & an easy to achieve driving position
• Must be from a company that has atleast 2 service centers near my home / office or enroute my daily commute
• Must be a dependable company / model - Due to my odd commute hours and this being my only car, I absolutely cannot afford to be without a car or stranded midway.

Good to have - not deal breakers, but can sway the decision making process in case of a tie between two or more equally deserving cars

• ISOFIX
• Side and curtain airbags
• Projector Headlamps
• Luggage lamp
• Rear parking sensors
• Rear parking camera
• Electrically folding ORVM
• Driver armrest
• Better rear seat space than my current car
• Rear flat folding seats
• Telescopic steering

Neutral - does not matter if this feature is present / absent, shall not affect buying decision.

• Keyless entry with door sensors
• Push button start
• Touchscreen AVN system
• Rear armrest
• 60-40 rear folding seat
• DRL
• Electrochromic IRVM

[blackasta]

Considered a few alternates other than Jazz, mainly from Hyundai (familiar brand, possible better resale value for my existing car, lot of service centers), Ford (ticking most of the boxes, cheaper price, nearby service center), Honda (recently launched Amaze which has become a runaway success), Maruti (Baleno for it's top trim Alpha CVT) and Nissan (recently launched 2018 Micra loaded with features). Only manufacturers/models having automatic transmission variants were considered.

Did not consider AMT box cars (mainly from Maruti), as moving from a Torque Converter to an AMT box would not be a very pleasant experience, plus somehow I am not convinced on interiors of Maruti cars.

DSG box cars (mainly from VW) were not considered as DSG failure reports on and off the forum did not inspire confidence. Also, I do not have any VW service centers nearby.

Hyundai Grand i10 - considered as it was falling within dimensions, the top trim was reasonably loaded, and had a TC AT box on offer. Rejected as there's no top model with AT, and the second to top trim loses a lot of features which falls in my 'must have' list. Also, would not have been a 'upgrade' from my current car considering the size and spec sheet.

Hyundai Elite i20 - considered it in spite of the car being wider (1735) than what I considered as a hard stop (1700mm). But again, there's no CVT box on the top Asta(O) trim, and the Asta trim inexplicably misses on certain features like rear wash/wipe & luggage lamp which should be standard fitment. If the Asta(O) which is fully loaded had come with the CVT box, it really would have been a tough decision to overlook the i20.

Hyundai Xcent - AT box only on the poorly specced S trim. The only reason this car was considered was due to the compact dimensions, and was dropped as there was no top trim with AT on offer.

Honda Amaze - Seriously considered the Honda Amaze for a while. But the top trim not being available with a CVT box meant that the Amaze Petrol V CVT lost some goodies available in the Amaze VX trim, and then some more which are available on the Jazz VX. However, the Amaze Petrol V CVT was coming a lakh cheaper than the Jazz VX CVT. Finally decided against the Amaze after reading the TBHP review.
To quote myself:

Originally Posted by blackasta

My only gripe with compact sedans is sometimes it feels that companies willfully skip on quality / default accessories / trim levels.
The plastic quality on some trims, that welding concealer, the naked boot lid interiors, missing driver arm rest - serves as stark reminders that one is buying a 'compact sedan'.

Ford Figo - The Titanium trim was reasonably loaded & fit within the dimension requirements. Did not make the final cut as a facelift was round the corner, and I did not want to get a pre facelift model just before a facelift is unveiled. Also, there are a few instances of DCT box failure in the Figo / Aspire, and Ford themselves are rumored to be moving from DCT to TC boxes in the Figo / Aspire facelifts. Plus the top Titanium+ trim does not come with an autobox, and I am not too sure if the facelift would amend that.

Ford Aspire - same as Figo.

Maruti Baleno - Except the width of 1745 mm, this car had it all in it's favor. Fully loaded CVT variant is available with more goodies than the Jazz VX. Also, being more than 100kg lighter than the Jazz, this car was mentioned to be more lively than the Jazz in various 3 way matches (Jazz vs i20 vs Baleno). To be very candid - In the end, I think it is my bias against Maruti that prevented me from going further ahead with this car. Also, the various reports in the forum of people complaining about build quality, plus the extra width over 1700 mm made it easier for myself to justify my choice.

Nissan Micra - The 2018 facelift Micra petrol XV CVT comes loaded with features for a car in that segment, and had everything that I needed in my prospective new car. However, seeing the condition that Nissan as a company is in with low sales, and after being strongly dissuaded by people on and off the forum citing abysmal service standards, I chose to steer clear of considering the Micra. Also, would not have been a 'upgrade' from my current car considering the size.

When the 2018 Jazz was released, I compared all of the above models plus the Jazz on paper based on feature distribution on various trims , and decided to test drive the Jazz.

