2018 Honda Jazz vs 2017

What's the difference?

The Honda Jazz is an extremely capable small car, with an ace card of virtually unbeatable interior space. While it's hardly an excitement machine, or the best looking or equipped in its class (it is missing out on some useful safety gear), the Jazz deserves its status as a well-loved hatchback.

The best in the range is probably the VTi. There isn't anything compelling further up the variants unless you're keen on bigger wheels or leather trim. Its entry-level offering is a good-value, sturdy car that is packed with its best qualities, no matter which one you buy.

The MY18 Jazz was a pleasant surprise. There was little wrong with the previous edition and, truth be told, I'd have probably thought a manual one of those was good fun, too. The surprising spec inclusions are most welcome - those LED headlights kick the dark's butt - but really, it's a car that can carry four grown-ups and/or weird cargo in genuine comfort. Nothing else in the class can manage that.

The Jazz's exterior design is instantly recognisable. The shape has been roughly the same since the car's 2002 debut, with the mildest evolution over the years. The 2018 Jazz leads with the chin a bit, with a pronounced underbite and when fitted with a chrome grille, it looks a bit like the giant Jaws from James Bond after whacking his head.

Apart from that, the slimmed headlights and one-box body shape are almost entirely inoffensive, save for the chunky, stacked rear lights.

When you head inside it's a simple, basic interior. Well put together, it's easy to find your way around and, because there isn't much happening in here, it's unlikely you'll need the owner's manual, unless you want to identify and use every single deployment of the excellent Magic Seats in the back.

As you climb the range, you'll start to see body-kit additions like a rear spoiler and side skirts, but nothing particularly racy.

The Jazz has, happily, evolved its design over the years. At first it was like a mini Rice Bubble-era Toyota Tarago and today it's still very much a mini Rice Bubble-era Tarago, but now it's slightly bigger. 

Honda's quirky design bods were in a strange mood around the time of this generation's conception and while the front end is fairly tame and contemporary - if a bit bulgy - the side view is characterised by a deep gash in the side of the car that runs to the taillights and then hooks down, leaving a space where you could snap a hockey stick into the side for storage. It calms down again at the back, with tall stacked tail-lights and a broad tailgate.

Inside, things are fairly tame, with dark grey plastics that are lifted by brushed aluminium-look trim around the dashboard-mounted air vents. It's not bang up to date like the HR-V, Civic and new CR-V, but it's perfectly inoffensive. In fact, it feels like a more expensive car, although that is getting harder to say these days - the Mazda2 has is a pretty plush interior for similar money while both are miles ahead of the Hyundai Accent.

The interior is full of cleverness packed into a small space. The centre console has two cup holders, a space for your phone and a compartmentalised open tray reachable by both front and rear-seat passengers. A third cupholder folds out of the dash on the driver's side. The back seat doesn't have any cupholders, unfortunately, and nor is there a centre armrest.

Rear legroom is impressive for such a small car - it's no wonder the HR-V compact SUV was spun off the Jazz platform. Added to that are the excellent 'Magic Seats', which fold in a variety of ways to increase the boot space dimensions from 354 litres to 1314 litres.

Luggage capacity is not bad for such a small car and with the flexible interior, the boot size goes up by four times in volume. This is one area in which it really does outdo the  Mazda2. The removable cargo cover means you can get a decent chest of drawers in, however there's a bit of a drop once you get things over the loading lip.

You can also fold the seat bases up and out of the way to provide space for shrubbery, or a dog, or an awkward flat pack. 

The basic VTi misses out on a bit of storage, namely the centre console storage box and driver's side seatback pocket, but the rest of the range has them both.

The space inside the Jazz is extraordinary for such a small car. Back-seat passengers in its immediate competition - Mazda2 and Hyundai Accent - could only dream of the kind of legroom enjoyed in the Honda. Behind my driving position there's still tonnes of room, and I'm just shy of 180cm.

