Honda Jazz - Floating in my little glass bubble

cpyder · 19th September 2009, 15:52

It all started over a coffe at CCD in Chennai, when we saw a Xylo ad in a magazine. The conversation between me and my wife went something like this:-

Wife: This car looks good.
Me: yeps. Lets buy it.
Wife: Buy it.
Me: Sahi bol, main kharid lunga.
Wife: I am serious, buy it. Your wish.
Me: Tell me one more time. . and i will buy it.
Wife: Buy it.

So that was it. Came back, spent the night on Team BHP. Next day we went to the showroom for having a dekko and TD. TD vehicle wasn't available. They said they would send TD car next day to my residence. It never arrived. That gave us some time and we tried a little more research on Xylo and some discussion around with freinds. Finally dropped the Xylo on grounds of no safety features (not even side impact beams), bad plastics and interior finish, new-unproven vehicle.

Since we were going for 'Xylo' and not just a 'car' so no Xylo was no other purchase either. But then, human brain (the one in me) and the heart (again inside me) works in strange ways. Since we had been dreaming of new xylo for these couple of days, now we just wanted a new car. Impulse. The kid in me was screaming for a new toy. And it wanted it NOW. FYI, we had been very content with our trusty old M800 all this while. I had invested close to 30 k for some facelifting as well as upgrading ICE to a new Blaupunkt set in last 4 months. Getting back to our story, so the research began for the new car. Budget declared 8L, give or take 1L on road.

Came to Dzire/Linea/SX4.

Dzire had waiting time of anything between 6-8 MONTHS! (remember the kid in me?)

Linea got rejected because of concerns on a little questionable A.S.S. (esp coming from Tata.), more so because we would usually be far away from 'cities'.

Gave a call to ABT for SX4, the guy was busy attending his training classes for a couple of days and couldnt care less to call me back for clarifications/TD etc.

Meanwhile wife did some more search and research and fixed up a TD of Jazz. Went through GTO's in depth review and few other inputs. Not many owners on TBHP so other inputs were scanty (prime reason of me writing this review), mostly talking of features/specs/price. The only gripe - Overpriced Hatch.

So finally, the Jazz came up for TD. We were sold at its first look itself. Went for small TD. GTO's review and some other inputs were rechecked. And we finally told the guy to arrange for booking 2 days later.

The car was booked through Sundaram Honda Chennai, financed through Sundaram finance. The entire process was pretty nice. They came over to my house for doing all the formalities,( it takes more than an hour to my place(. The first time I ever went to the showroom was to do the PRI! Two days later we went again - for delivery. Sales guy explained all the stuff and presented us the keys with a Cadbury Celebrations pack. He made sure that ceremony was photographed. And while we were still looking at the car, someone came in with a photoframe, inside it was the picture that was just taken! Cool! We thanked everybody.

The staff clapped as we drove out.

There we were, owners of a new car, on a busy Chennai road - keeping in mind not to rev the car more than 2000-2500 rpm (advice picked up from tbhp) and becoming a nuisance to rest of the traffi'

. Went to the petrol station and I loved the look on the guys' face.

Celebrated the new acquisition at a Pizza Hut and came home.

Now, about the first 10 days (Not going into standard stuff that GTO has already got):-

Total run - 392 kms (PDI odo was 52)
Average - the computer shows 12.4

The car is a looker. We have a light blue shade which Honda calls New Sherbet Blue. Infact one of my colleagues commented "I saw a spaceship on the road today". So that says it. People around are generally impressed by the car but have the questioning look when they get to know the price. "Itne me toh lambi gaadi mil jati hai yaar". My response "well, i dont care as much for the dead space called boot"

Double glove box is good. I keep pen/note pads etc on top one and other stuff in the lower one. Nice segregation. Love it.

Doors open pretty wide. Ingress and egress is very easy. With a low floor, even my one year old kid can crawl in effortlessly. The tail-gate also is very low - very easy to load/unload heavy stuff.

Ground clearance is less - 160 mm, but as of now I havent found it to be a real problem. I wonder if the road humps or speed breakers are actually made higher than that. These cars are not for off-roading in any case.

