Team-BHP - My Honda Jazz-Deep Sapphire Blue

Hi Friends,

I finally got my Honda Jazz last Sunday and would like to share my initial experiences with you all.

My search for a new car actually started in May 2009. I had completed 3 years with my Indica Xeta and was now keen to zero in on a new car with the actual purchase to be done in 2010 once the Indica completes 4 years.

I had budgeted about 6 to 7 lacs on road price and i was not keen on a sedan primarily because of parking constraints at my home compound where i have slot the car in a very limited space available. Also my daily running is only about 25 kms from Dadar to Andheri and back and hence diesel was not an option.

Team BHP had been my source of information when i had bought the Xeta in 2006 and i started browsing again almost an hour daily.

During this time, got to know that the Jazz and Punto are going to be launched in June and hence eagerly awaited the launch.

Honda Jazz
This was always my first choice and i researched a lot and found that it was a global car coming to India. Liked the looks as well and the H badge inspired confidence.Mind you, this was before the actual launch and the prices were not known but only speculated.

However once the launch happened all plans evaporated after getting to know the pricing. I was expecting an on road price between 6 to 6.5 lacs and having to shell out another 1.5 lac was too much for a salaried person like me.

I like most of the others felt aghast at the premium Honda was charging for the "H" badge and i actually started enjoying reading the Honda bashing on the forum.My membership was not approved then and even i would have contributed my views. So Honda Jazz was forgotten and i did not even go to see and TD the car.

FIAT Punto

Then Punto launch happened almost immediately after a week later and after seeing the car i decided that this one is for me. I had seen a lot of Puntos in Italy when i had been there last year and it sure looked stunning. What gorgeous italian looks and a sure head turner. Also GTO's review was very nice and i started taking interest on all Punto threads on the forum. However after some days owners started reporting on issues like interior plastics falling off, rusting of the underbody etc. This was not confidence inspiring. I went to check out the Punto at Concorde, Prabhadevi and frankly was disappointed. Probably the expectation was very high. The interiors felt dull and the rear seat was very cramped. This was because the comparison happened with my Indica Xeta. My wife also rejected the same.

So i was back to square one. Both the short listed cars were being rejected, one for the price and the other for the interiors.

Then SidIndica's thread on his Jazz purchase happened and i found myself considering the Jazz once again. Though i had not taken a test drive yet i started thinking that since this is a one time decision spread over 4/5 years then why not stretch the budget and bring home the best product. I read again all the Jazz reviews i could find on the net and found that all negative comments were only against the pricing and not a single review was against the car.

The dwindling sales of Jazz in India made me wait for discounts and finally in December i took a test drive at Apex Honda, Sion. The initial impression was very good and i liked the fit and finish and the smooth drive. The dashboard looked very futuristic and it was like sitting in a cockpit.

Apex was offering 15K cash discount and free insurance where the total benefits would be 35K. The on road Mumbai price would be about 7.90 lacs.

i20

Surprisingly i had not considered i20 till then and after going through the features was keen to test drive it. Booked a test drive with Jayabharat Hyundai at Prabhadevi. Eventhough the drive was smooth the choclate coloured interiors did not impress me. Also the TD car's music system was not working and when i inquired i was told that its fuse had blown out. The sales person said as a matter of fact that the car had done 12000 kms and such issues can happen:Frustrati

Finally in Jan i decided to go ahead with Jazz Base model. The booking was done on 23rd Jan at 4wheelworld,Chembur primarily because of my brother in laws contacts there and they offered a cash discount of 40K on December 09 model. I decided to do the registration at my Talegaon home address and save further 25k on Octroi. The entire process was super smooth and finance was arranged by 4wheelworld with HDFC Bank. Got a rate of 9.10% for 5 years. The on road price was to be Rs.7.50 lacs.4wheelworld agreed to give the following freebies.

1. Floor mats
2. Anti Rust Coating
3. Teflon coating
4. Reverse Parking Sensor
5. Garware Sun film

Also got a Ganesha Idol and perfume bottle as complimentary.

Initial Impressions
I have driven for about 300 kms now and initial impression is very good. I had insisted and have got Michelin tyres. The engine is super smooth and quiet and once you are inside you do not feel any noise from outside. The stock ICE is damn good and you are in your own world inside. The visibility on all sides is great due to the huge glass area on all sides. The practicality of the car in terms of storage is amazing. My 3 year old daugher now keeps her school water bottle in front of the ac vent:). In my indica she had to hold it in her lap.The only minor irritant is that due to the huge windshield the sunlight filters in very strongly from the front and i have to use the sun visor a lot as i drive facing the sun in the mornings.

My view is that Jazz should be viewed in terms of its practicality and space which can be compared with sedans. Sure i would have loved to have more features at the same price but whatever Honda has provided is of top quality.

Here are a couple of photos. Sorry about the quality since i had taken from my mobile camera as i forgot to carry my camera on the delivery date in my excitement. I plan to post some good quality pictures shortly and will be looking forward to update this thread as i clock in more miles.

I own a deep blue Jazz with the Active variant and I can tell you man, you didn't miss out on much. It's 30 grand worth of cosmetic blah-ness.

It's a wonderful car, and let me assure you that once you run her in, revving her like a raged monkey on steroids is an AWESOME experience. That typical Jap metallic high revving exhaust note is addictive and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the poor mileage you can achieve by doing that (lol)

One more thing, the mileage indicator is distracting while you drive and you'll find yourself constantly trying to keep those blasted bars above 20kmpl. It's far from accurate within the city, but it's a fun game to play if you're bored. IT does make you a smoother driver though!

The interiors are mind blowingly amazing aren't they? The drivers seat is bolstered in ways that far more expensive cars aren't. The sheer quality of the materials and the rich feel kind of sub consciously come to terms with the highish price. The i20 that i drove didn't impress me at all the way the Jazz did.

