Honda Jazz makes sweet music

In the last category one of my favourites came from the mouth of music maestro Count Basie who said of jazz: “If you play a tune and a person don't tap their feet, don't play the tune…”

A good description of the music genre, although it won't win any prizes for correct grammar!

Versatile seating, cocky good looks and nippy performance make for a great little car.

Duke Ellington summed jazz up nicely with: “By and large, jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn't want your daughter to associate with.”

John Philip Sousa said: “Jazz will endure just as long as people hear it through their feet instead of their brains.”

But it's Ella Fitzgerald's famous saying that not only applies to jazz music, but also to the new Honda Jazz: “It isn't where you came from; it's where you're going that counts.”

Just right for the Duke's daughter

And this is spot-on when you are travelling in the latest stubby-nosed little Honda.

In fact, when it comes to this cool Jazz even Duke Ellington wouldn't have minded if his daughter associated with a man who owns one.

Just looking at the Honda's versatile seating, cocky good looks, nippy performance and impressive specifications I'm sure he would be more than happy.

A particularly handy feature of the car is its doors which open in three stages, from 35 to 80 degrees.

Just as I was when I recently spent a few weeks criss-crossing the Boland in a flame-red Jazz EX-S, often packed to the roof with fruit, food, people and cases of wine.

There certainly is much to like about the Jazz, from its zippy 16-valve SOH i-VTEC 1,5 litre fuel injected engine and amazingly practical and flexible seating and packing configurations, to its classy good looks and expansive panoramic roof.

An enthusiastic little drive

The Jazz has an appealing cocky arrogance about it, similar to that of a big-dog-in-a-small-body Jack Russell.

It's easy to understand why it has been such a good seller from the day it was launched in South Africa.

One of the most likeable features of the Jazz is the enthusiasm with which it gallops along on motorways (even fully-loaded) and its practicality in tight city confines.

It's an easy car to drive and even easier to pack and park. Thanks to its short nose and compact derriere it can turn on a proverbial tickey and slot into the tightest parking spaces.

A wide opening tailgate makes loading and unloading a pleasure.

A wide opening tailgate makes loading and unloading a pleasure - just one flick of a lever and the seats fold flat. The front passenger seat also fully reclines so that the Jazz can accommodate items as long as 2,4 m.

A particularly handy feature of the car is its doors which open in three stages, from 35 to 80 degrees. Why don't more manufacturers do this? Just think of the nicks and scratches it prevents in packed supermarket parking lots.

Room for a few bags and all that jazz

The Jazz has enough space inside for big items such as a mountain bike, plus a golf bag and cart and overnight bags, a suitcase and a case of wine or two.

The cabin is bright and airy with great all round views. A large panoramic roof, big windows and reduced pillars make the Jazz seem much bigger on the inside.

The large panoramic roof, big windows and reduced pillars make the Jazz seem much bigger on the inside.

To add to the fun of going places in the Jazz its cabin lay-out is funky and friendly with a super four-speaker sound system (with all the electronic plug-ins you can think of), automatic climate control, a glove box with an adjustable refrigeration vent, multi-function steering wheel, electronic sliding sunroof, and power windows and mirrors, fully adjustable steering wheel….. the list just goes on and on.

Safety features are plentiful and include dual front, side and curtain airbags, ISOFIX child seat anchors, selective locking, anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), fog lights, alarm and immobiliser.

Funky, flighty, and fog lights too

The bright and airy living quarters are tastefully decorated with lots of metal bits on the steering wheel and around the radio/CD (positioned conveniently in the centre of the console so that the front passenger can fiddle without distracting the driver), and on the rims of the gauges directly in front of the driver.

To add to its funky looks the Jazz brags with 16 inch alloys, fog lights, a bee-sting aerial, a nifty tapered roof and LED rear lights.

The sideview shows off the snubby nose to perfection.

Factor in Honda's renowned superior build quality and you have a sexy town and country car way ahead of its closest competitors. In fact, it boasts with features that would put quite a few more expensive cars to shame.

And we haven't even mentioned its good road manners and willingness to trot yet.

Our test car was the Jazz EX-S manual, the quickest off the mark of the six models in the Jazz range with a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 9,5 seconds.

The stubby little gear lever slices easily through the five-speed box and the Jazz will gallop all the way to about 189 km/h, even with a full quota of passengers and cargo.

The EX-S is shod with 16-inch 6J 185/55R16 rubber wrapped around attractive sporty alloys which gives it impressive tarmac cling.

The radio/CD (positioned conveniently in the centre of the console.click to enlarge

The ride is firm without being harsh and it feels nicely settled on the road, even when pushed through the twisties. Not even a screeching Cape South-Easter could unsettle it on the lovely stretch of coast-line between Gordon's Bay and Hermanus.

To top it all, the Jazz is exceptionally wallet-friendly when it comes to gurgling expensive fore-court juice. Our test car used only about 6,6 litres per 100 km during a combination of city and country driving.

And the cost?

The EX-S sells for R187 900 and the automatic for R199 900. The two 1,3-litre models are priced at R166 900 for the manual and R178 900 for the automatic.

The prices include a three-year/100 000 km warranty and four-year/60 000 km service plan.

If you are in the market for a vehicle in this segment you should also go for a spin in the Toyota Yaris, Daihatsu Materia, Mazda2, Hyundai i20 and Ford Fiesta - no doubt you will find the comparisons very interesting.