Honda’s 2025 Irish sales have already seen a 138 per cent increase over the whole of 2024, which augurs well for the rest of the year, especially with the approaching 252 registration plate on 1 July. While Honda’s HR-V is their biggest seller, it is closely followed by the fourth-generation Jazz small car.
Jazz is a small five-door hatchback manufactured by Honda since 2001 over four generations of the model and marketed worldwide. This supermini is known for its practicality, spaciousness (Jazz defies its small size as it is almost a mini MPV), and very good fuel efficiency particularly its hybrid powertrain.
Style-wise, the car is just over four metres long, has a clean profile with a lovely silhouette that’s aerodynamically efficient and looks very stylish. It is easy to get in and out of, which makes it practical for a family runabout and for senior citizens wishing to downsize. This was the Advance Sport version, which has a new grille design, front and rear bumper gloss black finishes, an aerodynamic rear spoiler, black door mirrors, and exclusively designed 16-inch alloy wheels.
The cabin is inviting and well thought-out with lovely materials. Key features for me were the far-forward windscreen with ultra-thin A-pillars and huge triangular A-pillar windows that allowed excellent front-side visibility, especially when approaching a roundabout or negotiating corners with kerbs in housing estates. The cabin was flooded with light, giving a lovely sense of spaciousness with all the glass.
Seats have anti-fatigue features that Honda says provide limousine-class levels of comfort, and indeed I found them to be extremely comfy. The front ones are manually adjusted and can be heated.
The free-standing 9-inch touchscreen with a smartphone-like display works with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, has a Garmin navigation system, and built-in apps; Honda Personal Assistant allows you to check the weather, find your favourite radio station, or choose a restaurant along your route. There’s a volume button on the side of the central screen and big knobs for temperature control, air direction, and fan. Your current speed is shown top centre with enlarged white numbers on the instrument cluster.
There are two USB ports, front and rear.
Storage areas include a wide centre armrest, two gloveboxes, and decent door bins. Both Jazz and HR-V come with rear Magic Seats (pictured up) that can be configured in several ways to accommodate boot space, which is 304 litres with all seats in use; they can be folded flat for extra load space, allowing a huge area for bulky items as they utilise the car’s full height from floor to ceiling. Just flick up seat cushions and pull down the levers to secure them in the upright position, leaving you with a boot capacity of 1,205 litres, comparable to many larger cars. Below the floor is a separate waterproof area for wet or mucky items. A niggle was the clarity of the reversing camera, which was not as good as I would have expected.
My car had regenerative braking and deceleration control paddles, sports pedals, Economy, Sport, and Normal drive modes.
Trims are Auto Elegance, Auto Advance, Auto Advance Sport and Auto Crossbar Advance. The entry Elegance grade includes 15-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, front and rear parking sensors, climate control air conditioning, Honda CONNECT, rear view camera, front and rear parking sensors. Advance moves to 16-inch alloys, adds privacy glass, water-repellent fabric upholstery, Garmin Navigation, 2 rear USB ports, and a heated steering wheel. The top Crosstar Advance trim, for outdoor families, has a tough, muscular style, raised ride height offering easier access and a more commanding view of the road ahead, integrated roof rails, and LED front fog lights.
My latest test drive was in the E-HEV petrol hybrid, only offered with a 122hp 1.5 engine matched to a CVT automatic transmission and a lithium-ion battery. This powertrain automatically selects from three drive modes: Electric, Hybrid, or Engine, to provide the best fuel return and low emissions. Jazz hybrid is an easy and fairly effortless car to drive, with plenty of oomph when needed. Torque is a big 253Nm to get you going. The car handles well like other Honda models. When appropriate, you can drive up to 80km/h in EV mode for fuel efficiency. Honda claims an impressive fuel economy of 4.6 L/100km. During my days with the car, I achieved 5.0 L/100km.
Honda Sensing technology includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot alerts with cross-traffic monitor - when reversing it can detect approaching vehicles from either side and warns you on the central screen - Collision Mitigation Braking System, and Intelligent Speed Limiter.
Jazz has achieved a five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP. Honda Ireland says the model is one of the safest cars in its class.
Prices are from €31,495. My Advance Sport €34,950. Prices exclude dealer delivery and related charges.
