[mbudhraja]

Hi Everybody,

I am utterly confused, and some sensible advice will really be helpful. I am based out of Bangalore and we bought our first car – Honda Jazz VX CVT - after a lot of deliberation last year (February 2021) . I dearly love the Jazz and had shared my 8K ownership review here. While doing the research 2 years ago, we were strictly restricting our search to below 10-11 lakh cars as it was our first car and we are a family of 2 in Bangalore and the budget seemed reasonable enough.

The Jazz has been serving us well for the last 18 months (11K km). I am a sedate driver and I drive with a feather foot. My speed within the city even on the higher side never crosses 60 – 70kmph. Hence Jazz has ticked almost every box for us. The cabin feels so premium, that we are yet to have a similar experience in any of the cars even at a segment or 2 above.

Here’s the conundrum now:

While the Jazz is a breeze to drive, the roads of Bangalore are going from bad to worse. The sorry state of affairs is such that while Jazz was supposed to be a perfect city drive and not so much an inter-city one, it has turned out to be the other way round. Whenever we do a road trip outside Bangalore (Yercaud / Pondicherry / Chikmangalur / Wayanad), it’s only the bumpiness within Bangalore that’s a concern. The moment we hit the highway, there is no challenge whatsoever.

I recently test drove a few of the compact SUVs when my friend was buying one, and to my utter surprise and awe, none of the usual pothole or speed breaker jerks could be felt in these CSUVs.

The incredibly big and numerous pot-holes, rubber speed breakers and series of rubber roadmarks really make the driving very painful and tiring within city. This is where I was swayed by the experience in these SUVs.


So the question in mind – should I upgrade to a CSUV within less than 2 years of buying a new Jazz ? For that matter, is it even an upgrade ?

My thoughts on this –
1. This all might be in my head – I have no other concerns with Jazz. I love the car.
2. If I do decide to change the car, there’s a lot of “convincing the wife” to be done.
3. I am spoilt by the CVT gearbox and the premium beige Honda interiors and I am not sure if I ll be easily content with any other car. I have seen the likes of Kushaq, Venue, Sonet, Xuv 300 and none of these have the same interior feel.
4. We do not need a second car, so the thought was always that we will keep our car for at least 9-10 years. If we change now, the next car should be something we keep for long term.
5. One of the reasons to be tempted to upgrade now itself is because my wife recently joined a company where the car lease policy is incredible. The company will in a way fund 25% of the leasing EMI. The policy will not continue for long

If I do decide to upgrade –
• The leasing benefit is only on new cars, so used cars are ruled out.
• I want to keep a tight budget despite the leasing benefit. I do not want to spend more than 13L on road in Bangalore – so I am not considering the new Brezza, it’s quite expensive for the offering
• I do need an automatic – can’t go from a CVT to Manual / AMT. So Nexon is ruled out
• My wife won’t agree to switch to an unsafe car – so Sonet and Venue are ruled out too
• I had heard that XUV 300 AMT is relatively smooth – I did test drive it and given I usually drive at low speeds, I could feel a lot of jerks compared to my Jazz at lower speeds and bumper to bumper traffic.
• If only It was a few months ago – I would have upgraded to an S-Cross TC, made all the sense. The S-Cross, Old Brezza and Urban Cruisers are mostly out of stock now

All of these leave me only with one choice only - Renault Kiger (ruling out Magnite too as I believe Renault’s service availability will be better than Nissan’s). The Turbo CVT top end of Kiger will cost slightly less than 13L on road. The Jazz will sell for ~9lakhs in Spinny. The corporate tax benefit on the leasing policy will ensure that I am not paying a lot extra.
But - and it’s a big but – is the Kiger an upgrade over Jazz ?

While Jazz is as premium a hatch back can get, the Kiger is as economical an SUV can be. Both of them come with CVTs, but I am confident the Honda gearbox must be much more reliable. Kiger is a looker, Jazz looks great too - but it’s an acquired taste for many. Jazz 1.2L NA is butter smooth, Kiger’s Turbo in manual seemed too rough – the CVT Turbo combo felt a lot better.
I am not too sure about the look and feel inside the Kiger over Jazz – it screams cost cutting. Can the quality last for a decade with limited rattling ?

Will want to hear the expert views please. Will also want to hear the view of current Kiger owners – I personally feel it is a very practical car and one of the very few reasonably priced cars.

[lawdgawd]

Exactly the choice I am facing too. Can get a used Jazz at a reasonable price. Or a Kiger. Jazz is great but Kiger tackles potholes better. Am waiting for responses to your question too!

[ellip5i5]

My personal opinion is that you should hold onto the jazz. The Kiger just felt like it isn’t built to last when I test drove the cvt turbo. My 5.5 year old Ignis felt sturdy in comparison.

