2009 Honda Jazz First Steer
August 29, 2008 by David Twomey
Both VTi and VTi-S are available with five-speed manual transmission and Honda’s new five-speed automatic transmission, which also allows the driver to manually operate the gears via paddles on the steering wheel (VTi-S only).
While the second-generation Jazz retains the same suspension layout as the previous generation, (McPherson strut front and Torsion Beam rear for maximum packaging efficiency), Honda says significant improvements have been incorporated to enhance the overall ride quality, handling, agility and ultimately the driving experience.
We certainly found the car quieter to drive, and more responsive at the wheel thanks to the better resolved electric power steering.
Manoeuvring around inner suburban streets and coping with city traffic was a smooth and effortless affair, proving that in the real-world, which most Jazz owners will experience, the new car is “just fine”.
Inside there are retrimmed seats and a leather steering wheel, while cruise control is also standard on both VTi-S variants – the only model to get this licence-protecting ‘must have’ in these days of speed cameras saturated roads!
The new Jazz is longer (55mm) and wider (20mm) car, but no higher and delivers more space to the occupants of both rows, thanks to a 50mm longer wheelbase and a cabin width increase of 30mm. Honda claims rear knee room has been boosted 40mm and there is more foot-well space up front. The effective cabin width has been boosted to yield more than 40mm increase in shoulder room front and rear.
The front screen has been pushed forward 120mm and the quarter lights increased threefold in area. A-pillar’s that are 20mm thinner and revised external mirrors help increase visibility. Honda says rear sight lines, meantime, are improved by headrests that slide into the rear seatback.
The new Jazz is heavier, up to 50 kilograms in some models, but stiffer and stronger and Honda has confidently claimed that it will be five-star rated by EuroNCAP once it is tested.
The car cannot achieve a five-star rating from ANCAP until ESP is included in its specification.
Assistant chief engineer on the Jazz, Toshiyuki Harada, said that less than 10 percent of the old Jazz was carried over into the new car, which has better seats, four-wheel disc brakes, the previous model had drum brakes on the rear, and a myriad of other changes.
The Jazz is a major seller for Honda and Mr Smalley is predicting 12,000 a year will join our roads in the future.
Given the trend to smaller cars that we seem to have embraced with enthusiasm and the fact that while the Jazz retains its compact external dimensions while somehow enlarging the interior space there’s every reason to believe he will be more than right.
MY09 HONDA JAZZ PRICES
- Jazz GLi –five-speed manual $15,990
- Jazz GLi –five-speed automatic $17,990
- GLi Safety Pack – $1000
- Jazz VTi – five-speed manual $19,170
- Jazz VTi – five-speed automatic $21,490
- Jazz VTi-S – five-speed manual $21,590
- Jazz VTi-S five-speed automatic $23,920
As an owner of a Mazda 2 Genki with DSC the new Jazz has a huge hill to climb to catch up on the leading 3 as with the Yaris, Getz and the 2 streaking away…
Still would have purchased the 2 over the Jazz…
Id have to agree Ozmazdaclub.. Mazda; which is one of the smallest Japanese car manufacturers is making considerable ground on the “leaders” in almost every market that they’re in in Oz.
They offer a range of quality safe reliable cars at an affordable competitive price which have a long list of standard features – not to mention that compared to some of their current rivals [particularly in the small hatchback sector]Mazdas look more modern.
So Honda Australia believes that local customers prefer the driving experience of a full-automatic over the stepless approach of the CVT transmission. Well they didn’t ask me and CVT is soooooooooo smooth and has been proven to be more economical than standard auto transmissions. I like the new Jazz and was thinking of trading in until I found no CVT for Australia. I’ve averaged 5.1 L/100kms in the 3 yrs I’ve had my Jazz and in these times of high fuel prices one should save when and how one can. CVT is a way of doing so + plus driving style.
If ESP is the best auto safety invention since seatbelts at reducing death and serious injury then that means it’s better than airbags. There’s no way I’d by a car without airbags so…
It’s disappointing that we don’t get the more sophisticated engines/transmissions of other markets but it’s still better than the 4 speed autos most of the others manufacturers offer… and think they can charge an extra 2K for. It’s also a 20K car so how many buyers would be prepared to run it on premium if the better Euro/Jap engines were offered?
Jazz 2009 already won Japan Car of the Year award. All the really droolable bits are on Honda Japanese website.
Honda Australia has done a less than stellar job with specification and especially interiors for more than 20 years. Sad that we never get to see the best Honda can do.
New Zealand gets a lot more interesting Hondas than us because they get direct imports of second hand models. In part our puny market ADRs have a lot to answer for.
