Honda Jazz | Test Drive | Auto Class Magazine

Honda Jazz | Test Drive

19 August 2021 Redazione Budget Cars, Tested

Words Marco Rallo / Photos Bartolomeo Lazzarini

Practicality and quality: these are the two watchwords of the Jazz model, the little Honda that has been offering a surprising product for almost forty years for being able to combine small exterior dimensions with a cabin habitability that can satisfy families with children. The fourth generation, introduced last year and also tested in the crossover variant called Crosstar – really is the car for everyone. It is in fact one of those objects that focus on what is really needed by a motorist who mainly travels kilometers in urban environments, thus maintaining overall dimensions in the order of 4 meters in length, 1.7 in width and 1.5 in height. Time to have a look at it more carefully and realize the music has a pretty interesting rhythm here.

There are in fact 5 seats, made comfortable not only by the excellent material, but also for the width obtained above the head, the large glass surfaces and the very inclined pillars, which without distorting the look of the Japanese, manage to make the interior a nice place to be. The same goes for the assemblies, with materials that are never too rigid and a clean dashboard that integrates well with the two-spoke steering wheel, ideal for allowing a perfect view on the digital instrument panel. At the center of the dashboard there is obviously the multimedia system, a touch screen with fast and intuitive technology, just like that of your smartphone. Climate controls, appropriately left physical, are just below, a few inches away from the automatic gearshift lever, an e-CVT with single ratio that dialogues perfectly with the hybrid propulsion system and does everything possible to limit the drawback known to each continuously variable gearbox.

The Jazz is only available with one engine, the one on which Honda focuses all its attention, a full hybrid. It is a 4-cylinder in-line 1.5 cubic centimeter petrol engine combined with two electric motors, for a total power of 109 horsepower (98 delivered by the internal combustion one). Obviously, the Jazz is a car designed to simplify life in traffic, reduce consumption – over 22 km with just 1 liter – and play Tetris with luggage, offering numerous storage compartments and the “magic seats” wizardry, the possibility of folding the rear seats in two different ways, obtaining an even wider and perfectly flat load surface in one case, or folding them vertically thus having more space in height. This was made possible above all by virtue of the fact that the fuel tank has been moved to the front, instead of remaining in the rear area, as usual. Simply brilliant.

But the Jazz is not just an exclamation point on the more practical aspects of an everyday’s car, those that interest its typical customer, but a daily ride with a nice look that does not intend to give up a considerable injection of technology, especially regarding its hybrid factor, by recharging the batteries during braking and downhill traits and offering three different driving modes. In EV Drive, the lithium-ion battery moves the front axle with zero emissions, Hybrid Drive is instead the one that allows the car to manage energy and switch from one mode to another depending on the battery charge status, while the 1.5 petrol will always be running on motorways or in any case you need to fully exploit the power of the car. With prices starting at € 22,500, the Jazz is once again one of the most interesting solutions to make everyday coexistence more enjoyable.