As ever, the interior is full of clever details, packed into a small space. The centre console holds two cupholders, a tray for your phone and a compartmentalised open tray reachable by both front and rear seat passengers. A third cupholder folds out of the dash on the driver's side. The back seat doesn't have any cupholders, unfortunately, and nor is there a centre armrest.

The Jazz is the home of the Magic Seats. The rears are split 60/40 and flop forward to create a near-flat load space. Pull them back up and you can fold the seat squabs up, clearing the way for items you'd rather not rattle around in the boot or that need that extra headroom (say, a tall plant or a flat pack that won't lie... flat. Or a dog). They're very clever and nobody else has them.

Boot space is impressive for a small car at 354 litres. Folding the seats yields a jump to 1314 litres. Enormous. By comparison the 2 is a titchy 250 litres and the rather bigger (and older and less capable, etc) Accent just shades it at 370 litres seats-up.

The basic car in the three-tier range is the VTi. If you're happy to change gears yourself, you can get your backside into a Jazz for just $14,990. There aren't many cars cheaper than that, and there are fewer still that are worth buying, and none that come with solid, Honda engineering.

The modest specification includes 15-inch alloy wheels, cruise control,  a four-speaker stereo with Bluetooth and USB, air-conditioning, power windows and mirrors, reversing camera, remote central locking, LED headlights, rear parking sensors with dash display and a space-saver spare.

You can see a couple of surprise and delight features there - LED headlights at this level are practically unheard of.

The four-speaker stereo is tinny but otherwise fine. The small touchscreen is reasonably snappy but the underlying software is a bit of a lame duck - it looks really old. Much like its compatriots at Toyota, Honda's head unit looks like an off-the-shelf job, with the USB port hidden under an ugly cover. It's a bit low-rent in an otherwise excellent cabin.

All Jazzes are powered by Honda's 1.5-litre single-cam four-cylinder. The engine specs don't make for inspiring reading, with just 88kW and 145Nm. That's not a lot of horsepower, but when you consider the weight of the car, the figures don't look so weedy.

Power goes to the front wheels, so the Jazz is definitely not an off-road proposition.

Only the base model VTi has a choice of manual vs automatic, with a five-speed manual transmission and a CVT auto to choose from.

As to the question of timing belt or chain, the Jazz has the latter, so you don't have to worry about a belt change. The oil type is 5W-30

There is no diesel option, so there'll be no diesel vs petrol argument. Nor is there an EV or plug-in hybrid - with a battery, it's unlikely you'd have much boot space left. There isn't an LPG, 4x4, or AWD version either.

If you can be bothered fitting a towbar, the manual's towing capacity is 1000kg braked while the CVT's load capacity drops to 850kg. Both transmissions will haul 450kg unbraked.

Under the diving bonnet is Honda's 1.5-litre single-cam four cylinder producing 88kW and 145Nm. Weighing just 1095kg, those numbers aren't bad at all. The five-speed manual feeds the power to the front wheels.

Fuel figures are slightly different, depending on the gearbox you've chosen. Honda claims you'll get 6.5L/100km on the combined cycle in a manual while the CVT uses a bit less, coming in at 5.9L/100km. So fuel consumption km/L works out at about 15km/L for the five speed and 17.km/L in the CVT.

Real-world consumption is a little different, however. Our most recent test with the manual yielded 8.0L/100km while the CVT chugged down 8.2L/100km. Having said that, you'll see better fuel economy figures in the manual if, as I admitted in my VTi review, you don't drive it enthusiastically. The CVT was a bit disappointing because I was a lot more sedate in that one and it didn't deliver better mileage than the manual.

Fuel-tank capacity is 40 litres.

Honda claims a combined cycle figure of 5.3L/100km.

I got an indicated 8.0L/100km, which shouldn't bother you - I really gave it some stick because I seriously enjoyed driving the manual. Careful driving will yield better results. Incidentally, 8.0L/100km is very close to the claimed urban figure, which is where this car spent most of its time.

