You might not know it but you’re looking at the best-selling Honda in the UK.
The Jazz has been an under-the-radar success story for a few years now, quietly racking up huge numbers of followers.
Now Honda have jazzed (sorry) the car up for 2011, with a range of styling and technical changes to bring the car up to date.
The exterior has been tinkered with, making the car better looking and more aerodynamic, which in turn improves fuel economy. They’ve also added a hybrid version, which might draw in younger, more environmentally conscious buyers.
For a supermini, it’s astonishingly spacious. There’s acres of head and legroom. I’m 6ft 5in and even with the front seat cranked fully back I could still occupy the rear driver’s side seat in reasonable comfort. I can’t think of a single other car this size I could do that in.
It’ll take four six-foot adults easily and things only get a bit tight if you try to cram three people in the back, when width becomes a bit of an issue. The rear seats slide forward and back so you can compromise in favour of leg room or luggage space.
Even with the rear seats fully back there’s still plenty of luggage room, and if you fold the seats flat and fill it to the roofline there’s a van-like 1320 litres of volume.
The Jazz range starts at £11,295 for the 1.2 litre petrol version, which I drove on a 250-mile trip from Northern Ireland to Dundee. The addition of metallic paint and air con brought the car’s price to a still reasonable £12,435.
With just 1200cc under the bonnet, the 1.2 litre Jazz isn’t going to beat any hot hatches away from the lights, but 0-62mph in 12.5 seconds is respectable and it feels quite zippy. Fuel economy is a handy 53.3mpg.
I also drove the hybrid version, which combines a 1.3 litre petrol unit and an electric motor. It sprints to 62mph slightly faster than the 1.2, and manages 62.8mpg and emits 104g/km of CO2.
These figures are slightly disappointing in that it’s one of the few hybrids not to emit less than 100g/km and slip into the road tax-free zone — though at £35 a year it shouldn’t break the bank.
The Hybrid starts at £15,995, which is decent value compared to other hybrid cars, but a lot more than a basic Jazz.
For those who want a bit more poke but aren’t as keen on spending £16,000, the Jazz has a third powerplant, there’s a 1.4 litre petrol that costs from around £13,400.
The standard five speed gearbox on the 1.2 is an easy, quick shifting unit. Wisely, Honda have replaced the clunky and unloved old i-Shift automatic system with a much better CVT (continuously variable transmission) unit.
On the road, the little Jazz is surprisingly good. The suspension coped with everything the Irish and Scottish roads could throw at it, and on the tight, winding turns of the County Antrim coastal road it proved to be nimble and sure footed.
There’s a little road noise but very little wind noise considering it’s quite a tall car. Even after four hours’ solid driving, I didn’t feel tired or saddle sore.
Thanks to a large windscreen and rear window, the interior is bright and airy, and Honda have upped the quality of the trim, with even basic versions having a more upmarket feel than before.
So it’s good to drive, decent to look at and good value for money.
But the most impressive thing about the Jazz remains its Tardis quality. The only other car I’ve driven whose internal space belies its external size is the much bigger and more expensive Skoda Superb.
Price: around £12,435.0-62mph: 12.5sec.Top speed: 110mph. Economy: 53.3mpg. CO2 emissions: 123g/km.