The Jazz's main competitor in my books was the Hyundai i20 Asta CVT, and the below comparison tilted the decision in favor of Jazz VX CVT.

There is no question on which car sells more, as we all know that i20 outsells the Jazz by factors ranging between 5 to 15, month on month.

------------Feb-18-----Mar-18-----Apr-18-----May-18-----Jun-18-----Jul-18-----Aug-18
Jazz-------2257-------2473-------1747-------680---------1175-------1869------1119
i20--------13378-----13319------12369------10664------11262------10822-----11475

The topmost Jazz CVT variant is the VX (same as the manual variant), while Hyundai i20 CVT tops out at Asta with Asta(O) being the topmost manual variant on offer.

What is present in the Jazz VX CVT but missing in i20 Asta CVT

• Smart key
• Push button start/stop
• Paddle shifters
• Chrome outside handles
• Leather steering & gear knob
• Cruise control
• Driver side window with auto up/down and pinch guard
• Rear wash / wipe
• Luggage lamp

What is present in the i20 Asta CVT but missing in the Jazz VX CVT

• Impact sensing auto door unlocking
• Arkamys sound
• Front and rear tweeters

Jazz- how it fit my bill in all aspects

As the new 2018 Jazz was announced in July, I checked out the specs, and found that now the top trim VX comes with a CVT box, although some compromises have been made with features (magic seats removed, no rear adjustable headrests), and some features have been added too (digipad 2.0 AVN unit, paddle shifters, cruise control).

The Jazz ticked most items from the must have, good to have and neutral list.

Glaring misses in my opinion are:

• Deletion of magic seats from the VX variant (losing an USP is never a good thing, however less usage it might have seen)
• Deletion of rear adjustable headrests
• No height adjustable seat-belts
• Giving a miss to side + curtain airbags on the topmost version while competition offers the same

Plus some more goodies like DRL / telescopic steering / projector headlamps / Electrochromic IRVM would have been appreciated at this price point as again the competition provides them on the top trims.

What won me over in Jazz is the availability of automatic transmission on the top trim, sheer amount of glass area giving a roomy feeling, plus the space inside which definitely is a step up from my current car, the overall feel from the driver's seat and the ease of driving (TD experience in later sections).

[blackasta]

Enquiry & Test Drive

Once the car was officially released, I had put in a request for TD of the new Jazz via the website on 26th July.
On 27th, a call center executive called and pretty much collected the same information from me which I had provided on the website, asked me for my favored dealer to avail the TD from and mentioned that dealer would give me a call.
Received an SMS from Honda on Monday 30th July with contact details of one of their sales associates (Shree Honda).
Called him up, and got the info as it the month end, they are busy with incoming cars' PDI and shall be contacting me on the beginning of August. I sent him an SMS with my contact details, choice of car and place of TD.
No call from him till Friday 3rd August, and I decide to call him up again. Asked him very politely whether he is at all interested in doing business, to which he profusely apologized and mentioned that he had 'forgot' about my TD request (dude , if I forgot about a prospective customer showing interest on his own for a product in my line of business, almost my entire pyramid would be on the verge of getting sacked!!)
He then informed me that there is no CVT TD car of the new Jazz in their dealership and promised(!) to call me back once one arrives.

Received 2 calls in first 2 weeks of August from Shree Honda informing me that they do not have any CVT test drive vehicle.

I then called up Pinnacle Honda on 14th August, and they brought a VX CVT TD car in Pearl White color to my office on 16th August for TD.
In fact Rajendra (the sales adviser) wanted to bring the car on 14th itself, but his time-slot did not match mine, so we had to give it a miss.
Full marks to Pinnacle Honda for being aggressive on the opportunity!

Had a nice laid back TD for 15 mins, and following were some quick observations:

Pros:

• Acres of space - boot, leg, head, shoulder everywhere.
• Nice airy cabin, but good sound insulation.
• Doors are sturdy.
• Has most of the things I need in my next car (petrol automatic, auto a/c, airbags, abs, electric adjust/fold mirrors, leather steering/gearknob, rear wash/ wipe/defogger).
• Good suspension absorbs smaller potholes/broken tarmac.
• Lot of nice to have features (for me atleast) like 3 position reverse cam, good looking MID, touchscreen with android auto etc.
• All the doors and the hatch auto locks on reaching 15 (or 20?) km/hr speed, and auto unlocks when the gear lever is shifted to P. Both of these features are configurable by the user as per the manual.

