Team-BHP - Honda Jazz : Official Review

Great Review folks. 5 star rating.

About the car itself, nothing super impressive, but a competent product from a stable, which needed a new champion, to bring in the numbers along with the thoroughbred CITY.

I think Honda is being really smart here. They do not want the Jazz cannibalising sales of the CITY (as is evident from them plonking the 1.2 L in the petrol version, instead of that beastly 1.5 iVtec). At the same time they want a solid performer in the 7-10L (on road) segment. I also suspect they were not interested in starting a price war in this segment, which in the long run would hurt all manufacturers probably.

The Jazz might not be as VFM as the i20 elite is, but it definitely looks like the first serious challenger to i20's dominance and will have its takers and fans. I test drove the elite i20 petrol multiple times last year around December, and came away distinctly unimpressed. The Polo (again petrol) was downright disappointing (not the GT, which I did not test drive).

I think the Jazz will be a competent number two in the premium hatch market (not including the swift, which is a market by itself) and there is frankly nothing wrong with that, and is that is possibly Honda's expectation. Where they might have miscalculated is the impact on the sales of the Amaze. The Honda SA in Hyderabad told me that they were moving about 100 Amazes a month. This is now bound to take a massive beating and deservedly so.

Given the above, and the fact that the elite is outselling the xcent, an interesting question poses itself. Are Hyundai and Honda gunning for the Compact Sedan segment? May be even Maruti is hinting at the same with its new hatchback launch round the corner?

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolmel (Post 3749766)

Jazz does not have character??!! Haha. Quoting the 2nd gen, those cute swept back headlights, the mini MPV look, it looks something. It talks to you.

I think this is my last post for this sub-thread since I really
don't think we are trying to go anywhere with personalized opinions.

Ok... looks like we have different definitions for what "character" means...
so I don't blame you for what your perception is. I thought I mentioned
character is skin deep and that's where my perception has deviated. No problem!

I am sure there will be many people who will concur with both of our perceptions.

Please don't get me wrong: I think liking something is ok but being blinded
by it is what happens when you take sides. We all know what "Honda" is...
and Honda is being slightly on the criticism for serving what seems like a
reduced quality product and charging more than Elite i20.
I am sure there are tons of ways in which you can justify this additional cost OR the purchase. But saying things like Honda is always better than Hyundai shows somebody is not seeing or doesn't want to see what the rest of the India is seeing.

If everybody had stuck to similar thing then "Kia" sales wouldn't have reached what it is today in the US. Brand fanaticism is good if the company is doing enough things to keep the products up to the quality. Sleeping brands will only have support from brand fanboys and not the rest of public and finally have to face death.

So, in this case market will decide the fate of new Jazz... I wish it very best since in my truest heart I want it to succeed and Honda to fix their mistakes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by suhaas307 (Post 3749805)

Having power is one thing. The ability to utilize all that power effectively is another! What's the point of 90 horsepowers if the damn thing takes an age to get going? Drivability is what counts at the end of the day. Don't get me wrong, I'd still call it a gem of an engine, because it's refinement is unmatched IMO. Honda should have done some calibration work to that gearbox. They should have just carried over the Brio's ratios at the very least.

Yes, not offering the 1.5 is a missed opportunity, but after looking at the pricing, I shudder to think what the 1.5 would be priced like.

Honda has not shot themselves in the foot, arrogance has done them in. The Jazz is too good for them!! As simple as that. Yes they should have re-tuned the engine as well. Lost opportunity now.

Also I did tag you in my first post on the thread. Never mind. :)

Folks - After going through the review, I personally feel that the Jazz is like a 'Modern Day Zen'. The Zen VXi (MPFI model) was pretty expensive with on road price of about 5 lakhs (this is almost 15 years back), compared to its competitor Hyundai Santro. Now its Honda Jazz Vs Hyundai i20 elite. Most of the characteristics are similar between a Zen and Jazz, barring the engine. Even though Zen was an awesome car, it did not clock high numbers like the Santro. I have a feeling that something similar is going to happen again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WRXXX (Post 3749850)

Same here matey I want it to succeed and Honda to fix their mistakes. Will be slow but does not look they will at least for this gen...again! You know how it works :Frustrati

Also I do see Hyundai doing well in India, I see gleaming reports of many Hyundai lovers, here and amongst my circle too. I see it loud and clear and accept it. But the grass ain't green every where. Sometimes exceptions have to be made or they simply come up! We do not live in a Utopian world, do we?

Brand fanboys are needed some times. How will brands stay alive then?

Last but not the least, Honda maybe offering a reduced product at a higher price than an already hit product. I'd simply say its like paying a higher amount for the best dal makhni in town whereas there are other ones who make similar ones for little lesser price. In this case, will the junta pay premium for the big H? We shall find out.

