Honda Jazz Hybrid review

“Honda’s Jazz has long been seen
as the ‘compact’ car to beat,
due not just to its multi-functional
practicality but especially to its
frugal award-winning petrol-electric
hybrid power...”

THE GOVERNMENT'S heavy-handed efforts to browbeat motorists into going all-electric have backfired somewhat. What they have done is driven up interest in highly efficient hybrid powerplants such as that used to great effect by Honda's latest Jazz. And the closer we edge to a dictatorial 'all-electric or on your bike' stance, the more people see hybrids as offering the best of both worlds.

In the Jazz's case the hybrid choice is made even easier thanks to its easy-going driveability, notable economy, class-leading practicality, versatility (its famed 'magic' seats), solid engineering, reliability, comprehensive safety kit, and a tastefully fitted-out cabin.

First, a quick word about the Jazz's 1.5 i-MMD hybrid propulsion system. This harnesses powerful electric motors with a fuel-sipping 1.5-litre petrol engine that, most of the time, generates 'juice' for the electric motor that acts as the principal power source. Between the electric motor and the four-pot combustion engine there's more than enough poke to keep the Jazz delightfully zippy, accelerating off the line to hit the benchmark 62mph in 9.4 seconds.

“The really, really good
news is that the Jazz
never needs plugging in
because it’s completely
self-charging.
Big whoop!
Another major plus point
is that you don’t have
to involve yourself in the
complexities of the
hybrid system’s
operation. Most owners
will be content leaving it
to its own devices — in
its default hybrid mode
it unobtrusively mixes
and matches its dual
power feeds...”

Press down harder with your right foot and the Jazz instantly picks up the pace as the petrol engine joins the party to deliver a punchier flow of power. At higher speeds or whenever you stamp the accelerator, a clutch between the engine and the front wheels closes, allowing the engine to provide direct drive because under these circumstances it's the most efficient way to go.

The really, really good news is that the Jazz never needs plugging in because it's completely self-charging. Big whoop! Another major plus point is that you don't have to involve yourself in the complexities of the hybrid system's operation. Most owners will be content leaving it to its own devices — in its default hybrid mode it unobtrusively mixes and matches its dual power feeds. If you drive with a 'light' right foot then the electric motor will waft you along without any extra lifting from the 1.5-litre engine, meaning that for much of the time at low speeds the Jazz will be running in its hushed electric mode.

And, for the record, even when it's active, the petrol engine is hardly noticeable at all. The powertrain's transmission is Honda's e-CVT autobox (the default and only choice) and it's a good one, serving up uninterrupted acceleration whenever it's called for while at lower speeds making even congested city driving a pleasure. Most drivers will leave their Jazz in Econ, where, despite it being the car's fuel-maximising mode, the car remains responsive and nippy; get it on a motorway and it will cruise happily at the legal limit all day long, as happy as a dog with two tails.

While you can safely bet your shirt on Jazz drivers not being secret boy-racers, what does matter to them is the cool, calm, and collected way the Jazz gets a body from A to B — not how fast it can be slung round a corner. Which is good news because the consensus among road-testers is that Honda's Jazz is one of the best-riding compact cars you can buy.

That's not to say that you can't have some fun in a Jazz; punt it around and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how well it goes. Despite the taller-than-most roof height, the Jazz is a well-mannered, stable driving partner with light but accurate steering, reliable grip, a nicely fettled suspension, and confident road manners that enable it to cover ground through the twisty bits without jarring you, or your passengers', composure.

Whatever your driving style a decent set of brakes is non-negotiable. No disappointment here because the Jazz's anchors are no-nonsense items despite having to double-up providing regenerative braking to top-up the electric motor's battery. Some hybrids still haven't got their act together with these dual-function brakes and can be annoyingly snatchy. No such problems with those fitted to the Jazz, which you'll find to be well-tempered and smooth acting in stop-start traffic; out of town they deliver all the stopping power you might need.

In real life — and without trying, not even one itsy-bitsy little bit — we recorded 63.1mpg over the course of a busy week's real-world driving. That beat the Jazz's stand-out official 62.8mpg and underscores it ability to travel up to 550 miles on a single tank of fuel. Another major selling point, of course, is that unlike all-electric vehicles, there's absolutely no range anxiety when driving a Jazz hybrid.

One of the many features than make the Jazz such a sweet car to drive is the visibility. Not only do you enjoy superb views of the road ahead and to the sides — thanks to the slim A-pillars, triangular quarterlights ahead of the front doors, and the panoramic windscreen — but rearwards too, courtesy of the deep rear screen and airy glasshouse. In fact, it's one of the first things both you and your front passenger will notice on settling into the large and supportive seats.