Cons:

• Not as engaging to drive as my current car (i10 AT), CVT box is lazier than the torque converter box of i10 and I have to adjust my driving style to suit the same - so leading the pack from greenlight to 60 may not be possible.
• Steering is very light at standstill while getting out from parking and weighs up somewhat at city speeds. The i10 steering feel with upsized tires was heavier and felt more direct.
• Non adjustable rear seat headrest is unpardonable in a premium hatch, but I have to look away considering this as a solitary miss with other small but necessary features in place (rear wash/wipe, luggage lamp, driver seat height adjuster).
• No height adjustable seat belts - personally, I do not have any issue as in most cars I have driven, the seat belts fall into place for a person of my height. However, for shorter people (especially my mom), the non height adjustable seat belts rub the collar bone-throat area and is quite an irksome experience, also being an excuse for not putting them on.
• The car cannot be locked while in neutral (often if parallel parked into tight spots, the parking guys ask that you leave your car in neutral).
• The driver armrest was not usable as it was too low when I adjusted my driving position (I'm 5'9").
• The spoiler on the VX variant (that was present in the pre facelift version) was missed by it's absence, as I believe that it balanced the looks of the car.

Rajendra was knowledgeable & courteous. Verbally committed to him that barring any extraordinary event, I shall get the Jazz. Asked him to check if the color of my choice (Modern Steel Metallic) is available & lead time to get the same, finance options and to send someone for evaluation of my current car. I was handed over the brochure and a price list breakup.
He came back to me on that very evening stating that only red color is available in the VX trim (other colors have a lead time of 10 days after order), interest % on finance offered by Kotak Mahindra is 8.95%, and that evaluation for my i10 shall be arranged soon.

An evaluator from the dealership came to my office on 18th August and did a thorough evaluation of my existing i10. He mentioned that he shall share the details with Rajendra and he shall get in touch with me for the offer & negotiation.

Deal Finalization

After a couple of days having telephonic negotiations on the exchange value (finalized at 1.25 lakhs), finally went ahead and booked the Jazz VX Petrol CVT in Modern Steel Metallic color by paying a booking amount of Rs 51000 using my credit card on 22nd August.
Finalization of the add ons and booking amount payment was done by visiting the PInnacle Honda dealership in person.
Delivery was promised in writing by mid of September.

Final On road price: 10.18 lakhs (Ex showroom + Registration + 5 yr road tax + essential kit + Honda Assure zero dep insurance + 5 yr 100K km extended warranty + 5 yr RSA + Honda genuine seat cover) - minus the trade in value of the old car.

Honda offers the following Extended warranty plans for the new Jazz (I opted for the 4+5 year 100K Km plan)




Following RSA plans are also offered (I opted for the 5 year RSA plan):




Also offered are the following AMC plans (Contemplating to get the 2 year /40K Synthetic option):




Financing

I planned to pay for the car about 45% from out of my pocket, and for the balance amount I would seek a loan.
As discussed with Rajendra, he forwared my contact to the Kotak Mahindra bank personnel for financing options. I checked with HDFC bank as well , but in spite of having my entire financial portfolio with them, they refused to offer anything below 9.25%, whereas Kotak Mahindra offered a final rate of 8.90%. Did not consider SBI due to a recent horror story witnessed as it happened in the recent past with one of my colleagues.

Applied for a loan amount of 5.42 lakhs with Kotak Mahindra for 3 years on 25th August (the bank personnel came to my office to get the required paperwork done), and on 26th I received an email (plus an whatsapp message from the bank personnel) that my loan application was approved.
EMI for 3 years came to Rs ~17K per month - I intend to run the EMI till end and not pre-close the loan.

In the meantime, the insurance of my i10 expired on 27th August, so took a 3rd party only insurance from IFFCO-TOKIO to keep the car on road for the next couple of weeks till the Jazz is delivered.


PDI

Got a call from the SA on 29th August night that the car has been unloaded from the truck, and then he sent me the engine & VIN number of the car over Whatsapp on 30th August morning.

Also received an whatsapp message from the bank personnel that my loan file has been dumped for disbursement on 30th August.

Something unplanned in the form of 3 year insurance rule came in, and my plans of getting the NCB letter from Bajaj Allianz and getting the NCB amount deducted from the first year value offered by Honda Assure took a hit.
I gave the green signal to Rajendra to go ahead and get the 1 year insurance done at full price on 31st night, and I have written to Bajaj Allianz since to get a letter of holding which I intend to apply towards my 2nd year renewal.

Visited the yard for a quick PDI on 1st September. The VIN matched with the one that the sales adviser had passed on to me, the color matched and the VIN suggested that the car is a August 2018 manufactured one.
Tire code is 2918 (29th week manufactured, which corresponds to mid July 2018 manufacturing dates). Got MRF ZVTV tires.

Once satisfied with the PDI, went back to the dealership & paid ~3 lakhs balance payment from my end via personal cheque. This amount, plus 51K paid earlier, plus the exchange value of my i10 shall be the down payment from my end, with the rest covered by the loan amount.

