Honda Jazz : Road Test

I can never forget the return from my first jazz concert. The thumping basslines, the brush-snare work on the drums, soaring solos and masterful improvisations, all pieces of individual brilliance by themselves, but as the quartet rolled together into a single symphony of sound, the combined impact was so wondrous that it was almost confusing. How did they do it? It just would not fit within the conventional boundaries of music. Of course, there was a hefty price to be paid to make it to the front row, but the full-of-beans yet mind-bending experience was much more than the ticket's worth.

Quite similar to the Honda Jazz then, right? Yes, the price of the car seemed outrageous when it was launched - and our unrelenting readers complained by bucketfuls. Honda SIEL has made quite a name for itself selling cars that can be banked upon, but surely, Rs 7 lakh to start off was way too much for a hatchback. A couple of hours spent with the car though, and you start feeling good about the big bucks you've just spent on a small car. How does this happen? Let's just say that the Jazz has its own quartet that fancies breaking bounds! Read on as we take the band apart...

Styling: Block rocking beats!

Futuristic has been the theme on most new Honda models since the Civic, and the Jazz continues in the same vein. What is special and unique about the styling however are the unconventional proportions that the car carries, and pulls off with style and aplomb. The tiny hood makes the car look larger than it is, but proportions are taken care of by the rakish windscreen that is almost in line with the bonnet. The creases on the sides are jazzy, to say the least, and the rear end is neat and uncluttered.

Which is all fine, but the real design feature that sets the Jazz apart from its competitors is the large area of glass used. The benefits are two fold - apart from adding airiness to the cabin, it also allows the interiors of the car to become a part of the design and styling, even an outsider's eyes. Be it the expansive windscreen or the low slung windows, all reveal the Jazz's neat interiors which somehow fit in perfectly to with the entire exterior styling of the car. Sweet and smart!

Interiors: Virtuoso trickery!

Remember the astonishment when the jazz virtuoso managed to fit in a million notes within that one downbeat? The Jazz stuns you with its flexibility of space in a strikingly similar manner, revealing how skill and wit can be put to use to liberate the sort of space almost unthinkable of in a hatchback. But before we get to the magic seating however, let me describe the view from the driver's seat.

In a short, it is massive. The large windscreen and its interplay with the positioning of the front seats is ingenious, and clearly the designers of this car have paid a lot of attention towards ensuring the driver's view is not inhibited. While the strong and wide A-pillar makes for a sturdy design, the swanky quarter window at the front makes sure that the driver does not miss the odd pothole or oncoming vehicles from the right.

And then we have the much touted 'magic seats'. At their root is a reworked fuel tank system that has been placed bang under the rear seats, which liberates an amazing amount of space at the rear. The rear seats can be folded over in different ways - the lower part of the seat can be folded upwards to create height, or the complete bench can be folded down to go level with the boot, making enough space to accommodate an entire jazz quartet, as Adil would put it.

Fit and finish on the insides is impeccable, and the roominess makes sitting inside the car so enjoyable that the typical plasticky dashboard feel of Japanese cars is almost absolved. The console is clear, bright and youthful - completely in tune with the car's overall demeanour.

Engine and mechanicals: 1.2-litre wonder

When news first broke that Honda had purpose built 1.2-litre iVTEC mill for the Indian Jazz, we had our reservations. Excise benefits notwithstanding, we'd already seen the impressive 1.2-litre Kappa engine being less than flattering on the weighty Hyundai i20. Does the Jazz suffer from similar under-empowerment?

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Hardly. In traditional iVTEC fashion, the engine is revvy and smart valve gimmickry offers the car decent driveability in the city too. We're spoilt silly by the great diesel hatchbacks that have come to inundate our streets, but as far as petrol hatches go the Jazz has to have one of the most competent engines of the lot. It's lighter than the other hatches too, which only helps the engine keep up well with the car. Not just that, the cocky and intelligent engine also uses just one of the two inlet valves to let in fuel at lower revs in city traffic to offer better fuel consumption.

Other mechanicals on the car are at least as competent - the controls are smooth and precise, and definitely deserving an honourable mention is the stunning gearbox. You have to move the gear shifter yourself to see how slickly and accurately the gates engage. For me, a large part of the feel-good factor from the car came from the gear shifting experience. Given that the car has a peaky powerband, you need to use the gearbox quite a lot, and for once that is not a bad thing. Honda keeps its credentials as a fabulous engineering company with the Jazz.

Suspension and handling: The lilting tune

Firm yet pliant, the suspension of the Jazz makes sure that the sprightly nature of the car remains undisturbed. Mid-corner stability is fine, but we found the Jazz taking steady state corners in its stride much more easily as compared demanding switchbacks. It is not meant to be a corner carver, of course, but the wonderfully weighted steering wheel offers just enough assistance and feedback to make sure the car goes exactly where you want it to, even if you choose to correct course mid-corner.

Ride quality is supple, and the shock absorbers are very well damped. This translates into the real world as a comfortable ride over all sorts of surfaces, even the expressway concrete. The car does lose its composure a little once subjected to Pune-level potholes though, but through small bumps here and there, the car carries through untroubled.

Performance and the drive:

Getting the figures out of the way before anything, the Jazz did not deliver either class-busting performance or fuel efficiency in our test runs. It got to a 100 km/h from standstill in 17.67 seconds, wrapped up a quarter mile in 20-odd seconds and managed respectable roll-ons too. We had expected it to have more spunk given its light weight and the iVTEC engine. Even though acceleration is fine for the city, quick overtakes at highways are bound to stress the small engine out. The Jazz does manage to give decent fuel efficiency on the motorways though - amounting to about 17 kilometres to the litre. Liberal and varying use of the throttle in the city thanks to the 1.2-litre plant also seems to hurt its fuel efficiency in town - we pegged it at 11 kmpl.

The Jazz is par for the course as far as performance goes in terms of numbers, but numbers alone may not be able to do justice to the drive experience. What strikes with severity is how tight and compact the car feels from the driver's seat. I'm not talking only of dimensions - everything from steering feedback, precision of the foot controls, that fabulous shift action right up to the chassis feedback - the car just speaks to you all the time. The refinement only helps the sense of well being when inside the car. Match that with the airiness of the cabin and you have quite a delectable drive experience lined up.

Verdict:

We still remember the furor that the Jazz caused on our website thanks to its pricing. From accusing Honda of milking Indian masses to predictions of a sure-shot failure, our readers really went to town taking the Jazz down. MRP still takes the top spot of reference in the buying decision for most in our community, and justifiably so.

Aspirations and expectations apart, what exercises most strength over pricing is competition. Which brings me to my question - What else challenges the Jazz? The Hyundai i20 is the closest competitor offering similar performance, space and packaging, but it comes close on the price front too, and the Jazz is certainly a cooler, younger car. The Skoda Fabia scores over these two only in terms of build quality and potential handling, rendered almost useless by the underpowered engine.

Unless competition really threatens the Jazz, Honda frankly can demand any price that suits it with no consideration to what you and me expect. Those are the rules that the market plays by. And going by the bookings of the Jazz, the fact is set to prove itself - 3,500 cars booked within the first month. Clearly, there are enough who think the car offers good value for the stuff that it comes with.

There we have it then. Much like the form of music from which it borrows its name, the Honda Jazz is energetic, intelligent and prosperous, but at the same time retains the indigenous roots that are inherent to all hatchbacks. It is also an expensive past time, not for the real blue collar sorts, but does offer an equally rich and enriching experience to those who're up for it. Many of us may not be able to afford it, but really, is that the car's fault?