Its name might have suggested something to get excited about, but in truth the previous Honda Jazz only really played the tune of those looking for a practical family-sized car for not much more than the cost of a small hatchback.

A kind of a mini-mini-MPV, it ranked among the upper echelon of rational purchase decisions thanks to its spacious and versatile interior and rock-solid quality. But though it made so much sense, its Tokyo-bread-van styling, so-so performance and top-heavy road holding could have made it quite a grudge purchase for some.

Now there’s a new Jazz and it sticks to the same formula as the previous one, only this time we feel it’s less of a grudge purchase. The interior has grown even bigger, so there’s loads of stretching space for rear occupants, who will also enjoy the rear seats that recline slightly.

Honda likes to call them magic seats because not only do they fold down completely flat, but the seat bottoms can fold up to create a separate load compartment just behind the front occupants, with van-like vertical space.

Pity the dashboard isn’t easier on the eye – it’s really weird and fussily styled. The surfaces are of the cost cutting variety and that philosophy can also be felt in the slightly tinny feel this car has. Despite this, the build quality still seems designed to compete with a granite kitchen top in the durability stakes.

Clearly a different set of stylists tackled the exterior of the new Jazz. Its proportions were still dictated from the inside out, but designers did a good job of translating its MPV-like proportions into something that’s quite handsome. Its lines and shapes are bolder and sharper, giving it a far more butch appearance, while the wider stance of the car adds to this more purposeful pose.

This extra width and a lot of dedication to improving the suspension has also resulted in more positive road holding. The body roll is still there but it feels far more planted and stable than the previous Jazz and while we don’t see any of its target market gunning it through a mountain pass, they should appreciate the extra safety margin it has for emergency manoeuvres. This Jazz absorbs the bumps rather well too.

The engine compartment is where the new Jazz makes its most radical leap. The base 1.4-litre engine is significantly more powerful, and the 1.5 featured here also got a decent power hike to 88kW. For cost reasons, and to pleasure the Yank market, that lovely CVT gearbox has been replaced by a conventional autobox, but it does the job well.

Well… this gearbox might feel a bit old fashioned in the way it jerks when changing cogs, but we were really impressed by its responsiveness. It reads the driver’s mind to a tee and kicks down quickly when you suddenly stomp on the pedal and also changes up on a dime when you’re driving more sedately.

In the end, you’re still going to buy the Jazz for its practicality, but this time you’ll also like the way it drives.

» Continued on page 2

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