Few snaps from the PDI session:







Delivery

Called up Rajendra on Tuesday 11th September evening & finalized that the delivery is going to take place on the 12th afternoon.

On the D-day, at the mentioned time, me and my dad walked in to the dealership to complete the formalities & take ownership of the new car.

Turned in the i10 completing all the paperwork & formalities, and bid goodbye to my trusted ride for the past 9 years.

Rajendra then turned up with a bunch of paperwork, and went through the following details, while I signed received copies for each:

• Temporary Registration certificate for 1 month (this is required as the Dealership is under the jurisdiction of a different RTO than my home)
• Payment receipt for Temporary registration certificate
• Initial pollution certification from the company
• Insurance papers
• Extended warranty papers
• RSA papers
• Manual
• Additional manual for the AVN system

He also explained that I have to visit the RTO twice - once after a permanent registration number is assigned for the car (producing the vehicle before RTO for inspection) and again when the HSRP is to be affixed.
We then proceeded towards the car which was being readied in the delivery bay, and was explained about driving, interior, AVN, and essential accessories. 5L petrol was filled in the car.

A quick cake cutting ceremony & a formal key handover photo op happened in close succession, and a quick intro with the service adviser followed.

That's Rajendra handing over the key to me, with my dad by my side.



With all formalities done, thanked Rajendra for the sales experience, handed over a small token gift to him, and drove away from the dealership.

There was a BP pump within 2 kms - stopped there and took in additional 34-35 liters of petrol to fill the tank. Then drove all the way to my office for a quick stop, and finally home.

The remote key with Honda Keychain - received 2 such remote keys.



While parked at the office basement parking





While driving home, stuck in traffic

[blackasta]

Front

There is no change in the 'face' of the 2018 Jazz face-lift. The front stays as is from the earlier edition, dominated by the large piano black grill with the chrome line running below it.
Note that the honeycomb pattern in the lower air dam is partially blocked on the driver's side.



The headlamp cluster is plain and simple halogen H4 unit - no HID / LED / Projectors, with indicators on the insides.
The headlights, coupled with the fog-lamps, provide decent enough illumination for the road ahead, although I don't think illumination is best in class and that there is some scope for improvement.




The fog lamps again are halogen units, and there's a blank where ideally DRLs should be located (Warrants a DIY upgrade after warranty period is over)



Looks sharp from the front three qaurters view




Sides



It would be hard for anyone to mistake the Jazz for any other car, with the distinctive side on shape which resembles an MPV.



The front doors open up in 3 stages and go on till almost 75 degrees - ingress / egress is super easy



The rear doors take it a notch higher and opens up almost till 85 degrees



Keyless entry sensors on both the front doors - walking up the to car with the smart key in pocket and tugging the front door handle unlocks the car with a single indicator flash and a single chime.
Closing the door & pressing the request sensor button locks the car with 3 indicator flashes & 3 chimes.
Locking / unlocking using the remote key flashes the indicators in the same way, minus the chimes.



Tires look a size smaller in the wheel well from this angle.





Rear

The rear exterior is where most of the updates have been made in this face-lift



4 reverse parking sensors are standard on the face-lift - all trims get them



The rear parking camera is standard on the V & VX trims - neatly tucked on the inside of the chrome belt over the license plate area



Switches to open the hatch (the longer one) & lock the car (smaller rounder one). The hatch lock is integrated with the central locking mechanism, and there is no switch / lever inside the cabin to pop the hatchback.



Sprayer for rear wash / wipe integrated into the high mounted stop lamp



And the focal point of all advertising on this car - the rear LED cluster lamp.
The stop lamps are also LED units.




Wheels & Tyres

The VX trim comes with 175/65R15 tires wrapped on 15 inch JWL standard OEM alloys. Spare tire is a 175/70R14 on steel wheel.



I find the alloy design quite good and there's no reason to change them.
My car came with MRF ZVTV tires - till now my experience has been quite ok with them (admittedly I did not push the car much during this period).
Grip levels are not comparable with the Yokohama ES100s I had on my i10, but road noise is greatly reduced (even better when all windows are rolled up).
Recommended pressure is 32 (front ) / 30 (rear).



The car however looks under-tired, and a future upgrade (possibly when the current set reaches end of life) to 195/60R15 should help both visually & w.r.t handling.
The wheel wells should easily accommodate the up-sized tires.



Overall exterior build quality, fit & finish, paint quality and panel gaps

Exterior build quality is good and the doors feel solid to use.
The hatch however, feels light and one has the urge to slam it shut fearing that otherwise it won't lock - only to realize that just a gentle drop locks it in place.
Panel gaps are bigger that what I would have liked, and in my opinion, somewhat uneven. Better job could have been done with the hood, the hatch and the rear bumper.

