[StarScream]

For all those who thought the i20 is overpriced, Honda gives you the Jazz!

I don't understand the positioning of the car. How can it cost more than the NHC? I understand it's a nifty, well-built hatch and compared with the NHC you get airbags, ABS and magic seats BUT wouldn't the cost of those features be taken care off by lower excise duty? Didn't Honda sell the NHC VTEC+ with those features plus alloys, boot, a 1.5 liter engine and no excise benefit (minus magic seats, though ) for a little more than the Jazz? If they could price that car as they did, what justifies the Jazz's price? And the reason is not imported content. They say 77% of the car is localized.

Puzzling to say the least. Perhaps Honda should prefix an extra `Premium' to the name - Premium Premium Jazz, so that buyers feel better. And really, anyone who can spend 8 lakhs might as well spend a little more and buy the ANHC.

Interesting how they've launched three variants when all rumors said one. I think Honda took the criticism of the expected price seriously and decided to position at least one variant below 7 lakhs ex-showroom. The Honda web site doesn't split features into three variants - it seems like a last minute decision.

[iceman7]

In one of the other threads where the JAZZ is being discussed, i had described the JAZZ as being "blissfully ugly". Of course i was referring to the picture they had put up on the JAZZ website. I take my words back, the JAZZ looks pretty ok to me now, no..., wait, it looks quite good. The interiors look good and seems like an overall quality product.

90kmph in 2nd gear is not bad for a 1.2 engine.

Alas, like everyone else, the price disappoints.

Thanks for the review and pictures GTO.

[rutvij]

Thanks GTO for a detailed review.

I very much liked the product and its features and the fact that it is a Honda. But I think the price is a shocker. One will be ready to pay a premium of around 50 - 60Ks over i20 for similar specs Honda. But the difference of 1.5Ls is too much a premium asked by Honda.

It will be interesting to see how it is received by customers. I for now, am waiting for Grande Punto / Polo. Thank God, my car's replacement is still couple of years down the line.

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by raul

That's a pretty through review GTO. I am not too thrilled about the looks and however tempted I am to offer my 2 cents on the pricing I think I would like to remind myself that most folks here including me had to eat humble pie after similar comments about outrageous pricing on the AHNC and doomsday for Honda scenarios.

So there is no telling, Honda could get away with it and by pricing it so high and limiting its availability Jazz automatically get's that exclusive premium tag so may folks seem to crave more than the car itself.

+1 to that. Seems Honda wants only certain section of people buying Jazz. Now that "section" of people even might like Reliability, feature, performance of any other car but still would end up buying a Honda car as it gives them an exclusive "status" - damn the Price v/s performance. That seems to be Honda's strategy though this time they have loaded some bells & whistles also. So, Honda might get away with this price as well.

Now what about ANHC buyers who have just bought ANHC without those some Bells & Whistles features/ equipments? Won't they feel duped? I mean what is Honda thinking giving better interiors, better bells & whistle features, & may be fog lamps in top model (if I'm not wrong) in Jazz as compared to ANHC?

[hotpursuit]

First of all Congrats GTO!! Its one heck of a review.
For me personally, the central console is absolutely rubbish. The AC control switches and everything looks good and may be ergonomically placed. But the way it is just spread across as if just every button is thrown into a sticky base. Though it is very much eye catching, I personally don't feel its much of a welcome change (my personal opinion!!! - Honda Fans please bear with me). I would always prefer a more symmetrical central console over this any day.

I feel Hyundai i20 has a better interiors (not may be more spacious or more practical wrt storage space).

[Hypercar]

Excellent detailed high quality review GTO ! Such high quality reviews are not available even in car magazines. Great job ! Thanks.

[kanwal]

Just wondering about the hype on "Magic" seat concept in Jazz. Pardon me if I am mistaken, but the rear seats of Fiat Palio 1.2 ELX can be folded (the top portion) to increase the boot size. I have used this many times. yes, the folding of bottom of the seats is something new - but how valuable that would be - I am not sure at this point. If I remember correctly from my TD of Linea - this feature is available in Linea also. Please correct me if I am wrong here. Thanks!

[Equus]

Originally Posted by VahanPujari

+1 to that. Seems Honda wants only certain section of people buying Jazz. Now that "section" of people even might like Reliability, feature, performance of any other car but still would end up buying a Honda car as it gives them an exclusive "status" - damn the Price v/s performance. That seems to be Honda's strategy though this time they have loaded some bells & whistles also. So, Honda might get away with this price as well.

Now what about ANHC buyers who have just bought ANHC without those some Bells & Whistles features/ equipments? Won't they feel duped? I mean what is Honda thinking giving better interiors, better bells & whistle features, & may be fog lamps in top model (if I'm not wrong) in Jazz as compared to ANHC?

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.

[roms]

A very detailed and well written review GTO. Seriously, a propective Jazz customer would require just the 1st page of this thread to make his decision.

Had a small test drive of the Jazz at Autohangar Powai. The price quoted to me is 7.43 L ex-showroom for Mumbai!! Which gets the on-road price to about 8.2 - 8.3 L!

