Honda Jazz – Initial Ownership Report I was thinking of writing an Initial Ownership report about Honda Jazz for quite a long time. But being lazy to the core means I always found an excuse to do it later. But today I ran out of all the excuses, so here I am writing this.
Disclaimer – I am not a writer so my English can occasionally sound weird, but I will try to use all my language skills to the best of my abilities. Reason for Buying Premium Hatchback- Small car for city runabouts – Currently we own a Civic and Laura L&K and since our office is in congested Karol Bagh Market it is hard for us to drive & park our existing cars there. So decision was made to buy a small car that can be taken to the office if chauffeur is on leave but have features of higher segment car.
- [FONT="]Car for Wife - My wife wanted a small car that is easy to drive in city traffic, has a good A/C, a lot of space for shopping, looks cool and has good features.
Honda Jazz and its Competition
The competition was among Honda Jazz, Fiat Grand Punto, Hyundai i20 1.4 A/T & CRDI and Maruti Swift DDiS. - Hyundai is better loaded than Honda Jazz but it’s steering is too light almost feels like a Playstation wheel. Also we wanted immediate delivery and Hyundai asked for at least a month.
- No offence to any Grand Punto owner but I didn’t like the interior and exterior of the car. Secondly, I was skeptical about Fiat’s A.S.S since they have a bad track record.
- Maruti Swift DDiS has excellent engine, awesome reliability, good A.S.S but it is low on features (safety and comfort). VDi with ABS would have taken 3 months and we were not ready to wait that long.
Things that I like about Honda Jazz - It’s a Honda; you just can’t go wrong with it.
- Excellent use of interior space (all those glove boxes, Magic seats, bottle holders, 385Lts of boot space).
- Parking is easy with Honda’s speed sensitive Steering. It is a delight to drive that car in city.
- Cool Interiors. My wife and I loved the interiors. Not to mention that the build quality is excellent.
- Good Ride quality. Maybe its because the car is riding on Michelin Energy XM1 or suspension setup but overall ride quality is good.
- Safety features. Got EBD, ABS and airbags. NCAP 5star rating.
Living with Honda
My previous experience with Honda was excellent. We have been using a Honda Civic for past 2 years and other than the regular service there has been no expense till date. This is the most important reason why I opted for Honda Jazz inspite of its high price.
It looks like a small MPV and it has a space like a small MPV. Overall proportions are nice. Honda has liberated a lot of cabin space with their cab forward design.
I have driven only 250Km in last 2 weeks but initial impression is very good. Engine is 1.2L inline four giving 89bhp. At idling engine is silent and there is very little engine noise in cabin when engine is not idling. I am not revving it hard till I put 1000km on the odo, therefore I shift up between 2500 - 3000RPM. Gear shift is precise. Acceleration is slow especially second gear it takes quite a while to reach 40Kmph.I am currently getting mileage of 12.3Kmpl in 90% City & 10% Highway driving with 100% A/C.
The ride is good at moderate & high speed, but at low speed ride is tad harsh. Front seats provide excellent thigh support and are very comfortable but they should have provided height adjustment with it. Rear seat are also comfortable but are little hard. Overall seat comfort is good.
A/C is excellent and inspite of having large glass area it cools the cabin faster than other cars that we own. Due to large glass area outside visibility is excellent.
Storage space is beyond anything that I have seen in any car. It feels like you can transport all your furniture in the car and still you will left with some space.
Quality of interiors is top notch. The knobs and dashboard feels good and solid.
Driving dynamic are good but you cant compare it with sedans. Steering is on the lighter side but still it provides enough feedback and is great for city driving. It is a city car and at high speed there is bit of a body roll. Good Stuff- Good fuel economy
- Excellent A/C
- Audio Control on Steering
- Storage Space
- Engine is Smooth and very silent
- Quality of interiors
- Huge Boot space
- Excellent Braking
- Multifunctional display
Bad Bits- No Climate Control
- Omission of Drive seat height adjustment
- Engine could have been bigger 1.4L unit.
- [FONT="]Bit of body roll above 70Kmph.
I hope this is of some help. Please let me know if I have left anything or if you have any questions.
Last edited by manu7781 : 26th July 2009 at 18:12.
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