2010 should be a good year. Peter Costello for PM and Vehicle Stability Control for my New Honda Jazz. Meh, by then I will probably want something different anyhow.
..
… Well Done Honda! Congratulations.
I am going to buy a manual one. IMO this design sets the benchmark (again), no doubt other makers will be in tears. Other makers will be trying to copy elements of this design.
People crying about no ESP couldn’t drive a bayonet through a custard tart, never driven good distances over dirt roads and had to use their own skill and judgment. If you want a clutchless manual buy an auto. Others have to have auto windows as their spiny arms can’t do the winding. Some of you people are complete Drones.
One of my cars is a 2002 jazz and i adore the thing, just come back from an 850km round trip with 4 adults on board. used 6.0 l per 100kms at 100km and this includes dropping back a few gears to pass slower vehicles.
My only criticism of MY jazz is that its god awfully slow! BUT thats my fault for getting the 1.3L
would LOVE to upgrade to the new one, but cant justify the premium. looks like ill keep this one for many years to come!
OH and SAM
the old jazz’s auto wasnt actually a 7 speed auto at all
it was a one speed cvt with 7 fake shift points.
the new auto auctually has “five real gears”
i think honda went back to the traditional style auto as their cvt was known to have dramas.
and TODD
a fiesta? ford couldnt even manage to put carpet on the back of the back seats.
lots of cost cutting going on with the fiesta. Not a fan at all. its also very GETZ inside.
BUT bring on the next fiesta, its going to be a ripper!!
oh god 4 posts in a row ( last one sorry )
BILL
my jazz has 90 thousand kays on the clock now, and im not worried about it snapping a cam belt ( oooh astra ) and my original brake pads still have more than half left.
:)
I’m not a real city car fan, but I can’t see the real need for “6 speed autos” in a car that will virtually never see more than 60 km/h for 95% of it’s life – no big deal.
Similarly with the lack of ESP, shouldn’t matter for over 95% of it’s life, but that 5%……?
Anyway, I thought that ESP for new cars was going to be mandatory in Victoria from 2009. Can somebody confirm this?
Don’t these things sell well in Melbourne?
Thanks T.
I really love this little car. My only fair complaint it the VSC issue. Its not about being able to drive the thing like a race car. Its about being able to swerve to miss an accident or a Kangaroo or safely crossing that unexpected slippery spot in the middle of a corner without getting sideways or worse still careering off the road. Having driven a few cars with this technology I am completely sold on it. It saved my arse in a rented Maxima once. I remember the arguments about the effectiveness and ability of ABS way back in 1985 as Mercedes introduced it as standard on some of their popular models. Now every car basically has it. Hopefully VSC will go the same way.
Looks a little Mercedes A-class to me, which is not a bad thing.
Looks better than the old one and if is an improvement over all it should be a great little car as the old one was and still is.
No ESP is a disappointment, hopefully it will be added later. I know that’s the one feature my current car does not have, a sore point…..I hope I never need it!
One of my co-workers brought the Jazz when it was Jap built (paid a bit for it too). Honda then relocated production to thailand and drop the price. Great for new car buyers (if you can live with a slight drop in overall fit and finish) but a pain in the proverbial for anyone who paid full price for the original.
I would envisage now, that there will be people all for the CVT over a traditional auto and Honda will be in the same boat as before.
So….Honda should have spent the money re-tooling for traditional auto’s on maybe the ESP that everybody above is so hung up about.
This Honda is far and away better than anything in this class by Toyota……….FAR FAR BETTER !!!
The Jazz is a nice little car…but no ESP is a massive let down (as it is with Corolla) and that dash is certainly interesting.
I remember people were complaining about the CVT on the original Jazz saying it was gimmicky and people wanted real gears. Now that they’ve reverted back to a improved ‘normal’ AT, people complain again. Can’t please everyone can you?
Wanted to buy old Jazz, but decided to wait for the new one, especially for improved fuel consumption and properly designed suspension. Fuel consumption is actually worse than in the old one, I don’t like the new look and I’m disappointed that there is no CVT and ESP. The price is also badly pitched. VTi is a redundant model. Honda Australia FAILED!!!
However their failure did not sink the Jazz. It only brough him closer to the competion. Jazz has still powerful features worthwile considering. Magic Seats, Nearly Right Angle Rear Door Opening, Improved Seat Quality, Even 1.3 GLi Auto accelerates with ease from 100 to 120.
After long deliberation I got him hoping that the official fuel consumption is a mistake and that ESP will be offered free once it arrives – “The Power of Dreams”.