No rattles so far, let me know how well the car holds up so far. Hope this post has helped you !

Cheers and congrats! As they say, Jap cars have a tendency to outlive their owners :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariendj (Post 1728039)

congrats on the jazz,it sure looks jazzy in the blue attire..i guess the pics do the talking so bring it on.
btw,what was the on road price?and just for curiosity sake,how does the jazz measure in dimensions compared to a sedan in similar class!!

Thanks everybody for the wishes.

The on road price was exactly Rs.7.50 lacs. I saved about 25K on Mumbai Octroi by opting for registration at my Talegaon(Pune) home. I find the Jazz to be more spacious than a Honda City. My sister owns both a City and Corolla Altis and even she found the rear leg space to be better than both these cars. If anybody is not bothered about the snob value which a boot brings and the lesser power, then a Jazz is an excellent buy over the City with about 2.50 lacs less cost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by theragingbull (Post 1728138)

Congrats! I like the Jazz a lot and the base model has all the features that even a top end variant of some other hatch has. Except for the fog lamps and other little things.
You got a really nice discount there! 40k less makes the Jazz a more sensible buy.
Do post more pictures of the interiors etc.

Yes, the base model is pretty loaded. Initially i was thinking of spending additional 35K and go for the active variant but later on realised that most of the things are pure cosmetic and not worth spending the extra money. Also Fog lamps in Mumbai are pretty useless. Will definetly post the interior pictures soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nitronium (Post 1728301)

Yes, it sure is fun to rev the engine. Right now i am just taking things easy and taking care not to go beyond 3000 rpm till the run in period.

Even i have found the mileage calculator to be distracting a little bit. I have found that if i slightly pull back my leg from the accelerator the mileage even jumps to 40km per litre. While coming down from bridges just pull out from the accelerator and the mileage shoots upclap:.The best way to extract the mileage is to drive very sedately if i am doing just now.

The quality of interiors is awesome and even better than Honda City.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bijujj (Post 1728385)

Congrats!! Deep Blue looks very cute.

Please let me know how you find lumbar support of the front seats? I was initially uncomfortable over long drives. After some experimenting found that a half inch cushion makes dramatic improvement to the back support. Nowadays I make frequent 8 to 10hrs drive per day without any issues.

Once you get used to the appropriate gear changes, it is fun to drive too. Once you keep the RPM at around 2K, the gear changes are not pulling down the mileage drastically. I am consistently getting 13+ in city driving conditions.

Good to know that you didn't have any issues with reverse sensor. Let me check once more with the dealer. Which model did you fix?

A couple of weeks back, it suddenly started raining heavily and I had to take back my son. Thanks to Jazz, I could pick both my son and his 'full size' bicycle without any issues :-). As far as practicality is concerned, this one is as good as any estate car.

Initially i was inclined towards white colour but Deep Sapphire blue was my wife's choice and even i am liking it now. I have not yet faced any issues with lumbar support. But having said this i have not yet driven for a very long time at a stretch. My outside Mumbai trips are only till Pune which is only about 3 hours from Mumbai.

I think the parking sensor is of Xenos and i have found it to be pretty accurate since daily i have to slot the car in a tight parking space.

My Jazz has now completed 1200 kms in the first month and I also got it serviced through Arya Honda at their Sewree workshop. First free service basically consists of only checking all the parts for their smooth working. Total cost-zero.

Initial impressions:
Pros
1. Looks- I particularly like the look from the side. Very futuristic.
2. Fuel Economy- I have been surprised by the fuel efficiency even in the first month when the car is during its run in period. The online mileage calculator has converted my driving style and i now try and extract the maxmimum out of every drop of petrol. During the first month i have got average 14.6 in city with 100% AC on and turning off the ignition at very long signal halts.
My daily run in the morning from Dadar to Andheri gives me 15.5 to 16 in moderate traffic and return journey in traffic gives 12.5 to 13. The lowest mileage till date is 11.6 in heavy traffic conditions over a 15 km journey.

Also did a highway journey to my house in talegaon about 125 kms from Dadar. From Dadar to Talegaon got a mileage of 16.8 as it involved Ghat climbing and a 10 minute jam in the ghat due to a truck blocking one way.

At no point of time in the ghat did it struggle to climb eventhough we were loaded fully. The engine likes to revved and it responds very well once you slam on the accelerator. My Indica Xeta used to struggle when climbing the Lonavala ghat with full luggage.

The return journey gave 21.6clap:(I have attached the snap below). Purely from Talegaon till Kalamboli exit i.e the expressway stretch, the mileage was 23.9 which dropped later on to 21.6 till Dadar due to traffic halts. I achieved this mileage on the expressway by keeping in the second lane at a constant speed of 80 Km. Also pulled out the leg from the accelerator as far as possible while descending from the Ghat. Only thrice i touched 100 to overtake.

All in all very happy with the fuel economy and hopefully should increase after the run in period.

3. Interiors- The interiors are very well built and give a rich premium feel. The quality of the interiors is also of a very high quality and there are no loose plastics. Once you are inside it feels like you are sitting in a big car.
My colleague in office who was initially planning for a sedan is now actively considering the Jazz after driving with me. The sound quality of the stock music system is top notch and the volume increases with speed which was very helpful on the expressway.

4. Space and Practicality- Enough is already written on this and the Jazz excels in Space and storage eventhough i still have to put the Magic seats to use.

5. Parking- Parking the Jazz is a breeze and i have parked in very tight spaces with minimum fuss. The steering is a delight to use and most of times i manage by using only one hand.

Cons
1. Price & Only Price- Seriously can't think of anything to mention here other than price.

Now for the photos.