The Jazz has always been a comfortable, easygoing car with performance figures to match. Its 0-100km/h acceleration is best described as leisurely, so if it's speed your after, this car isn't for you.

That said, the manual VTi is terrific fun to drive. Switch to the CVT, however, and the Jazz's reputation is restored. A good ride for front-seat passengers comes from McPherson struts up front while the rear suspension is by torsion beams, meaning rear-seat occupants can get a few shocks over bumps.

Road noise is a little higher than you might expect, but that's probably a combination of tyres and a commitment to lightness.

Obviously, being such a small car, manouverability is a key advantage. The turning radius is 5.2m, which is good but not super tight and the light, electric power steering makes dodging about easy. It certainly doesn't feel like it's on rails, but that's hardly what a car with a such a small engine size is about.

Ground clearance is 137mm, which is reasonable but jumping gutters is not advised.

In the base manual, you have a five-speed with a light clutch and an easy shift. For a motor missing out on a second cam, let alone a turbo, progress is swift rather than exciting, the engine droning away with a relaxed air. The CVT has an eco mode, which further blunts performance, but a ring of light around speedo glows green if you're behaving yourself.

If you asked me which car, in all the world, would I least expect to be good fun to drive, I wouldn't immediately say the Jazz, but it would have been in the mix. But it turns out it shouldn't be, because in this rarely purchased manual guise, it's terrific fun. 

The view out front is great. In fact, the view everywhere is terrific - from the inside the Jazz almost feels like it's more glass than metal, but not in a way that makes you feel unsafe. Like its HR-V twin under the skin (yes, it's more Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger twins, but they are actually related), the windscreen is gigantic but the Jazz also has those little three-quarter windows over the front wheels. Allied with its size, it's an absurdly easy car to manoeuvre.

The engine is pretty vocal, sure, and it's only going to ironically earn the nickname "The Beast", the Jazz is really rather handy. The controls are light, from clutch to gear throw, with steering that's just right to keep up with the limited grip from the front wheels. 

The ride is quite impressive, at least for front-seat passengers - rear passengers  won't be so happy with the torsion beams banging over speed humps. Body roll isn't a concern, but nor is it flat through the turns. It's the sort of car you lean into, like an old Mini.

It's a noisy thing, though. The engine is quite gravelly and there's a fair bit of road noise in the cabin. The weak stereo doesn't really cover the racket, either. On smooth surfaces there's a smidge of wind noise, so a long trip should be okay. It's way more fun than the CVT auto, though, so save yourself the $2000 and enjoy an excellent manual experience.

Honda fits six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, brake assist, brake force distribution, (grainy) reversing camera and hill hold. There are three top-tether baby seat anchors.

ANCAP awarded the Jazz five stars in 2015, the highest available.

Absent is the identically priced Mazda2 Neo's forward autonomous emergency braking and two ISOFIX points.

Honda's standard five year/unlimited kilometre warranty also comes with capped-price servicing for the first five years or 10 services, whichever comes first. Service intervals are every 10,000km or six months. 

Up to 30,000km you won't have any extras but once you hit 40,000km you'll have to do the brake fluid, which is a reaonable $144 extra. Your service cost structure is otherwise simple - $259 for odd numbers and $297 for even.

Many people ask where the Honda Jazz is built, and the answer to that is "not Japan", or in Honda's Thailand plant.

Second-hand values appear strong, with around 60 percent of value retained after three years. Resale value is something of a Honda strength, which is probably to do with a lack of high-profile reliability issues.

A dip into the usual internet forums yields little in the way of common faults, problems, complaints or issues for the Jazz. Some look for automatic transmission problems, others for manual gearbox problems, but the current Jazz seems quite clear of defects in Australian-delivered cars.

Honda offers a generous five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty on all its models. Service pricing is capped for the first five years or 10 services, whichever you reach first. Costs bounce between $259 and $297, with the website listing additional items you might need, such as brake fluid (every two years, $40 extra) or various filters. The manual costs the same to service as the CVT auto.