Paint quality however is pretty good - in the first week of usage an errant biker brushed the rear bumper with his sidecase which produced a loud enough thud to be heard & felt from the driver's seat - but once I reached home, I found no evidence of the same other than a thin black line of paint(or rubber or dirt!), which went away after some persistent rubbing with quick detailer using a MF cloth.

[blackasta]

Plastics, upholstery, fit & finish


The all black dash area with silver accentuated AC vents give a premium feeling.



While the plastics of Jazz, and Honda (now that we have 2 Honda cars at home, the other being my uncle's Brio), are good - they are a notch below the superb plastic quality of Hyundai, even one's that are older & sits in lower segments.

To give a few examples where I have been less than excited with Honda plastic/overall quality:

• The interior plastic cladding on the hatchback flexes with the slightest of pressure.
• The IRVM day / night toggle switch & mechanism lacks the dampened firmness that is expected from a car in this segment. It's a bit jittery to use.
• Seat belt material is thinner that what I had experienced in my i10.

Upholstery quality of the beige fabric seats were quite good.
However, I decided to go for Honda genuine faux leather seat covers, which in my opinion have been put on quite well.





Again a couple of things which I miss from my earlier car - adjustable rear headrests, and a simple slot to park the rear seat belts when they are unused - both sadly missing from a 'premium' hatch.



All 3 doors except the driver's get spring loaded grab handles. Only the one which is above the driver side rear door gets a coat hook.



The front and rear door arm rests gets beige fabric inserts.
These are bound to get dirty with use, so I have applied Gtechniq I1 smart fabric coating to protect them.






Interior space & comfort - front & back (seat support, legroom, headroom & width)


Front Seats

The front seats are adequately firm, and have the right amount of lumbar support, so I need not put in the lumbar support pad that I had to use in my i10. I am still using the neck pillow - alongwith the adjustable front headrests I can get just the right amount of support for my neck.
However, both me and my dad felt that thigh support is a bit on the shorter side, and another half inch to one inch would have been great.



My driving style is to push the driver's seat all the way back, and then adjust the steering wheel to the correct height for a laid back driving position.
The superb range of the seat height adjuster makes this adjustment even easier and allows me a higher, yet laid back position to drive.
The seat recline feature, however, is a bit sudden and a dampened movement would have been appreciated.



Front seat width is adequate for persons of medium stature (me, my dad, my uncle all are around 5'8" - 5'9", and have no reason to complain)


Rear Seats

Rear seat legroom is excellent to say the least, as I have 3-4 inches of space remaining in front of my knees with the driver's seat pushed all the way back.
The seat backrest, however, is a bit straighter than what I would have liked, and an additional 5-10 degrees of tilt would have been welcome.
With a fixed straight backrest (the pre facelift VX trim had reclining rear seats by virtue of having magic seats), there's a gap between the seat back and the parcel tray resulting in a crevice which can gulp artifacts placed on the parcel tray to deposit them in the far interiors of the hatchback.
Now that magic seats (which offered reclining) are no longer offered in any variant of Jazz, this seems like a serious overlook from the company who could have easily redesigned the parcel tray to cover that gap.



Thigh support is ok, and a flat (but gently sloping upwards towards the front) floor ensures that rear seat passengers sit in relative comfort.

Here is the rear legroom with the driver's / front passenger's seat pushed all the way back:



People of height less than 6 ft should not have any reason to complain in the front, with the seats having adequate support and adjustable headrests.
In the rear however, the lack of adjustable headrests shall mean that anyone taller than 5'4" shall be forced to either have a fixed pillow stuck at the back of their neck, or they have to position themselves in a sort of recline so as to rest their head. Not a very comfortable proposition.

Luggage space & utility


Another highlight of the Jazz is the bigger luggage space it offers compared to competitors.

Here is how it looks without the parcel tray - you can see my emergency support kit, and dog food / animal care essentials. That's a 10Kg pedigree bag for reference.



How it looks with the parcel tray on



Still had enough space to gulp down my full sized tennis bag.



The OEM emergency tools are neatly fitted in a firm holder which sits inside the spare tire. There's plenty of space for even an upsized tire.



Can't say good things about the warning triangle though - the plastic bag does not have velcro strips on it (i10 had them) to hold on to the carpet, in order to reduce clattering. Also, there is no dedicated recess to place it, so I have thrown it inside to share the space beside the spare tire.

Good to see rubber bumpers on the parcel tray for noise reduction

[blackasta]

Driving position, ergonomics, controls & MID

As mentioned earlier, with the steering rake adjustment, generous range of front seat movement and an excellent seat height adjuster, it is quite easy to attain a comfortable driving position.
I like it with the seat pushed back all the way, and then adjusting the steering rake and seat height for a comfortable arm's length reach and a good view of the road.
The leather wrapped steering wheel is a pleasure to use and strikes the right balance between grip, suppleness and ease of sliding while self centering.
The paddle shifts again fall into place nicely - but I doubt they'll see much usage in my normal commute routine.