Peace.:)

So, it is fair to say that the Jazz doesn't have a good engine after all, isn't it? I fail to understand many of their decisions. If they really wanted Jazz to compete with the successful I20, they had to do lot better than that. People keep talking about spacier than I20 and all, but think about what happens in a real world scenario. Let's just say you are not taller than 6, which itself is tall by Indian standards, and when you checkout both cars, you may or may not notice that extra centimeter space, but that most likely won't be a deciding factor esp. when the Jazz looses out on some fronts.

I have driven a diesel Amaze and if that's the engine this car gets, then no way I am going to buy this car (not that in the market right now). Gosh, that vibration all over the pedals is terrible!

Amazing review guys.Well deserved 5 starclap:

Here is what's going on in my mind.

I need an compact automatic petrol variant and I have a budget of 8.5 to 9lacs
I was waiting for Jazz for such a long time that it has become a ritual for me to visit Team BHP early morning for any news
After knowing the cost.I am really in a dilemma whether to buy Jazz or wait for Elite i20 automatic(Do we have any news on that?)
I am your average guy.I don't travel more than 50km per week.I work close to my home so using my car will be from point to A to point B with little city driving and few long weekend drives.
I knew about cost cutting and the features it was providing.So I convinced myself to overlook them and even booked Jazz V CVT last week.Now I feel that bad taste when you see the heavy bill.

So do you guys think it's still a good idea to go with Jazz or wait for Hyundai to release an automatic version in Elite?I really was wishing to have a car of my own soon but I can wait if there is something new that can match Jazz automatic variant.

PS: I know there is VW but after reading couple forums.I rather opt one of the H brands

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKB (Post 3749890)

Amazing review guys.Well deserved 5 starclap:

Here is what's going on in my mind.

I need an compact automatic petrol variant and I have a budget of 8.5 to 9lacs
I was waiting for Jazz for such a long time that it has become a ritual for me to visit Team BHP early morning for any news
After knowing the cost.I am really in a dilemma whether to buy Jazz or wait for Elite i20 automatic(Do we have any news on that?)
I am your average guy.I don't travel more than 50km per week.I work close to my home so using my car will be from point to A to point B with little city driving and few long weekend drives.
I knew about cost cutting and the features it was providing.So I convinced myself to overlook them and even booked Jazz V CVT last week.Now I feel that bad taste when you see the heavy bill.

The CVT variant misses out on the goodies offered in the top end. Go to the showroom take a look, sit, feel, drive and then take a call. Also, Hyundai is all set to launch the Creta so no word on the i20 Automatic right now.

Thanks Suhaas and Vid6639 for the awesome review, you sure got me interested in the car. Looking forward to meet Mr Jazz in person.

Fold the rear seats down and you get a completely flat floor, which opens up 881 liters of cargo space!

I have not seen the car in person and the 881 liters of cargo space courtesy Magic Seats seems impressive. But are there any additional restrains to hold the additional cargo? Especially with a completely flat floor it seems safety might be compromised big time. Imagine sudden breaking with a full cargo space!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKB (Post 3749890)

I dont have insider information but I think Hyundai will NOT launch AT for I20.
The 1.2 engine will probably be not good enough for pulling the I20 and therefore, they had a 1.4 AT last time. Now, the 1.4 AT is going to be way costly and that's the reason I don't think Hyundai will launch the I20 AT.

Whether to go for the Jazz AT or not is something you want to decide. Honda might launch a top end AT depending on customer demand but that can easily take a year or more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SKB (Post 3749890)

PS: I know there is VW but after reading couple forums.I rather opt one of the H brands

I can think of a compact petrol automatic that IMO would be way better than the Jazz auto. Its the Aspire auto I am talking about. Just imagine the same DCT + 1.5L petrol engine from Ecosport which also came in Fiesta earlier! I have read on the forum that the 6 speed DCT was so good that it made the 1.5L feel more powerful than it really was for the heavier Fiesta and the car was faster than the manual 1.5L.
Also, there are no strings (like DSG has its own issues) attached to the DCT AFAIK. For an automatic, I really think that you got to have a torquier engine. Also, this torque should come much lower in the RPM range. This makes the 1.2L iVtech a not so good choice for an automatic, though our reviewers seem to like it, the Aspire's 1.5L DCT is going to be in a different league altogether. On top of this, I expect Ford to offer ESP and other stuff that they are known to give with their automatic cars.
Also, for very similar reasons, you can look at the Zest AMT too. The top end diesel automatic, the XTA should be just 20-30k INR costlier than the Jazz V Auto and it should be better in feature list IMHO, being a top variant, not sure. My father is using the mid variant AMT Zest and he is quite impressed with it's capabilities.