2018 Honda Jazz – Update is here

Honda Jazz has been in India for a long time. The first generation was expensive due to limited local content. Things have changed now. The new-gen launched in 2015 changed the game. This came with a diesel engine and carried forward the practicality of the previous Jazz. Recently, the car has received an update. There are some new features added and it also gets minor cosmetic upgrades. Is it worth the change? Should you opt for the Jazz? We share our detailed review on this new hatchback. Do not forget to check out our video on this premium hatchback.  Read the entire story to understand if the Jazz is a great option.

Design

The Honda Jazz 2018 doesn’t get the changes that the European version got. The front grille is similar, no major change on the bumper, neither the headlamps. At the moment, the Jazz is offered with the same headlamps. No projectors and daytime running LEDs also. The design of the alloy wheels hasn’t changed either. It is the same styling and 15-inch wheels. The door handles now have chrome too. The rear of the hatchback now has some minor changes. The tail lamps are now LEDs and the rear looks more appealing then before. Apart from that, there is no other change in it. The Honda Jazz doesn’t see a major change as a facelift, more like a model year update from the outside.

Interiors

Moving inside the car, here too there aren’t too many changes in it. The overall styling of the interiors hasn’t changed. The black dashboard continues on the Jazz. It has keyless entry, push start and stop which weren’t there before. The steering wheel also has good grip, and the VX variants gets leather wrap. Cruise control too has been introduced and the controls are on the steering wheel itself. The instrument cluster gets three dials and last one is for driver information system. Easy to read the numbers and operation is also simple.

The centre console when switched off, looks neat with a gloss black layout. The touchscreen system has good resolution, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are now present on the Jazz. The reverse camera gets three modes: up-close, view and super view. These help to park easily. The glovebox is decent in size. The arm rest has storage underneath that has good space. The AC performance is the same, and it could be better.

Especially for the rear passengers. 

The front seats are extremely comfortable and are extremely comfortable. There is good side support and the seats are soft making it easy to sit on. The space at the rear is good and there is good comfort too for tall passengers as the floor raises makes it comfortable at the back. Though the rear seat back padding could have been better. There are no rear AC vents and no charging point for back passengers. Magic seats are gone and seats do not even have 60:40 split. The boot size is amazing and the loading lip is low for easy loading. The spare wheel is a size smaller and it is 14-inch one than the 15-inch.

Engine and Performance

The 1.2-litre petrol engine on the Jazz is the same that was there previously. There is sufficient power on it for daily driving. The moment you want to accelerate hard, the engine needs some more work out. Downshift is needed. The one we were driving was CVT. The good point here is now CVT comes on VX variant too. The CVT box is a bit sluggish if you need instance performance. But now there are paddle shifters, which are super awesome in response. You do not need to worry too much for better performance. Its a 7-step paddle shift set-up. Even in Sport mode, the joy isn’t as much as it in with the paddle shifters. Overall a good engine, just that you need to rev it harder to extract performance.

If we consider the mileage of this engine, it is close to 13-14km/l in the city and it increase on the highway to about 17-18km/l. At the same time, when driving the CVT, there isn’t a major change. Its almost the same figure. There is a diesel engine also. But we will not get into any details of that. We will leave that for another day.

Driving Dynamics

The big question is: is it a driver’s car? It isn’t. It is made for general use daily and it is apt for regular driving. If you are expecting a lot of fun, then this isn’t the car for you. The handling of the hatch is good, but it will not give you the thrills. The steering wheel is light making it easy to drive in city. The response is also good around the centre. On bends, it feels a tad slack.

The ride quality of this vehicle is very good and it does a good job of soaking the bumps. The ride quality is astonishing ironing out the shocks.

The same goes for the rear seat also. There is good ride for the back passengers too.

Verdict

Jazz has been a great practical choice always. It gets some additional features at the loss of magic seats. Now, we did expect some more features