I’m not sure if this is the same engine as the kwid (with a turbo), but that engine has aged very badly and sounded agricultural on my friend’s car. Hence a little apprehensive about the way the mechanicals age too. Would certainly lean on long term renault owners for their opinions.

Alternately , if you could wait for another 6-9 months, you could upgrade to the upcoming Honda SUV.

[bijims]

I would strongly recommend you keep the Honda Jazz and avoid the Renault Kiger. Honda Jazz is an international product based on the Third generation Honda Fit in global markets and is a highly competent car in its own right with the Honda reliability and i-VTEC engine.

Although Compact SUVs are the Norm these days and everyone is after them, I definitely don't feel the Renault Kiger CVT to be an upgrade over the Jazz, mainly because of the cost cutting involved and the immense amount of part sharing with the cheaper Kwid. The 1.0 litre 3-cylinder turbocharged engine with CVT gearbox may offer more power and torque over the Jazz, but considering your usage scenario, it doesn't seem to be worth it.
The only reason I see you upgrading is because of the ground clearance and the Kiger's ability to handle potholes and bumps on the road quite effectively., But there are much more reasons I can think of on why you should keep the Jazz.

The N.A 4-cylinder 1.2 litre i-VTEC petrol engine would be much more reliable in the long run over the turbocharged 3-cylinder 1.0 litre petrol in the Kiger.
The interiors of the Honda Jazz are ergonomically sorted whereas I couldn't say the same with the Kiger.
The quality of the interiors and cabin plastics are way better in the Jazz than in the Kiger.

So for long term ownership, the Kiger will in no way prove to be a better contender than the Jazz, the Jazz will happily give you many more miles ahead, whereas the rattles and cost cutting will become more pronounced in the Kiger as years go by.

Therefore, I recommend you definitely keep the Jazz and avoid the Kiger, if you are insistent on an upgrade to a Compact SUV, you should ideally increase your budget and go for the Maruti Brezza VXI AT. If the S-Cross or Toyota Urban Cruiser are available, that would be a much more value for money proposition as well. As far as I have enquired, the S-Cross AT is out of stock almost everywhere, but the Toyota Urban Cruiser AT is still readily available in showrooms here in my state of Kerala. Do enquire at all possible dealerships near you if you are OK with the Urban Cruiser AT, it is definitely a great VFM proposition right now.

[condor]

I suggest keep the Jazz. The Kiger is no replacement, forget being an upgrade, to the Jazz. Bad roads will come and go faster than a car replacement. On top of it all,

2. If I do decide to change the car, there’s a lot of “convincing the wife” to be done.

Btw, I had a short ride in my friend's 10 year old Jazz. It was as good as new when I had gone for the PDI with him.

You talk of safety - and then you mention Kiger in the same breath ?

I really do not see any reason to even think of changing the Jazz.

[motorworks]

Renault Kiger is not really an upgrade from the Jazz at all. In terms of overall quality levels, it may actually end up being a notch lower than the Jazz. If you really want to hold on to your next car for 7+ years, then I suggest you wait and then upgrade to a much better car.

And sometimes its just your perspective on how the cars handle on bad city roads. Honestly, i dont think a Kiger can be that much superior to a Jazz in Bangalore road conditions, not by a significant margin. I drive my wife’s i20 on certain days and I have never felt it to be a dealbreaker on bad roads, lets say in comparison to my erstwhile car, a Creta. So it may be just your mind playing up the new car urge.

AMTs on any car will be a step down from your CVT, do read about the numerous discussions on “head-nodding” of AMTs, especially in peak traffic.

My suggestion, hold on to your Jazz, save up some money and upgrade to something proper in another 2-3 years, something that you can truly call an upgrade and hold on for 5-7 years.

[Mustang_Boss]

Recently, Bangalore has seen some of the worst rains, which was the primary reason for the current condition of roads.

This does not mean, the roads will be the same for the next couple of years or so.

BMTC is one of the richest municipality in the nation and Bangalore has the highest population. I expect the roads will be fixed much sooner than you expect. Just allow them some time.

Why sell off a good car under 2 years and that too an automatic? I would suggest you to hold on for a year or two or more. The vehicle has already took the depreciation and there is no point in selling it for a downgrade? Yes! It would be a downgrade from Jazz.

[aniyo]

I understand your situation. Let me give you a perspective.

I owned a Honda Brio with the same engine and I really liked the car, nothing special but good for commuting and a nice chuckable car.

When I was upgrading my natural choice first was the Jazz, my brother had one in USA (Fit in US) that was one with the 1.5L engine. Also my friend in Chennai had a Jazz CVT so i had an experience in that car as well. Incidentally he too had a Brio before Jazz.

