Quick overview
- Incredibly practical cabin
- Low running costs
- Hybrid power
- Bland to drive
- Pricey to buy new
- No manual gearbox option
The Honda Jazz is truly the Swiss Army knife of the small car world. Like the handy pocket knife, the Jazz can transform into almost anything you need or want it to be. This is because Honda has applied its considerable brains to the interior packaging of the Honda Jazz to come up with a car that offers more interior space than many cars from the class above. Few cars in its own sector even come close to rivalling how generous the Honda Jazz is for passenger space.
Then you come to the way the Jazz deals with luggage. At first glance, the boot is a decent size, but maybe not worth putting pen to paper to write home about. The you start to use the clever back seat to fold it down to create huge volumes of luggage space. Or, you can use the Magic Seat technology to flip up the base of the rear bench to create a completely separate cargo area that’s big enough to carry a bicycle or even to walk through.
That’s not the end of the clever thinking applied to the Jazz, either, as Honda only offers this car as a hybrid. You get a 1.5-litre petrol engine with electric motor assistance, though it can only cover very short distances on battery power alone. However, it does also endow the Honda Jazz with reasonable performance and good fuel economy.
While the Honda Jazz is not the most exciting supermini to drive, nor the cheapest to buy, Honda has kitted out even the entry-level model with a host of standard equipment. This covers both luxury and safety gear, so the Jazz is a very sound choice in this hard-fought corner of the market.
Infotainment, comfort and practicality
Before we come to the Honda Jazz’s party piece of how versatile its cabin is, let’s first look at the driver’s environment. The front doors of the Jazz open out to give a wide aperture through which you step into the car. Its front seats are set a bit higher than most in this sector, helped by the tall-sided styling of the Jazz that allows its occupants to sit more upright. Not only does this help with fitting in four adults to the Jazz with remarkable ease, it also delivers good comfort. This is further aided by seats with plenty of padding, and there’s height adjustment for the driver’s seat and the steering wheel moves for height and reach.
The high centre console of the Honda Jazz puts the automatic gearbox’s lever close to hand, as well as the electric parking brake switch and the Eco button for how the engine behaves. On the dash itself, Honda sticks with simple round dials for the heating and ventilation, while the main dash instrument display is a more high tech digital arrangement that can be read clearly in sunshine or at night.
In the centre of the dash is the Honda Jazz’s infotainment system. In the SE base trim, this gets a rather small and desultory looking 5-inch screen that is there just to work the radio. Much better is the 9-inch touchscreen fitted to all of the other trim levels, though it does look like a bit of an afterthought in the way it protrudes from the dash and is angled upwards rather than towards the driver. However, it’s easy to use and the screen has good resolution. We also like the retention of a few buttons and dials, so you can adjust the volume without having to find the relevant menu on the screen. Honda also uses Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can connect to your phone and its apps through the infotainment screen.
Now, it’s time to step into the rear of the Honda Jazz and explore its versatility. Like the front, the rear doors open to offer generous access to the rear bench, so it’s super simple to lift kids into their child seats, and there are Isofix mounts on the two outer seats in all trim levels. Two tall adults will find no problem in getting comfortable back here thanks to masses of room for their heads, legs and shoulders. There’s also good vision out and the seats are well shaped to provide comfort on long drives. If you need to carry a third passenger back here, it's less successful as the middle pew is narrow and the Honda Jazz’s relatively narrow body means everyone will feel a bit bunched up, though three kids won’t notice this. Should you want to swap people for cargo, the rear seat base flips up to create a huge space where you could easily stow a pushchair or child’s bike.
The rear seat also tips forward, with the base folded down, to leave a long, flat load space that easily outdoes almost every other supermini. In total, you have as much as 1205-litres of carrying capacity in the Honda Jazz and even with the 60-40 split rear seats occupied by people, there’s still 304-litres of luggage room in the boot.
2020 Honda Jazz engines: how does it drive?
Every model in the Honda Jazz range comes with the same hybrid power. This mates a small electric motor rated at 109hp to the 1.5-litre petrol engine that delivers 98hp. That might sound like a lot combined, but the Honda makes do with each on its own, so acceleration from rest to 62mph comes up in 9.4 seconds. This is fine for a supermini used in town as it’s got a strong turn of speed off the mark, but it tails off as the pace increases towards motorway velocities.
In town, the hybrid system usually lets the car pull away in electric mode and then the petrol motor cuts in with barely any detectable noise or vibration. If you didn’t know the Jazz was a hybrid, you certainly wouldn’t think about how it works as it seamless, so you just get on with your drive. It’s also blessed with a tight turning circle, so urban commutes are straightforward even when you are negotiating endless mini roundabouts. A firm but controlled ride is good at dealing with most undulations, though it’s not quite as smooth as a Citroen C3. However, the Jazz offers a better view than most rivals thanks its raised driving position, and all but the entry-level model come with rear parking sensors. The EX, EX Style, and Crossover trims also have a reversing camera for good measure.
Head on to more flowing roads and the Jazz is competent and comfy, though it’s not got the fun factor of a Ford Fiesta or Seat Ibiza. Regardless of this, the Jazz holds the road very well on twisty stretches of tarmac and it’s also impressively refined on the motorway. The only flaw for the Honda is its ride quality which, as it around town, feels a bit to hard and unyielding when you encounter bigger rips in the road surface. Even in the Crosstar with its pseudo-SUV styling and slightly raised suspension behaves in the same manner.
