Honda describe this car as their “bite-sized wonder” and there is no doubt that this definitely does fall into the small market and they are even going so far as to promote it in a toy-like way with an obvious attempt to link the Jazz to Thomas the Tank Engine.
The price of $15,990 for the base model fitted with a 5 speed manual transmission may not sound all that competitive by but the range of features, including airconditioning, that are standard certainly does make it worth a second look.
The base model comes with:
Anti-lock brakes
SRS airbags for driver and front passenger
Pretensioners on the front seat belts
Front and rear crumple zones
Multi-reflector headlamps
Wide opening hatch
Airconditioning
4 speaker CD tuner
Storage areas
Fully folding rear seats to give you increased cargo room
1.3 litre engine
5 speed manual or CVT automatic transmission ($2,000 extra)
Honda offers two other versions of the Jazz – the VYi and the Vti-S – both of these are powered by a 1.5 litre engine coupled to either a 5 speed manual box or a 7 speed sequential shift automatic that can be controlled from an F1 type paddle adjacent to the steering wheel.
The VTi is $17,990 for the manual while the VYi-S is $20,390 for the manual. Auto on both models is an extra $2300.
The new Jazz now comes with a full-size spare wheel as well as all the other goodies and is a whopping $1400 dollars less than its predecessor.
The new Honda Jazz comes from Honda’s new plant in Thailand.