While at the steering, all controls fall into place perfectly ergonomically, except the horn pad.
Comfortable with the placement of the music controls (though a mute button is missed), the cruise controls, and the telephony controls.
Checked out the cruise control feature and it works as expected - not expecting much usage in my daily commute consisting of packed roads.



The buttons from top are to accept call, end call, and issue voice commands. These have to be pressed from the underside.



But grumpy about the small size of the horn pad - I have regular sized palms and have to reach out with my thumb to sound the horn.



The light and wiper stalks are chunky & of good quality.
Fog lamp control is built into the light stalk.



The OEM driver's hand rest is of very good quality - however, the height of the same is a bit on the lower side and thus it is not very much usable from the driving position that I have set.
The fabric is similar to that on the doorpads, and shall be treated in the same way to resist dirt.



The handrest can be raised up to reveal a deep cubby hole - I am using it to store my OBD scanners, spare bulbs and a pack or two of chewing gum.



Further cubby holes are there in front of the armrest beside the hand brake which can be used to store coins (although I use a small plastic jar for this purpose - the one with the blue lid visible in several snaps) and the AVN remote (the remote is safe in my home and I use that slot to put my bunch of keys including the smart-key)



Next in front of that is the gear lever - the lever head is leather wrapped and it has usual P-R-N-D-S slots. The P-R-N-D-S lettering is illuminated.



In front of the gear lever are 2 cup holders, and a place to either park a phone or assorted knickknacks.
I am using the 1.5 amp USB slot (left side) to charge my phone & use android auto, and the 1 amp slot (right side) for powering my dashcam.



Driver and front passenger gets push to operate map lights



While the 3 position cabin light is placed in the middle between front and rear seats. If placed in the 'door' mode , this light comes on whenever the engine is shut off & has theater dimming effect.



Jazz finally gets the start/stop button in this facelift.

Press once for ACC mode - few electricals like USB slots gets powered on
Press again for ON mode - all electricals powered on
Press & hold with brake pedal pressed to start.



The instrument control dials look good and contemporary - sadly misses out the temperature gauge.



The stalk can be rotated to control the instrument cluster brightness, and pressed to cycle through the different MID modes.
Resetting a trip also resets the average FE for that trip.



The front seatbelts are fixed - Though they do not cause any discomfort to me whatsoever, I am a proponent for height adjustable seatbelts chiefly because it ensures comfort for the front passenger if he or she is of a short height



The A & B pedals are placed perfectly, and I do not have any issues with them. Driving with a light foot now until I fully grasp their modulation range and bite points.
The dead pedal seems angled & positioned correctly.



Levers for opening the fuel cap and hood are placed in the footwell - they appear to be of sturdy quality.



Driver gets a exclusive cooled cup holder - yet to use it though!



Visibility & size of mirrors

IRVM

The IRVM size is adequate, considering that it covers the rear hatch glass fully.
My chief gripe with the same is on quality - the unit simply doesn't feel like it belongs inside a premium hatchback.
The lever movement from day to night is uncertain and jittery, and I feel that the somehow it is overcompensating the movement causing some light to refract out fully instead of cutting down the glare in it's entirety.



ORVM

ORVMs are electrically adjustable and foldable (no welcome function though - which on hindsight may be a good thing). They also house the side indicators, which are rightly placed in recessed slots (some cars have ORVM mounted blinkers that protrude out from the cowl surface).
Size of the ORVMs feel OK, but the shape could have been tweaked to have a little more coverage.





ORVM adjust & fold control buttons on the driver's armrest, along-with the window control and central lock buttons.




Vanity Mirrors

Both the driver and the front passenger gets vanity mirror with cover. No lights on the cover though.




Air conditioner cooling & effectiveness

The Jazz gets a fully touch screen automatic AC unit in the VX trim.
A slab of black glass till the ignition is turned on, the AC unit can be operated both manually or in Auto mode.
If set on AUTO mode with a temperature set, the unit controls the compressor & the fan speed to attain the same.
I do not like super chilled cabin and have a tendency of catching cold, so almost always I end up having the AC set in AUTO mode at around 25-26 degrees .
What is observed is that during the daytime, fan speeds reach 4 or 5, but barely reaches 3 during the night.
Fan noise is barely audible in speeds 1-2, noticeable in 3-4 and noisy in speeds 5 and above.
The AC system has been able to satisfactorily cool the cabin in both night and day



The sensor for Auto AC is placed right up front on the dashboard just behind the windscreen.



