The all-new Honda Jazz is finally here and it looks quite cute, gets brand new interiors with lots of features and gets a new dual-motor hybrid system as well.
Honda has finally unveiled the forth-generation Jazz at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. And while the Jazz will miss a preview at the 2020 Auto Expo, Honda is expected to bring this premium hatchback in India by mid-2020. Let’s look up the new Honda Jazz in a little more detail.
The design certainly has to be a talking point. The most noticeable change is the new face which is surprisingly devoid of chrome. The bonnet swoops down abruptly to make for a body-colored grille, housing the Honda badge. The bumpers down below have also been completely redesigned and feature new fog lamp housings. The headlamps are also completely new with unique LED DRLs and it gives the Jazz a rather cute look up front.
On the sides, the new model still retains some its predecessor’s basic design cues, with the mono-volume, almost MPV-like profile, and a rising window-line with a prominent kink at the start of the front door. The rear end of the car is very neat and features new LED tail lamps. Also, the way the end of the window line meets the tail lampm makes for a very nice design element. The new car looks fresh yet it unmistakably remains a Jazz. The upright profile and tall glasshouse still remains the characterizing design element of the Jazz.
This is also the first time we got a look at the cabin of the all-new Jazz. And it seems to be huge step up from the previous generation. The dashboard design is all new and features a new floating touchscreen infotainment system, flanked by the AC vents on either side. The climate control stack sits below and the Jazz gets new rotary dials for the controls. The central console has been completely redesigned as well.
The interiors of the Jazz come draped in a two-tone color scheme, although it remains to be seen what is offered on the India-spec model. It also gets a brand new two-spoke steering wheel and an all-digital instrument cluster. The design is very fresh and it improves on the ergonomics as well. It will also be much more feature loaded than its previous generation. The Jazz is also the first of the brand’s cars to get the new Honda Connect on-board connectivity suite that allows users to control the climate control system remotely, check the location of the parked car and more.
Another major talking point of the new Jazz is the dual-motor hybrid system. A similar hybrid setup is also found in the Honda CR-V hybrid sold internationally. In the Jazz, the hybrid system comes paired with a 1.5 liter petrol engine. There’s also another 1.0 liter turbo-petrol engine which develops about 125bhp. Honda hasn’t revealed any technical specifications, performance or fuel efficiency figures of the new Jazz yet. However, Honda says the powertrain “provides an exceptional blend of strong and effortless driving performance and impressive fuel economy”.
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Back home, the 89PS 1.2-litre i-VTEC engine and the 100PS 1.5-litre i-DTEC engine is expected to be mainstay for the new Jazz. However, whether the dual-motor hybrid system will be available with this setup is still unknown. What is also unclear is whether Honda will keep a diesel engine option for the Jazz. In European markets though, Honda will offer the new dual-motor hybrid system in a lot more cars and all future electrified Hondas would be sold under a newly-created e:Technology sub-brand. All models powered by Honda’s two-motor hybrid system will be called e:HEV.
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Interestingly, the new Jazz will be sharing its underpinnings with the next-gen Honda City. Honda will most likely introduce the new City in India first, sometime in early 2020, and then follow it up this new Jazz later in the year. The Honda Jazz will continue to rival the likes of the Hyundai i20, the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Toyota Glanza and the Volkswagen Polo in the premium hatchback segment.
