GO
GoAutoLogo
MENU

Make / Model Search

Car reviews - Honda - Jazz - Hybrid

Our Opinion

We like
Packaging, design, ease of operation, improved dynamic feel, doesn’t shout it out
Room for improvement
Reduced cargo capacity, no extended pure electric drive, CVT transmission drone, ageing series

Gallery

Click to see larger images

26 Feb 2013

WE’VE always liked the current-model Honda Jazz.

Launched in September 2008, the second-generation light car has long served as a reminder of what the company is all about in terms of efficiency, clever engineering, great design and minimum compromise.

In fact, in our books at least, this makes the Jazz the truest “traditional” Honda you can buy.

And that’s ironic when assessing the new Jazz Hybrid because, as a concept, tradition has nothing to do with what Honda is trying to achieve.

This is very much a vehicle for those looking forward, not back.

Yet the petrol-electric urban runabout normalises the one-time exotic hybrid experience in regular – and still quite striking – GE-series Jazz clothing, so it’s a bit of a quiet achiever a modest mouse, if you like.

Unlike the uneven current-generation Insight, there is nothing outlandishly futuristic or ‘show off’ going on inside or outside.

Only a higher boot floor (that eats into the series’ otherwise amazing versatility as a result of the battery being underneath) and a more intricate and colourful instrument panel give the hybrid game away.

Everything else should be instantly familiar to owners of Honda’s lauded light car – a good driving position, ample vision all round, comfy front seats and a rear bench that folds down flatter than in any other hatch due to the forward relocation of the fuel tank.

Considering niceties such as climate-control air-con, alloy wheels, cruise control, Bluetooth phone connectivity and all the electric technology are included in the $23K asking price, the value equation seems to add up as well.

There’s nothing to scare off people who don’t want to be bamboozled by too much technology.

On a relatively short drive, we found the Hybrid’s normality to be the key personality trait.

After a seamless and near-hushed start-up, acceleration is quite energetic and builds strongly as the electric motor quietly provides extra boost.

Only the CVT transmission’s rev flaring as you press the accelerator breaks the inherently smooth and refined drivetrain operation.

In the context of low consumption and emissions, we found the Jazz Hybrid’s performance more than adequate.

Cruising along at freeway speeds proved particularly easy, with ample power in reserve when required. The flowing effortlessness of the Jazz Hybrid exceeded our expectations after the raucousness of the related Insight.

Although it weighs more, the newcomer seems to feel more planted over country roads than the regular Jazz – though you would never call it sporty – while the steering doesn’t feel as remote or light, which came as a pleasant surprise.

More time is needed to assess if Australia’s cheapest hybrid works as convincingly in the environment it was designed for – the rough and tumble of inner-city traffic.

But we’d go as far as saying that – despite the model’s advancing years – the Jazz in Hybrid guise is a fresh and convincing alternative to a number of smaller turbo-diesel hatchbacks out there.

Better still for fans of the series, it is clear that the Jazz’s integrity does not seem to have been unduly compromised in its evolution into the sometimes patchy world of petrol/electric eco motoring.

Click to share

Click below to follow us on
Facebook  Twitter  Instagram

GoAuto can help you buy a new Jazz

Customer Terms and Conditions – New Car Lead enquires

Agreement

This is an agreement between GoAutoMedia Pty Limited ACN 094 732 457 of PO Box 18, Beach Road, Sandringham, VIC, 3191 (“we/us”), the owner and operator of the GoAuto.com.au website (“the website”) and the person wanting GoAuto.com.au to provide them with a lead for the purchase of a new car (“you”).

By completing a New Car Lead Enquiry, you agree to the terms and conditions and disclaimers and acknowledge the policies set out below.

Terms and Conditions

  • In order for us to effect a lead you must you must complete a New Car Lead Enquiry (“Enquiry”).
  • We will call you as soon as possible after you complete the Enquiry and certainly no later than the next business day. When we call, we will discuss with you your new car requirements.
  • You consent to our passing on the Enquiry and your requirements to an appropriate authorised motor car dealer as a lead.
  • We will contact you again in approximately eight days following your initial enquiry to check on the progress of the Enquiry.
  • While we will provide the dealer with the Enquiry and details of your new car requirements, we take no responsibility for what happens after passing on that material as a lead.
  • You acknowledge that we are a new car information service providing new car editorial information, pictures and prices to our customers as a guide only. Any new car prices published on the website are the manufacturers’ recommended retail prices and do not include delivery charges and on-road costs. Any authorized motor car dealer to which we pass on your Enquiry as a lead will provide you with full details of the price at which the vehicle will be sold to you.
  • You acknowledge that we do not sell motor vehicles. Any sale of a new car to you by a dealer after we have passed on your Enquiry to that dealer as a lead, is a sale by that dealer not by us.

Privacy Policy– New Car Lead Enquires

  • We take privacy very seriously. We understand that you will only complete an Enquiry if you can trust us to protect your personal information and use it appropriately. Our policy is to ensure that the personal information collected when you make an Enquiry is only used for the purposes of connecting you with an authorised motor car dealer.
  • We do not on-sell information collected from you or any other customer.
  • From time to time, we may email you with information or promotions that may be relevant for car buyers. You will continue to receive communications from us unless you tell us that you do not want to receive any advertising or promotional information in the future by unsubscribing from these communications.
close
* Denotes required field
** Australian inquiries only

Jazz pricing

Motor industry news

GoAutoNews is Australia’s number one automotive industry journal covering the latest news, future and new model releases, market trends, industry personnel movements, and international events.

Catch up on all of the latest industry news with this week's edition of GoAutoNews
Click here