Audio System & Sound Quality

The new Honda AVN system (Digipad 2.0) has been provided on the Jazz.
It is a fully touchscreen unit with a few physical buttons on the side.
Tapping the power button once mutes the system, long press shuts it off/on.
The disclaimer at the beginning during every startup which has to be agreed by pressing the ok button is mildly irritating.

Audio quality is pretty good in my opinion, and I am not looking at any upgrades.

Telephone calls are clear both ways, and switching from the system default caller to Android Auto & vice versa does not drop the call, which is nice IMO.

Touch sensitivity of the unit is good, there are no lags and the UI is clutter free & easy to understand. The unit is however a finger print magnet, and legibility under direct sunlight is not that great.



Built in navigation is pretty much up to date, and offers a 3D like view. Offers multiple routes if they are available, and rerouting in case of missed / forced turns is pretty quick.



Android Auto is launched when my phone is tethered using the 1.5 Amp USB port. All Android Auto enabled apps are present. I mainly use it for music streaming.

[blackasta]

My daily one way commute to office of about 20 km can be broken down into 2 separate stretches of highway / highway like road of about 6 kms each, and the rest 8 kms being congested / moderate speed roads. The commute also includes one bottleneck area (near airport) where the car remains standstill for duration often exceeding 5-7 mins, and slowly crawling for 5 more mins. Same distance and conditions faced while returning - only the congestion increases.



City

D mode - smooth creep with surefooted (not grabby) braking, and linear acceleration out of the signals. Driving in this mode shall not win any races, and many a times I prefer to yield to eager cabbies, bikes and mini trucks cutting in, only to overtake them later on empty stretches. This keeps the combimeter in green for most parts & the engine happy, which, if quieter, would have given electric cars a run for their money!
Being slightly aggressive on the A pedal puts the transmission into bit of a bother, but this car is no slouch. Neither is it unrefined by any stretch of the word, and transmission jerks/noise etc are non existent if you drive normally in dense / moderate traffic.

S mode - No need of using S mode or paddle shifts in the city, let the autobox do the work and drive sedately in D.

Highway

D mode - accelarating out of signals, there's a slight flat spot at around 40-55 speeds, but if you keep the eggshell level pressure on the A pedal, 0-60 is achieved smoothly in quite good time with the engine doing low rpms and the combimeter staying green for most of the time. I have done 60 with the engine humming around 1100-1200 on the rev counter. The max speed I have achieved during the initial few weeks is around 80.
Using paddle shifters in D mode, especially if downshifting, gives a mild push, but this is not the mode you would want to toggle the shifters.

S mode - the flat spots disappear, the engine sounds charged up & becomes audible, holds it's revs (I backed off the A pedal @ 3000 rpm thinking about the odo being in the 200s), and the steps of the CVT become clear with mild jerks reminding you that 'gears' are being changed. Toggling with the paddle shifters now becomes fun, and a careless downshift without revv matching may make the engine roar and give the car a sudden jolt with a push. THE mode if you want some fun on the highway, with the combimeter staying mostly in blue at the expense of reduced FE.

Suspension/Ride Quality

Suspension, especially during these early days seems much better than my i10, with the feeling being neither floaty nor bumpy. Minor to medium imperfections in the tarmac are handled without translating into jerks, crossing speed bumps in correct speed feels good without the car crashing or bobbing, and till now I have not experienced much body roll (again - I am taking curves & roundabouts a lot less aggressively than I used to in my i10)

Handling

As mentioned earlier, it took me some time to get adjusted to the somewhat lightweight steering at low speeds (with my upsized i10 being heavier in feel), but it was a easy learning curve.
The steering weighs up nicely with speed, and I have not had any disconnected feeling doing sane speeds till 75-80.
Upsizing the tires as many have done should further improve the handling, and weigh up the steering a bit - but that's due after the oem tires reach their end of life state.


Braking

Controlled braking gives an assured feeling where the car stops where you want it to, and does not have an aggressive bite. I had to slam on the brakes once when a swift suddenly rushed out of an alley without looking / honking, and the car stopped without any drama. Till now ABS has not kicked in anytime.

NVH

This is one aspect where the Jazz is miles better than the older i10. With new tires, silent engine and a cocooned cabin, both me and the passengers I had (who had also hitched rides on my older car) realized very soon that a lot less noise gets into the cabin. One person commented that the horn sounded meek from inside, but another honk with both front windows lowered further established the great nvh control levels Honda has achieved with this car. The cladding under the hood further helps to keep engine noise on the lower side.