“In real life — and
without trying, not even
one itsy-bitsy little bit —
we recorded 63.1mpg
over the course of
a busy week’s real-world
driving. That beat the
Jazz’s stand-out official
62.8mpg and
underscores it ability to
travel up to 550 miles on
a single tank of fuel...”

For the driver, also praiseworthy is the lofty driving position that makes you feel you're piloting a compact SUV rather than a supermini hatchback. Even parking a Jazz is a breeze and that's down to the combination of first-rate visibility, light steering, tight turning circle, surround parking sensors, and a reversing camera that offers the driver a selection of views.

The smartly upholstered seats are themselves very comfortable; pleasantly padded, the bolstering light but effective, with extensive height adjustment for the driver. And, come Winter, you won't be chilly — three-stage heating is fitted to both front chairs. Headroom is awesomely good — two fists of it; shoulder room is equally generous and the decent gap between the front seats ensures no inboard elbow clashes. Legroom is fine, too, and any six-footers will feel at ease travelling in the front.

If you've ever had to suffer driving a car with offset pedals that skew your legs and put pressure on your hips, you'll be punching the air once you get behind the Jazz's steering wheel where you sit in-line with the two pedals and steering wheel, guaranteeing that you'll stay comfortable on even the longest of road trips.

The cabin is the soul of any car and even a great car can be ruined by a mediocre interior. The Jazz offers its driver and passengers a travel environment that's first-rate, with smart looks and quality trim, pleated fabric upholstery, and tactile soft-touch finishes. we especially liked the easily gripped climate control knobs and buttons — far better than the virtual kind found on touchscreens.

The selector is conveniently to hand on the centre console, and the cool-looking, two-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel features remote multi-function controls (all clearly marked), and the nice-to-hold rim is heated (if you haven't used one, take note — they're not just for the Winter but keep fingers flexible on long journeys all year round.

Where the Jazz scores particularly highly is with its 'packaging' — how effectively it manages the passenger-vs-luggage challenge. And extraordinarily effective it is too: you'd search long and hard to find a better packaged car in the supermini class than the Jazz. Within its space-efficient four-metre-long footprint there's honestly masses of room for bodies and luggage to co-exist.

Nor does it come at the expense of in-cabin storage: Honda doesn't stop at giving you a glovebox — you get two; stacked one above the other. Then there's the front bottle-holding door pockets, a very deep storage box between the front seats capped by an armrest, and ahead of the selector lever is a tray where you can bed down your smartphone. You're also spoilt for cupholders with a large dual-use one at each end of the dash, with a third in the centre tunnel.

“The Jazz is one of the
best-riding compact
cars you can buy.
That’s not to say that
you can’t have some fun;
punt it around and you’ll
be pleasantly surprised
at how well it goes.
Despite its taller-than-
average roof height,
the Jazz is a well-
mannered driving partner
with light but accurate
steering, reliable grip, a
nicely fettled suspension,
and confident road
manners that enable it
to cover ground
through the twisty bits
without jarring you,
or your passengers’,
composure...”

The Jazz's comms are delightfully easy to use and the central nine-inch infotainment touchscreen uses a smartphone-style display; supported by crisp, clear graphics and fast menus, Honda's Connect infotainment system packs plenty of features. Smartphone mirroring makes easy work of running your apps through the main display via either wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The Garmin SatNav is easy-peasy, and its 3D mapping scores highly for clarity and the straightforward spoken commands. Four USB ports are on hand, as is one of those reassuring SOS buttons.

Also standard fit is hands-free Bluetooth phone operation plus a My Honda+ app for staying in touch with your car (use it to locate, lock and unlock it from far, far away, and send destinations to the SatNav so you're ready to go the moment you climb aboard). For drivers who like to keep their hands on the wheel (don't we all!?) as much as possible, the Jazz has voice control for the navigation and audio.

DAB radio is also part of the package, and specifically for the driver there's a digital instrument panel. You decide how much information you want shown on the seven-inch TFT liquid crystal display. It's brilliant to use and includes a perfectly positioned road speed readout so you won't get caught out by all the inappropriate 20mph zones that seem to be appearing even faster than new potholes.

