Team-BHP - Review: 2nd-gen Honda Jazz

Okay I don't know weather anyone else pointed this out already.. but I got a little impatient reading all the posts.

Honda Jazz ex showroom-Ahmedabad = Rs.7,24,000.
Fiat Linea Emotion Pack (Petrol) ex showroom-Ahmedabad = Rs.7,31,000.

I think the numbers speak for themselves.

GTO, great review by the way.
Ps: The rubber dead pedal thing looks disgusting.

I read in the paper today that Honda plans to sell 2500 Jazzs per month. At this price point, the number looks very unrealistic to me.
If this number has to happen, Honda would have to entice a lot of customers who would have otherwise gone in for a sedan. Can that really happen? I am not sure.
The Korean H may have lower brand equity, but will the average Indian prefer a Jazz over a Verna at similar price points?
Nope, the pricing is a shocker and I think Honda has got it horribly wrong, unless I am missing something.
If they manage to pull off 2500 Jazzs per month, we seriously got to stand in a line and give Honda the royal salute.

they designed the 90 ps i vtec just to get the excise benifits. and they didnt even pass on the benifits. localisation of parts is 77%. so they are making money on this. this is one badge blabbering hatchback.

here is the real "badge value" chain for me.(personally) for hatchbacks.

for me maruti ritz<<hyundai i20<fiat grande punto<skoda fabia< VW polo. <jazz wants to be here. but i dont wanna consider it.

polo will have ESP standard. i20 has six airbags. punto has blue and me. ritz is the cheapest and maybe one of the best 1.2 engines if not the best.

Hi! I test drove this car, today. Please find my comments below

1. At the first look, the hatch looks big
2. Inner space is generous, though the boot is not very big. Head room is very good.
3. GTO is right about the engine, its super silent
4. I found the engine to be adequate for this car
5. Fit and finish is good at the dash board, average at other areas.
6. The seat fabric and combination is average
7. The typical honda issue of ride and suspension remains in this car as well.
8. The car was bumpy and the suspension felt hard
9. Rear seat leg room is very good.
10. Elbow room is very good.
11. The car from the exterior look, looks good, but nothing great. In my opinion, i20, Fabia and even the about to be launched Grande Punto will score little more on the looks department
12. Ground clearnace of 160mm...?
13. Again, in my opinion, the car is gorssly overpriced. In Mumbai it will a shade higher than 8 lacs????
14. Not sure, if Indian consumer with their obsession with the "boot" pay this much for this car? I have my own doubts
15. But then, another thing is , the Indian consumer is also obsession with the "Honda" badge, which despite of average car like 1.5 litre 77bhp city pulled it through.
16. The seats while not great, but were comfortable. I guess, it will not be great seats for a long drive though.

Thanks

As all of us had told earlier, its a fabulous review. I have stopped buying auto magazines now .

But looking at the price i am happy that I didnt wait for the Jazz and bought my Indica Vista quadrajet Anniversary edition. Call me whatever you want but I am more than happy with the it. For me its downright stupid to spend so much for a car just for the 'H' brand . The rear seat of my vista takes me back to the Amby times. Its so comfortable though I dont sit there at all as I am almost always at the steering wheel.

Lets see how Jazz will pan out in India. I think it will still make decent numbers as Indians are brand hungry and have quite an amount of disposible income :D now.

Wow, so many pages in such a short time, looks like the JAZZ was a much awaited launch for many T-BHP'ians. Great review GTO. We trust your judgement and I'm sure its proved very helpful to a lot of fencesitters who were in two minds about going in for the Jazz.

Seems to me like a nice practical car, good for city usage, but very expensive.
Having said that, it seems Honda is testing the waters and seeing if the market is willing to pay premium bucks for a perceived premium hatch. Remains to be seen if their strategy is successful or not, but I have a feeling that lots of Indians love the Honda badge so much that they will be willing to shell out the moolah for it. Don't get me wrong, not saying its priced well, just saying that people seem to be rich enough to afford a premium product these days, and the easy availability of loans just makes it a lot easier to buy a 8L car these days. I know for a lot of folks the Honda badge remains an aspirational badge, and they wont mind paying that to show that they've arrived.

Anyways, time will tell whether Honda got their pricing right or not. I guess I've got one more car to TD now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by d_payne (Post 1341641)

But having said that, this car is just plain under-equipped. Height-adjustable seats are a bare minimum at this price!

I agree. If you look at my 2nd post (on the interiors), Honda has skimped on arm rests, a parcel tray and telescopic steering as well. Not done for a premium hatch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilead (Post 1341747)

How does the car handle quick overtaking moves on the highway? Does it have enough grunt in 5th gear or did you have to have to constantly downshift?

It's not a highway car, no. You do have to constantly downshift for overtaking. The engine is great within the city only.

Quote:

Originally Posted by agbenny (Post 1341960)

Is the production cost so high? or they expect a poor volume of sales?

You raise a valid point. The only three manufacturers who enjoy economies of scale in India are Maruti, Hyundai & Tata. That's precisely why they'd be able to offer the most value to Indian customers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by worrisomebear (Post 1341966)

the wipers on the new city are normal ones:( were as these seem to be like civic...how odd is that?

The Jazz exudes quality that's a step higher than the City in more ways than one. I believe Honda is to launch an updated (higher trim + better quality) variant of the City soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmddis (Post 1342012)

but is there a vtec kicking in kind of a feeling with this 1.2 l motor?

Hahahaha! Nope, not like my OHC Vtec. Yet the motor is very revv-happy (revv limiter cuts in at about 6650 rpms).

Quote:

Originally Posted by sridharps (Post 1342152)

If they manage to pull off 2500 Jazzs per month, we seriously got to stand in a line and give Honda the royal salute.

You bet we would all have to in that case. But I guess, this time around its different. The dealers themselves are confused about how they were going to push sales and it was very evident on the faces of the sales staff yesterday at Linkway Honda, Powai.

I just got a call a few minutes back from them regarding yesterday's test drive. They asked me to rate the test drive & the car itself- excellent,good,average or poor, to which I replied " car is good, the drive is average". The next question "would you be interested in buying the car?", to which I replied" its a quality product, but the 8.3-8.6 L price tag just cannot be justified". I am sure the lady on the other line would have agreed as well.

Rush,

Another awesome review covering all the aspects of the car. As usual Honda has priced it wayyyyy above.

Even after reading positive things on the car (price excluded) - I feel no excitement to go and check the car out and have a TD. In fact the Ritz looks more fun and funky to me (as you pointed out).

Next - Fiat Grande Punto

Quote:

Originally Posted by Equus (Post 1341404)

I guess thats because Jazz is at the high end of the hatches and ANHC is at the low end of the Honda sedans offered.
If it doesnt sell well, they have kept an option of introducing lower variants - EXi/LXi/GXi, which they will sooner than later.

OK. So which segment of customers Honda wants to attract with Jazz with these prices?

Customers who're thinking of buying ANHC/SX4/ Linea/ Fiesta ? (but that will be cannibalising for ANHC. Also will a customer wanting to buy a sedan buy a hatch?)
OR customers thinking of buying i20/ Getz/ Swift/ Indica Vista (not including Fabia as its almost negligible) ? (unlikely, though seems it can snatch a very few from i20)
OR as a 2nd car (in family) to customers who are thinking of buying or having Civic/ Accord/ Merc/ BMW/ Skoda? (seems most likely)