[blackasta]

Overall experience till date

I am loving the overall smoother drive, the almost noiseless engine, and a drastic reduction in road noise compared to my earlier car, which is mostly due to better NVH control & comfort oriented new tires.
My driving style has become a little sedate while driving the Jazz - this may be attributed to a new car which is a size larger than what I got used to.
Now a days I keep the AC on most of the times as auto AC ensures that the temperature stays within my comfort zone.
The first full tank (right out from the showroom) lasted me 13 days and 453 kms @ 11.4 kmpl as per MID / 13.35 kmpl as per full tank to full tank method (filled up 33.91 L of fuel at auto cutoff).
The Jazz has first 3 services scheduled at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months from the delivery date respectively, which feels a little too closely spaced. Then onward it's every 6 months.

Planned Mods

No performance or visual mods planned as of now, except TBHP stickers.
Have ordered a boot mat, metallic (non illuminated) door sill guards and mudflaps from amazon.
Plan to install/affix them all at once by myself at a weekend after all of them are delivered.
Also have plans to change to fatter 195/60R15 tires once the current set wears out / after 5 years, whichever is suitable.

What You Will Like

• A car that has oodles of space, and then some more.
• Easy to drive in city due to the refined engine, smooth CVT & large greenhouse
• Easy to park in spite of the size just shy of 4 meters - parking sensor and camera makes the job a lot easier
• Nifty gizmos like cruise control & paddle shifters ensure that you can break the boredom while driving long distance
• Huge legspace for both front and rear occupants ensure that your passengers shall never complain of cramped interiors
• Good quality AVN supports Apple Carplay / Android Auto
• Hatch that can easily accommodate enough luggage for weekend trips or airport runs

Quite a few of the misses pointed out by the official TBHP review (Honda Jazz : Official Review) in July 2015 have been addressed - the car now has the following over the 2015 model:

• Keyless entry & go
• Driver's armrest
• Cruise control
• Dedicated central lock / unlock button,
• Start/stop button
• Better touchscreen AVN unit
• Dual USB in the central console
• Multiview reverse camera in VX
• Driver side vanity mirror
• Parking sensors

Missing goodies (steering reach adjustment, keyless entry & go, rear air-con vents, driver armrest & proper dead pedal)

The driver's armrest is sorely missed, especially on the automatic variant

Nice steering wheel shared with the City (sans the cruise control buttons)

There's a silly dummy cover where Hondas usually have the central lock / unlock switch

Egad! A dummy cap that will always remind you what Honda didn't give you. No variant of the Jazz comes with an engine start / stop button.

6.2" touchscreen head-unit (featuring DVD playback) looks like an aftermarket add-on.
This touchscreen model is the same one that was earlier rejected in the Mobilio due to bugs. We didn't like its interface

Ugly USB / iPod / AUX cables dangling loose

Reversing camera has a single viewing mode

Only the passenger gets a vanity mirror. Older Jazz had one for the driver as well:

No parking sensors on any variant

What You Won't

• This car screams for a bigger engine - the 1.5L petrol engine from the City + missing goodies from the list below would be perfect for a top end RS edition
• A calm gearbox which is not that eager to accelerate out of the stop signal (in the D mode at least) - if that's your thing.
• Thinner than optimal tires - competition offers thicker tires by default
• Signs of cost cutting in a premium hatchback - thinner seat belts, flexing plastics, thinner metal in the hood lock, jittery IRVM toggle action, slight jiggle in the handbrake lever

Omission of the following features (all or most of which are offered by the competition in their respective top trims) keep the Jazz from being termed as a no holds barred premium hatchback:

• The USP in form of Magic Seats
• DRL
• ISOFIX
• Reach adjustable steering
• Rear seat adjustable headrests
• Height adjustable front seatbelts
• Cooled glovebox
• Automatic wipers
• Automatic headlamps / projectors / LED / HID / cornering lamps
• Side + Curtain airbags
• ESP + TCS
• Electrochromic (Auto dimming) IRVM
• Missing OEM mudflaps on a top trim car - really Honda?

Parting shots - after her first shampoo (Gtechniq G Wash) & wax (Collinite 845) session.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports. Thanks for sharing a detailed report.

[oli.ferns]

Can you comment a bit on the mileage. I own a previous gen (2015) jazz v cvt and get around 8-9kms in heavy Pune city traffic.

[tacho9000]

Heartiest Congratulations Dada on your new acquisition. Have been following your i10 ownership thread keenly, will be following this one too. Already hooked.

Regards,
Subhra

[redeye10]

A precise and eye for detail ownership review!
Congratulations and wishing you many fun miles ahead!
Btw, I was also on the same boat as yours replacing my 9 year old i10 (MT) and considering few critical things (like space, CVT and surely Vit M), booked Baleno Delta CVT which will be delivered early next week.

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by oli.ferns

Can you comment a bit on the mileage. I own a previous gen (2015) jazz v cvt and get around 8-9kms in heavy Pune city traffic.

First tankful got me around 13 kmpl, but my commute is 50% congested roads vs 50% highway, so it may not match with your usage pattern and achieved FE.