Ford Focus vs Honda Jazz

What's the difference?

Ford's small hatch, the Focus, is criminally under-bought in Australia. The latest model is  one of the best hatchbacks on the road and when you chuck in the decent price, impressive equipment and absurdly powerful engine for its size, it's a winner.

But you lot? You don't buy it in nearly the kinds of numbers it deserves. Partly because there isn't a bait-and-upsell boggo model to lure you in, partly because it's got a badge that is not exciting Australians any more and partly because it's not a compact SUV.

Or is(n't) it? Because alongside the ST-Line warm hatch is the identically priced and therefore technically a co-entry level model; the Focus Active. Slightly higher, with plastic cladding, drive modes and a conspicuous L on the transmission shifter, it's a little bit SUV, right?

Honda's Jazz is like the little engine that could.

It occupies a shrinking part of the market but has seen off a bevy of once-were competitors (most notably the Hyundai i20) and continues to battle gamely with the Mazda2.

Honda gave the range a little tweak in late 2017 to hand us the MY18 Honda Jazz. Some features were lost, and a few gained in an effort to keep up with Mazda's finest.