In some superminis, the firm ride would be sufficient for it to fall into the middle order, but the Honda is more on the firm side of acceptable than outright stiff. When you consider the Jazz’s other attributes, such as its excellent hush at all speeds, willing engine, standard and very smooth automatic gearbox, and peppy turn of speed, it sits closer to the top of its sector than most rivals.
Value for money: how much does a 2020 Honda Jazz cost to buy and run?
There are four trim levels for the Honda Jazz, plus a standalone trim for the Crosstar that is the only model offered in Executive form. The line-up starts with the SE that costs from £20,860, while the SR comes in at £22,375 and the EX at £24,015. The top spec EX Style begins from £24,015, and then there’s Crosstar Executive above that. Premium paint is an option for £600 and Premium+ paint is £800. Honda also groups together some options into packages, such as the Illumination Pack and Cargo Pack. Savings of around £1000 are perfectly possible on a new Jazz, or you could shop nearly new and save around £3000 for a car with less than 5000 miles on the clock. If you’d rather look to a used car, a two-year old car with 15,000 miles will cost from around £17,500 depending on trim level.
The SE trim in the Jazz is one of the most generously equipped of any entry-point model to a supermini range. It comes with 10 airbags, lane departure warning and lane assist, adaptive cruise control, climate control, and automatic wipers. You also have remote central locking, electric windows all round, heated front seats, and the Magic Seat in the rear. However, you only get 15-inch steel wheels, which seems a bit mean given the rest of the kit. For alloys, you need to move to the SR, that also has part leather upholstery, front and rear parking sensors, and the 9-inch infotainment touchscreen. The EX gains 16-inch alloys, keyless entry and ignition, reversing camera, and rear privacy glass. It also includes blind spot warning with rear cross traffic monitor, and two USB chargers in the rear cabin. Go for the EX Style and you get a two-tone finish for the alloy wheels, rear spoiler, and black door mirror caps. This is much the same as the Crosstar, which also has its own alloy wheel design and plastic mouldings around the wheelarches for that SUV look.
When it comes to running costs, the Honda Jazz SE and SR on their 15-inch wheels provide combined fuel economy of 62.8mpg and 82g/km carbon dioxide emissions. On the larger 16-inch wheels, the EX and EX Style manage 61.4mpg and 84g/km, while the Crosstar comes in at 58.9mpg and 88g/km, which is still impressive and means all models cost £120 for road tax in the first year and revert to the standard £165 per annum after that.
Verdict: Should I buy a 2020 Honda Jazz?
Honda’s Jazz is a small that thinks big in the way it provides space and comfort for passengers. The driver is almost spoilt for choice with the amount of room and adjustment on offer, while the back seats are superbly roomy for two adults. They can also be folded up or down to vary load capacity as you need it, and the boot is one of the largest in the class anyway.
The Jazz is also very grown up in the amount of equipment you get as standard. It’s hard to argue with a supermini that comes with 10 airbags in every model, while the amount of luxury and labour-saving kit is also very pleasing. Still, it would be good if the entry trim had alloy wheels included in the price, and the Jazz is not perfect in every respect. For example, the ride is on the firm side at all speeds, and the Honda’s prices are pitched higher than most of its rivals.
What could I buy instead of a 2020 Honda Jazz?
Ford Fiesta
.jpg?rmode=max&width=500)
It’s hard to find fault with the Ford Fiesta as it’s a car that seems to rise to meet every challenge thrown at it. From the perfect car to learn to drive in to a feisty hot hatch, there’s a model to suit every need and budget. It’s also a car that’s deeply satisfying to drive, whether you just need straightforward transport or desire something with good handling. It’s also very comfortable and refined, has a broad range of engine options including a hybrid, and the cabin is one of the roomier in the class. There’s also lots of choice with trim levels, so there’s a Fiesta for almost everyone.
Citroen C3
.jpg?rmode=max&width=500)
For those who are determined to stand out from the crowd, Citroen has been a natural choice of car for decades, and the current C3 is one of its best. The funky looks are only the start of it as the Citroen C3 also offers a very cushy ride that makes it ideal for dealing with battered city streets. It also comes with superbly comfortable seats for those in the front, but rear seat passengers will find the Citroen comes up short on the amount of space it has to offer, especially when compared to the Honda Jazz. The C3 is also only average at best when it comes to how it drives, and the entry level model is somewhat basic with its equipment.
MINI
It’s hard to think of classy superminis without mentioning the MINI. If it wasn’t for the likes of the Honda Jazz and Audi A1, the MINI would have this corner of the market all to itself. The Mini has developed into a whole brand, with many different models filling various classes, but the three-door hatch remains the core product and it’s an absolute belter to drive. It handles supremely well. It doesn’t have a hybrid model to rival the Jazz, but there is an all-electric version of the MINI.
.jpg?rmode=crop)
.jpg?rmode=crop)
.jpg?rmode=crop)
.jpg?rmode=crop)
.jpg?rmode=crop)
.jpg?rmode=crop)
.jpg?rmode=crop)