See no CSUV is going to offer all round space like Jazz does, nor will they offer the refinement and reliability of Jazz. So whatever you buy there will be a compromise.

What you get in the CSUV is a better choice of engine and peace of mind when driving on bad roads. This was an important consideration for me when I dropped Jazz for Nexon.
Not that I scrapped the Brio a lot, just that I don't have to worry about one extra thing which made my drive relaxed.

Honestly if you are going to own a car for 9-10 years you should look at a bigger car like XUV or Harrier which will suit your needs in years to come.

In the current situation it doesn't make sense to sell Jazz. Hold on to it for a couple more years and see what good EV options you have then

[iamahunter]

Put on some good tyres and upgrade the suspension to something better, an air suspension or equivalent.

This would cost you less than a new CSUV and the ride quality would be much better than CSUV.

[Nithesh_M]

The Kiger seems like a big step down quality wise compared to the Jazz. Neither refinement in the engine/gearbox department nor is there good quality interior. We test drove the Triber RXZ 1.0 NA manual and the Kiger 1.0 turbo RXT(o) cvt and even though my uncle was looking for an upgrade from his Santro at the time, it didn't feel like an upgrade except for some extra ground clearance. The engines sounded crude and were vibey in both cars as you'd expect from 3 cylinder ones. The 1.0 NA engine was just adequate.

If I were you I'd stick with the Jazz.

[RaviCar]

I would not recommend. Not worth the pain and financial loss.(is that 25% like an extra Bonus Or it will be cut from ctc)

Kiger is not a superior car. More gadgetry for sure. Less space and I do not like the driver's left foot space.

This will make sense only if you jumping segments.

I believe that perhaps you could change tyres. I am hopeful someone more knowledgeable will suggest you the right tyres and it's correct pressure for smoothening out your ride.

[Newtown]

Originally Posted by mbudhraja

I recently test drove a few of the compact SUVs when my friend was buying one, and to my utter surprise and awe, none of the usual pothole or speed breaker jerks could be felt in these CSUVs.

The majority of drivers tend to ignore a very important aspect of car ownership - Fiddling around with the tyre pressure. Keep playing with it and see what works best for you and the load in your car.

The Jazz is an international platform and worldwide considered a really reliable and good car.

Adjust tyre pressures and if you really want to, you can also consider tyres with a slightly higher wall which would add to the cushion.

[Romins]

Don't fall for a car lease scheme and change your car. The net cash outflow and savings will be not much if you do a proper calculation. You will be stuck with this company until you complete the lease. Once you complete the lease, you will be the second owner of the car when you want to sell it after paying the Residual Value of 10% or 15% to the company. You will lose NCB benefit of insurance. Also, consider the depreciation of Jazz when you sell it.

[shankar.balan]

@mbudhraja - here are some small suggestions.
1. The Jazz is a very good, practical car.
2. You will lose a great deal if you sell it so soon.
3. The Kiger is a nice car, yes, but you’ll see the real difference in performance only in the Turbo Petrol top spec version. Of course Kiger’s higher ground clearance does help on our bumpy roads. But the cost differential and the money you will lose by selling the Jazz so soon, is not going to be insignificant.
4. Tha Jazz comes with 195 section tyres I do believe as standard - to solve your bumpiness, you can consider a tyre upsize/ upgrade to 205 section tubeless. The 205 section tyres can be Yokohama Earth or BlueEarth or MRF Perfinza ( I can highly recommend the MRF from personal experience).
5. As others have suggested it could also be your air pressure. You could try lessening the PSI by a point or two.
6. If you want to ‘lessen the articulation and vertical travel of the suspension over our wonderful Bangalore Speed breakers I can suggest the Rogerab or Jupitune PVC Suspension Buffers to be installed at all four corners on the coil springs. These will act as retardants to the articulation and hence prevent bottoming out. Also you will feel the bumps to be smoothed over. These are very likely to work well in your case since you said you are a ‘feather foot’ and don't drive terribly fast.

I believe you can consider the above, which may help you in your quest for greater comfort. But the bottomline is still the same - the Jazz is a very good, practical, spacious car for rhe city and for the highways and therefore not worth selling so soon.

[mbudhraja]

Hey, thanks everyone. I can unanimously hear the same input from you guys - and it's a validation that I should hold on to the Jazz. It's a relief. I think it's just a few days of new car urge in the head . Btw, I went to test drive the Kiger yesterday for the second time and the interiors certainly are a disappointment, so is the engine. Could not appreciate the Jazz more on the way back.

I will mostly upgrade the tyres from stock (175) to 195/60 r15 at some point. That is what folks in the Jazzers group recommend. Not sure if changing tyre size impacts warranty. Can anyone please confirm ?