Moving on from the comms, the Jazz also comes with plenty of 'must haves' such as Smart Entry & Start (with key-free exit locking — a finger-tap on either front door handle does it), auto lights and wipes, parking sensors nose and tail, heated powerfolding door mirrors, automatic climate control, four one-shot-op windows, electronic parking brake with auto hold, heated front and rear screens, and a set of nice-looking alloy wheels.

Safety-wise the five-star EuroNCAP rated Jazz is equipped with Honda's enhanced Sensing tech which includes: Collision Mitigation Braking System (brakes for you when the Jazz cuts across or turns into the path of a car; it can also detect pedestrians and cyclists when there is no street lighting at night); Adaptive Cruise Control (allows the car to follow vehicles at low speeds when in traffic); Lane Keep Assist (keeps the Jazz centred in a detected lane, applying steering assistance if the vehicle drifts out on urban and rural roads as well as multi-lane highways); and Road Departure Mitigation System; (alerts you if the vehicle approaches the outer edge of the pavement (into a kerb, grass or gravel border) or the car edges into another lane without indicating).

And there's more Sensing features: Blind Spot Information (comes with Cross Traffic Monitoring that warns if you're about to reverse into the path of another vehicle); Traffic Sign Recognition System (displays speed limits on the seven-inch instrument display along with additional information such as weather conditions); Intelligent Speed Limiter (recognises traffic signs and sets the speed limit accordingly. If a slower speed is shown compared to what the vehicle is doing, you will be alerted and the system will gradually decreases your speed); Auto High-Beam that automatically switches high beam headlights on/off depending on oncoming and preceding vehicles (cars, trucks, motorcycles, and even bicycles).

Jazz drivers also benefit from a full forward collision warning system with automated emergency braking, Lane Departure Warning, Vehicle Stability Assist, bright LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, LED front and rear lights, a full tally of airbags including one for the driver's knee plus front and rear curtain bags, tyre deflation warning, and whiplash-lessening front head restraints.

“For a four-metre-long
car the Jazz manages to
fit in a really useful
sized boot of regular
proportions; and at 304
litres it beats the class
average. A wide, high-
lifting rear hatch makes
it an easy loader and
you’ll find a big, lidded
locker beneath the boot
floor. Another feature
unique to the Jazz is that
there’s plenty of space to
store squashy luggage
bags underneath the
rear seat bases when
they’re in their everyday
passenger-carrying
position...”

It's not only the Jazz's front cabin that offers plenty of room. Those travelling in the back will instantly get why the Jazz's interior is billed as 'class-leading' — tall adults can sprawl out thanks to acres of leg-, knee-, and foot-room. The individually shaped rear seats are bettered by relaxing backrest angles, and are especially welcome, particularly on extended journeys.

The long and deep side windows make for clear views out — not everyone wants to have their eyes glued to their phone every mile of every trip. A third adult will be happy sitting between the two outer rear passengers, and also glad of the unrestricted central foot room (there's no central tunnel 'hump').

Smartphone-owning back seat users will cheer the dedicated phone pockets on the front seatbacks as well as the large storage pouches, the USB charging ports, and the bottle-holding door pockets. Isofix child seat mounts make for a hassle-free instal on either outer seat.

Remember those catchily named 'magic' seats we mentioned earlier? They add a whole new dimension to the rear cabin. Singly or together, the split seat bases can be flipped up cinema seat-style and locked upright against their backrests, transforming the rear seating area into an extremely practical cargo hold totally separate from the boot — and easily accessed through the ninety-degree-opening back doors. And you don't even have to say 'Abracadabra'!

For a four-metre-long car the Jazz manages to fit in a really useful sized boot of regular proportions; and at 304 litres it beats the class average. A wide, high-lifting rear hatch makes it an easy loader and you'll find a big, lidded locker beneath the boot floor. Another feature unique to the Jazz is that there's plenty of space to store squashy luggage bags underneath the rear seat bases when they're set in their everyday passenger-carrying position.

For more serious load-lugging the rear seats can be dropped. Flipped forward and down, the folded seatbacks lay perfectly flat and level to create a seamless, square-shaped minivan-like loadbay extending to 1,205 litres. Unexpectedly, the Jazz will even tow — up to 500kg unbraked!

While driving on today's roads is not yet quite as dangerous as in Mad Max's post-apocalypse world, there are times when it seems to be going that way. Which is why the Jazz is such a great car — an easy driver, its laid-back, can-do character really does keep the stress at bay. Throw in exceptionally fit-for-purpose practicality, impressive 60+mpg economy, and comprehensive safety kit, and the feelgood Jazz is the perfect hybrid choice. ~ MotorBar

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