- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.5i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
88kW, 145Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 5.8L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto (CVT)
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2016 Honda Jazz VTi-S review: Long-term report six – farewell
So that’s it – goodbye, farewell, and we’ll miss you to the 2016 Honda Jazz VTi-S.
It has been an ideal city car, a perfectly practical runabout that served its time with our staff without hassle, with plenty of colour and fun.
Plenty of the CarAdvice team spent time with the Jazz, whether it was just running home and back, or out to meetings, or taking it away for the weekend – it saw plenty of love during its time with us.
It racked up a decent kilometre tally over the three months we had it, too: we did 2705km in the Honda city car over the three months we owned it, and our average fuel use over that time ended up tallying at 7.5 litres per 100 kilometres (the claim is 5.8L/100km). That’s not bad considering its principal use was around town, ferrying members of staff between their house and the office in Sydney’s famed free-flowing traffic…
We had a few questions from readers over the period of the loan we figured we should answer, too. So here goes:
- @ceejaybee – we didn’t have any issues with the driver’s door on our car. If you are having problems with any aspect of the car and it's still under warranty (or even if it isn’t) you should contact a Honda dealership to see if they can help
- @Ted – yeah, we’d like the EarthDreams 1.5-litre engine with 97kW and 155Nm like they get in New Zealand, too!
- @OpinionsByRob – we found the quality to be quite good. The panel gaps and finishes inside were all of a “Japanese” standard
- @ anyone who mentioned the smaller screen size – they say size isn’t everything…
We put the Jazz against a newer rival, the Suzuki Baleno, which has a more up-to-date infotainment system and a higher-tech turbocharged engine, but the Jazz came out on top primarily because of its superior practicality and city-friendly manners.
The current Jazz has been around since 2014, and while it has been updated (including the revised media system for 2017 models), it must be due for a more significant update soon. We hope any revamped version of the Jazz can retain the pragmatism of the current version, but bring it up to speed with the best in class where it currently falls short.
That means, ideally, it would have a peppier turbocharged engine, better high-speed road holding, and a new media system (the CarPlay-equipped touch unit in the Civic would have been a nicer upgrade than the one they put in the 2017 model…).
If it can tick those boxes it may win over more buyers. As it stands, it remains a very strong and decently rounded city car in a highly competitive class.
If you need space more than pace and interior smarts more than swanky styling, you seriously need to consider a Honda Jazz.
More: Honda Jazz long-term report one – introduction
More: Honda Jazz long-term report two – infotainment
More: Honda Jazz long-term report three – interior
More: Honda Jazz long-term report four – urban driving
More: Honda Jazz long-term report five – highway and country driving