Space is amazing. The Jazz looks like any other hatch back in pictures. See it in person, if you have not, and your perceptions might change. Sit in the driver's seat and look back, you would know what I am talking about. Parked next to an Innova, it appeared to be its little sister.

Last sunday, i went for a drive around GST road-Kovalam road - OMR - Velachery road. A distance of about 60 kms. Took about 1 hr 35 mins. Never knew when it finished.

Opened the bonnet to have a look at the engine and noticed a sticker saying not to change the engine coolant for 120 months or 2,00,000 kms!! The owner's manual reconfirmed the fact. Also the spark plugs need a change only after 1,00,000 kms.

Engine is silent - at least till 2500 rpm.

Car feels planted on road. Went over a road hump at about 45kmph, it was as if car was stuck to the ground. Never did I get the feel of being airborne. I will try to test at higher speed and let you know.

As has been said, low end torque is a problem. Run-in rpm limit of 2000-2500 kept me from actually experimenting with acceleration. That said, the car easily maintains 60 kmph in fourth gear at about 2300 rpm with instant average indicating 20kmpl +.

Suspensions are firm. All aberrations of the road are faithfully brought to your notice. That includes the rough patchwork on the road.

I can see a couple of gaps in the upholstery. The plastic cover not sitting tightly over fabric part on the A pillar, you can see it just a tiny bit loose, but noticeable. I may be nitpicking but, for the price that Honda is charging, i feel that should've been taken care of.

I find the curve of driver seat discomforting. The seat's curve is such that it continues till mid back and sort of pushes me out leaving lower and upper back without support. I had a terrible back pain after 30 mins in city drive. Yesterday tried keeping a pillow under me. The curve now fits perfectly and backrest has suddenly become lot more comfortable. Drove for 2 hours without any hassles. I remember a bhpian complaining about back pain in Honda City as well. Could not relocate that thread again.

Keeping the steering in correct position (pointed towards chest) hinders with top portion of dials - specifically that of speedometer.

I trust 60% of the Jazz parts are same as that of City, even then, the spares are very costly. Consider the mud flaps, the set of four rubber pads will set you back by as much as Rs 6000/-! If I loose the Remote Locking Key (pardon me, i do not know what it is actually called), I will have to pay around 7-8k for a replacement key. Almost the cost of a new central locking system by Autocop/iCats! I wonder why should that be so costly provided they just need a standard key that needs to be programmed with the code of the car, the process needing not more than two minutes. Well I am going to be careful for safekeeping the key more than the car itself. The side moldings and corner protectors are 10k+.

There are a few features which, I feel Honda could have easily kept in Jazz for its price.

USB Support for Audio system - The integrated system seems to have the facility if the owners manual is anything to go by. Looks like Honda removed it.

The orvms though electrically adjustable, can not be folded electrically. That could have been easily integrated for a car worth 7L.

I personally do not like the idea of central locking integrated with fuel filler cap and rear door. IMHO, they should have their own independent levers.

All in all - we are loving this impulse buy of ours. The kid in us could not have been happier. She is 10 days old and growing prettier by the day. Every night when we say good night to her, she smiles back at us and says 'see you tomorrow'.

P.S. - The place I am staying right now, is terribly infested with ants. I wonder how these crawlies find an entry to ONE tiny speck of breadcrumb in the center of the passenger seat! And from where do they inside? Any ideas to prevent these unwanted passengers?

Dippy · 19th September 2009, 16:35

From a Xylo to a sedan and finally settling on a hatch from Honda. Congratulations on your new Jazz. I for one always thought (of course others do too) that the Jazz is overpriced, I still do but the other day I was at the Honda dealership where we had gone to book the Jazz for my dad's friend, I was really impressed. It is not a small hatch in any way.

There space inside is comparable to a sedan for sure. The boot is by no means small and can easily swallow enough luggage for a weekend getaway maybe more. I love the way the rear seats can be folded, there is just so much you can do.

The car feels a tad underpowered at low rpms but IMO becomes better as the RPMs rise. The engine is extremely refined and I like it that way.

Do post pictures of your new car and keep updating this thread regularly. Have fun and drive safe

trrk · 19th September 2009, 16:50