Honda Jazz Preview
The Honda Jazz came to India in its second global iteration back in 2009 with a 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol engine. It did relatively well in the first year, but then rising petrol prices put brakes on its sales and later Honda had to cut prices to tackle rapid dieselisation. Things went from bad to worse and Honda ultimately had to discontinue the Jazz in late 2013 to create room for the Amaze compact sedan.
Exterior
The new Jazz has gone through a refreshing makeover and now follows a more aggressive design language. It has been sculpted under the Japanese automaker’s ‘Exciting H Design!!!’ language and so shares many similarities with the design seen on the Honda City. The facia is common with the City while the bumper is a bit sportier. The wedge-shaped D-pillar has carried itself from the older generation, while the tail cluster gets a more focus and compact design. Overall, the large shape has been carried over from the previous model but with all the modern touches.
Interior
The new Honda Jazz is 3.95 metres with a wheelbase of 2.95 metres making it significantly more spacious than the older model. The instrument cluster, dashboard, fabrics and overall layout have all been lifted from the Honda City and will find their way into the Jazz without many changes. We also expect Honda to offer at least one variant of the Jazz with the grey-themed interiors. The car is also expected to have a class-leading 390-litre boot space and a slightly extended wheelbase of 2.58m. The ride and handling should improve with revised suspension and a re-calibrated steering.
Engine and gearbox
The power plants for the Jazz are the same as those of the Amaze; a 1.2-litre petrol mill and the 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine. They produce 85bhp/109Nm and 98bhp/200Nm respectively. The petrol engines will be offered with the five-speed manual and a CVT gearbox while the diesel engine will only be offered with a five-speed manual.
Price and competition
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