The Jazz hatchback is one of Honda's most popular cars to date – but does a hybrid version make it more desirable? JACK CARFRAEfinds out
IT’S OFFICIAL – new car buyers love simplicity. Honda has been building the Jazz hatchback since 2001 and it’s one of the Japanese firm’s great success stories of recent years. Compact but spacious proportions and an infallible reliability record have gone down a storm with customers, who just keep coming back for more.
So far, the Jazz has only been available with small petrol engines – nothing above 1.5 litres – but Honda has never bothered with a diesel. While its hardly a gas guzzler, the Jazz needed to up its game if it was to keep up with the new ultra-low emissions cars on the market, which is why Honda introduced a super clean hybrid version.
This isn’t the first time Honda has gone down the hybrid route. The Insight hatchback, the Civic saloon and the CR-Z sports coupé are fitted with the firm’s hybrid system, which has made its way into the Jazz. An electric motor is sandwiched between the 1.3-litre petrol engine and the gearbox, which drags emissions down to 104g/km and offers 4.5 l/100km.
The changes aren’t just under the skin though, as all Jazz models – not just the hybrid – have undergone a number of styling tweaks for 2011. The front and rear bumpers, the headlights and the grille are all slightly different.
Aside from freshening up the Jazz, styling changes make it more aerodynamic and help to improve emissions and fuel economy. A clear grille and a a blue chrome finish on the lights set the hybrid out as something special, too.
The new hybrid’s interior is all but identical to that of the outgoing Jazz, with the exception of darker dash plastics and chrome rings around the air vents. Leather seats are now available for the first time, which is an upmarket step for such a small car. Honda found several Jazz owners were having their car’s interior re-trimmed in leather after they’d bought it, so it added hide to the options list.
It’s not what you’d call thrilling on the road, but the Jazz is one of the most user-friendly and easy-to-drive hatchbacks around. The steering is light and responsive, so dodging through town traffic and parallel parking are a breeze. A common criticism of the previous model was that it was slightly bumpy, so Honda has made a series of tweaks underneath to soften things up a little. The result is a comfortable and pliant ride.
Another new addition is the CVT automatic gearbox. This isn’t an all-new feature for the Jazz, as the first generation model, built until 2007, was also available with CVT. That gearbox was popular with buyers at the time, so Honda decided to revive it with the latest model. As with the handling, the gearbox doesn’t excite, but it is reasonably smooth and finds the most efficient gear by itself if you leave it alone – which is what most Jazz buyers will be after.
As for the engine and electric motor, they don’t make for the most potent of hybrid systems. Honda claims the Jazz is capable of travelling on power from the electric motor alone at low speeds for short periods of time, but making that happen requires an exceptionally steady right foot.
Toyota’s Prius and Auris HSD hybrids are more accomplished in this area. The main job of the electric motor is to make life easier for the engine, which helps boost fuel economy and reduce emissions.
Even with an electric motor, the 1.3-litre engine still needs a good kick to get the car moving. The Jazz has never been particularly at home on the motorway and the hybrid is no different. But it is very adept on shorter urban journeys, which is where the little Honda is likely to see most of its action. The stop-start system is very effective in traffic and you’re encouraged to drive economically by green tree emblems that appear on the dial if you’re behaving yourself.
Honda has yet to confirm how much the hybrid will cost when it goes on sale in Ireland, but expect it to command a significant premium over a top-end standard Jazz.
That could be a problem, however, for the company’s larger hybrid hatchback, the Insight, starts at just over €22,000,
With that in mind, a price tag of around €20,000, maybe a little less, is likely, which would render it the most affordable hybrid car around. It’s also worth remembering that hybrids still qualify for a €1,250 VRT refund.
The standard Jazz is accomplished enough, so it’s unlikely that buyers will flock to the hybrid in their droves.
Plump for the entry-level 1.2-litre version and you’ll save a bundle on the list price and still be left with a car that offers 5.3l/100km and 123g/km. Standard equipment is also reasonably generous, even on the base models, which feature reclining rear seats, front electric windows and MP3-compatible stereos among other things.
Honda is refreshingly realistic about the Jazz, though. It isn’t trying to guilt-trip buyers into opting for a hybrid to save the planet – it says that it’s simply offering another choice in addition to the existing engines.
Keep that in mind while remembering how good the Jazz is to its legions of loyal customers, and it seems Honda is still on to a good thing.