What's the used Honda Jazz hatchback like?

There are plenty of small cars for sale, Johanessburg especially, that are more stylish or better to drive, but none are more practical than the Honda Jazz.

Its boot is larger than that of a Ford Focus, despite the Jazz being shorter than a Fiesta. What’s more, a series of flaps let you divide up the space to stop smaller luggage sliding around, and there’s a suspended net for loose items.

The cleverness doesn’t stop there. The rear seats cantilever down when you lower the backrests so they lie completely flat. Or alternatively, you can flip the bases up, like cinema seats, to fit bikes or other large items across the car.

When the rear seats are in place, a six-foot passenger can sit behind a similar-sized driver without their knees touching the seat in front. All the seats are also mounted higher than they are in most small hatchbacks for sale to make it easier to get in and out.

Light steering makes the Honda Jazz pretty effortless to drive in town. However, the firm suspension jostles you and your passengers around. True, comfort improves with speed, but there’s so much wind noise at 70mph that you can hear little else.

Ownership cost

What used Honda Jazz hatchback will I get for my budget?

Yes, this Jazzy car is very reasonably priced by Group 1 Cars - find out more on their site.

How much does it cost to run a Honda Jazz hatchback?

The 1.2- and 1.4-litre petrols average about 50mpg in official tests, while the hybrid manages 62.8mpg. However, the petrols both need to be revved quite hard, while the hybrid rarely switches into electric mode, so in the real world you’ll struggle to get within 10mpg of the official figures no matter which engine you choose.

The same is true of rivals, such as the Nissan Note and Citroen C3 Picasso, although unlike the Jazz, these are available as diesels, which offer improved fuel economy, particularly on the motorway.

Road tax bills will be small no matter which Jazz you choose, with the hybrid costing just £10 a year. Servicing isn’t that expensive, eitherm despite Honda dealers having a strong reputation for customer care and quality.

Insurance is expensive compared with rivals, though. The 1.2-litre models are in group 13-14, while the hybrid is in group 16 and the 1.4s are rated at 16-19.

What should I look for in a used Honda Jazz hatchback?

Honda Jazz owners tend to take care of their cars, but it’s worth looking for parking damage, such as scuffed alloy wheels and uneven front tyre wear.

The Jazz was given a mid-life refresh in 2011, which brought smarter headlights, subtly reshaped bumpers and small improvements in fuel economy. More significantly, the suspension and steering were tweaked to make the ride slightly softer and the handling a little more reassuring.

It's a mark of the Jazz's durability that there are few negative comments from owners. Make sure you buy a car with complete service history, though.

A vehicle history check will show if there's any outstanding finance and if the car has been written off in an accident and then put back on the road.

Is a used Honda Jazz hatchback reliable?

The Honda Jazz gets through wiper blades and brake pads slightly quicker than most small cars, with these items typically needing to be replaced every 26,000 and 30,000 miles respectively.

However, it’s lighter than average on brake discs, bulbs, brake fluid and pollen filters, according to data from CAP Derwent, a scheme which pools repair information from some of the UK’s biggest vehicle leasing firms to predict when parts will need to be replaced.

The data also shows that it’s typically more than 100,000 miles before expensive items, such as the engine, gearbox, clutch or air conditioning need to be repaired.

This comes as no surprise given that the Jazz topped the What Car? Reliability Survey in 2015; this survey also showed that it has reasonable average repair costs.

Which used Honda Jazz hatchback should I buy?

The 1.2-litre petrol engine feels underpowered, so it’s worth spending a little more to get the 1.4-litre.

Both came with a five-speed manual gearbox as standard, while the alternative when the car first went on sale was Honda’s i-Shift automatic gearbox, which is best avoided because it causes the car to lurch disconcertingly whenever it changes up.

Fortunately, Honda dropped the iShift in favour of its CVT-7 auto gearbox in February 2011; this is much smoother, even if it does let the engine get raucous under hard acceleration.

A petrol-electric hybrid was added to the range at the same time, and this gets the CVT-7 gearbox as standard.

Article source: https://usedcarchat.blogspot.com/2020/01/used-honda-jazz-2008-2015-review.html