JAZZ – wounded – but still a Winner!!!
nice! :)
Looks good..but too expensive…
At that price, I would rather go for i30 CRD auto. End of story.
Yeah I bought a Jazz for my business but a 2008 VTis auto with CVT at the beginning of the year. I’ve owned & driven many “performance” cars over the years but the Jazz is still quite special in its own way. Hey a Jazz will beat a V8 Engined Corvette through a 100M slalom so its got some sweet handling. That said, the old model suffered from too little suspension travel, CVT was good once moving but took some time to “wind up” from a standstill making finding that gap to merge into trafic tricky. That said, I rather the CVT than the tradtional auto. I sold a high powered manual V8 to get into the Jazz so appreciate what Honda are trying to do.
This is where Honda have it wrong for the new model: No Bluetooth standard – this is a no brainer guys, the chip costs a few bucks but differntiates the car from the rest of the pack. The number of guys I spoke to who bought a Mitsubishi Triton ute because it had std bluetooth is unbelieveable. It’s a dealbreaker – which young guy or girl doesn’t have a bluetooth enabled phone these days ?
Second – dress up the VTiS with a decent body kit – it looks really boring, even mine looks sportier than the new one. Check the Mugen stuff out and even offer it thru the dealerships like Subaru does with STi gear. Here’s the big one – the dealers need to be more proactive with the existing customer base. I heard nothing from my dealer about the new car or other new launches this year even though he knows I run a fleet and maybe interested in replacing. This is a no brainer too for Honda Australia – it costs much less to sell to your existing base than advertising to convert customers who have previously bought other brands. Well that’s my rant – time to get on with it. I’ll look at upgrading in 4 yrs time once the new Jazz gets these items we spoke about. Unfortunately I feel it will be less about Honda taking the initiative & doing it but more about palying catchup to Mazda & Toyota as they are the first to do it.
Tested one today. It’s a fun little car but a bit costly for it’s size. The magic seat is a good idea but I ask my self how many times I’ll need to carry something that only fits on the rear floor.
I was thinking about replacing my 2005 VTi-S with the new Jazz, but standard auto? I chose the current car only because of the CVT. That’s not the problem, but I find the flimsy excuses for cutting cost an insult to my intelligent as a potential customer.
No CVT, no ESP, no moonroof, no nav system (all the stuff you’d get on the car in Japan, even as options) or even a bracket to covert the head unit back to standard double DIN (as an extra paid for item)… It’s deeply frustrating that Honda Aust management is so focused on their cost figures above all else. I find it hard to have any product loyalty for them.
I’ve noticed how Honda seem to be using intertextuallity for their Jazz ads. I remember the ad for the previous model Jazz, it seemed to a be mock of some kid’s show and now I’ve seen a new Jazz ad recently where its plot has significant resemblance to a Chevrolet ad from the 1950s. Exempt of course, the Jazz ad is animated while the Chevy ad isn’t and the cars aren’t living on the Chevrolet ad like the Jazz ad.
What they have done is set the Honda Jazz ad in London instead of Paris where the Chevy was set and they both seem to have similar camera angles from the air….Hmm.
*Except of course^ Not “Exempt”
I bought the new JAzz two weeks ago. The car is excellent and far better than corolla and mazda 2. We did test drive of these other two models before purchasing and the difference is amazing. Well done honda!
I am constantly amazed at how good the Australian driving public is, especially those who don’t believe that stability control helps them.
Nearly every person who doesn’t believe in stability control believes that they can control a car in every circumstance. Half the wheels on a bitumen road, the other half on gravel, for example. Swerving to avoid someone or something on the road. (Yes, stability control won’t help in every circumstance, but it helps in most).
So, do these same people have no ABS brakes, because they can brake better than ABS? No airbags, because they are that good at driving?
I’d prefer to avoid an accident, rather than have one, and stability control helps in keeping the odds in my favour. Stability control is being mandated by the United Nations, as it is that useful in reducing the road toll.
Get a grip of yourselves, or are you already doing that….
I love my new Jazz 1.5 VTI Manual.
It’s very smooth and sooooooo economical.
I’ve just noticed a strange running liquid noise, almost like a drain pipe, from the engine when I rev it though. Does anyone know what the heck that is?
I don’t know why people are banging on about torque and horse power when your talking about a little hatch, you buy a car like this for ecconomy and so you can carry more than a sedan, plus its incredibly reliable and has a great interior for the price.
Was on the haonda stand at the MMS and happened to run into a haonda dude employee who does their engineering.
VSC is on the way for the Jazz, *About* May this year
Cheers
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