The first impression you get once inside is that of quality, and very good at that. Every little crevice,knob, lever has a quality feel to it. And the dash is very impressive to look at. Practicality is something that neither I20 nor Punto might be able to match in comparison to the Jazz. A total of 6 cup holders, spacious and comfortable seats, fantastic rear leg room, airy & refined interiors, super light controls & mini-MPV like feel make the Jazz stand out. Infact, the interiors feel much better than that of the ANHC and more in the league of the NHC in terms of quality.

On the outside, it looks awesome and has the ability to become a head turner in the blue shade along with some snazzy alloys.

Whats not so good is the steering, life-less, loose and as GTO mentioned, very Playstation like. Gearbox continues to be as good as the NHC/ANHC. The engine is not underpowered for city drives, though the gearbox will need to be worked constantly. But it is definitely better than the I20 in terms of driveability. Though I have to say here that the I20 is a better drive overall, it feels more chuckable than the Jazz and has a sharper steering that manages to give better feedback than the Jazz. The suspension is indeed stiff at low speeds, the high centre of gravity requires that kind of a set up. The stock tyres are MRF ZVTS, unlike the Michelin Energy ZM1+ on the ANHC and they are look tad undersized with the 175/65 R15 configuration. Overall, a dull drive and again, it is very similar to the outgoing NHC .

I really cant understand how even the "Honda-only" crowd will be able to digest this super expensive hatch. The virtues of a typical Honda are all there, but the price really kills this fantastic package. And its certainly not a car for enthusiasts, even if it had a 1.5 100+ bhp I-Vtec engine. I think the i20 is a better buy, but only after they give us the 1.4 CRDI & the 1.4/1.6 petrol. The i20's chassis deserves a better engine.

Early days yet, but it will be interesting to see how people react to that shocker of a price tag.

[arunpn]

From front looks like it is a cousin of Indica Vista but once you see the inside pics and inside the hood , the difference between Tata & Honda is obvious. But to enjoy the difference one has to shell out more than 2 lacs compared to the costliest Indica Vista model. With this kind of price it may go the Fabia way

[grvanand]

Wonderful review GTO. Thanks for providing such a good insight on the new car.

Coming to Jazz, I feel the pricing has been as expected since we have seen in earlier threads that it sells at par price to ANHC in all the markets where both co-exist. Each car has a sense of perceived value which can't be compared to its competition like in this case I20 or even Grande Punto. ANHC when launched had the same criticism, but it still outsells competition and the other new entrant Linea also enjoys its space. Jazz is developed on the platform of ANHC which replaced the earlier NHC and it looks and feels better in all respects to NHC other than the engine. Just because the bodyshape is a hatch must not deter people from buying Jazz, if that happens, we are going to miss out on a lot more competitive hatches such as Golf and others in future. Pricing clearly looks like plonking a 1.2L engine in ANHC along with taking excise benifit IMO.

However, Honda must launch this car with a 1.5L engine as well, I feel Jazz beats ANHC in all other respects such as quality, plastics, innovative engineering and works.

[sanagg1]

I believe FIAT and HONDA are in some clandestien agreement for the promotion of new life of FIAT !!!
I am already getting impatient to see Vasudevas Xls-sheet for the month of July 2009.
As there is near unanimity on the verdict "Day Light Robbery" pricing may i exhort fellow Bhpinas to rename the vehicle instead of "Honda Jazz" as "GUNDA RAZZ"

[StarVegabond]

It seems that Jazz platform was first introduced in 2001 (that makes it 8 year old mature platform). the news stories tells that this car is being sold in 130 countries (WoW !!! for the sales network of Honda).

being sold in 130 countries explain the following.

1. Being global car, it has one common platform. can not have varients in basic platform, that explains GC of (only 160) as well as price. there can not be a very high price disparity in India vis-a-vis other 130 countries else Honda would spoil their business in other countries.

2. 8 year maturity and positioning in 130 (out of 170) countries explain the refinement, the performance and the appeal of the car to different nationalities and economic background people.

3. Honda is telling that it is creating a new segment in India and has specific target customers in mind. Time will tell whether they would become successful or not.
20000 cars per year (approx 1700 per month) is still a steep target considering price positioning. As i said earlier, if they are successful it will be a marketing case study, if they fail still it would be a case study !!!.

[Dine]

A pretty good review GTO and thanks a lot for those pictures. It shows the class when compared to the reviews with pics on magazines.
Kudos to you for disclosing that its entirely paid trip by Honda, though the review was pretty TEAM-BHP way .

I love the cockpit style dials, but not those spacy buttons for the audio controls. I believe Honda translated the $14,000/- to Rs7,00,000/- but missed a lot of features that are available in US version.

i20 Asta (O) seems to be VFM now, I am more inclined towards Punto and i20 now.

[vvvinod]

Nice review GTO

7.3 LK for a hatch back and that doesnt have Alloy wheels

Hmm...