2015 Honda Jazz To Be Launched In India Soon

Image Courtesy: Jack Po

             
          The Honda Jazz when it was launched in 2009 was one of the first premium hatchbacks in the country. Since you are reading Motorzest, you would know that it didn’t do very well in India- the primary reasons for its failure being that the nation was not yet ready to shell out about Rs. 8 lack for a hatchback and the unavailability of a diesel variant.  But six years down the line, it’s a whole new story as the country is more than ready to accept the concept of a premium hatch with even luxury car manufacturers like Mercedes launching hatchbacks.

In case you are a hitman on a budget.
Image Courtesy: Jack Po

            The old Jazz was funky looking with a smiling face, smooth clean lines and good proportions. The 2015 model retains the proportions but is slightly longer with length being 3955mm. It is minutely shorter (height - 1524mm) and less wide (width – 1694mm) than the old model. But with clever Honda packaging, we can be sure that the car will be just as spacious as or even more spacious than the old model. Right now only the specifications of the international Jazz or Fit as it is called in foreign markets are available with us. The ground clearance of 135mm available internationally will not be adequate for Indian conditions and will be increased when it will be launched in India around July.  The wheelbase has been increased a bit from 2500mm to 2530mm. This will ensure an even more spacious cabin.

            Internationally, the Jazz is available with a 1.5L 120PS I-VTEC engine with 140Nm torque either in a 6-speed manual guise or a CVT Torque convertor variant, but the India version is touted to get the familiar 1.2L I-VTEC doing duty in the Amaze and Brio, although tuned to output more power. We will also get the 1.5L I-DTEC engine variant fixing the main chink in the armor of the Jazz – lack of a diesel power plant.  As is the norm in this segment, the new Jazz will be packed to the gills with features to take on the new i20 which has been scorching the sales charts. The interiors are a huge step up. The top end international variant is swathed in leather. It has all the staple features of the segment like keyless entry, push button start, turn indicators on the mirrors, paddle shifters, steering mounted controls, the works. But it also has Honda exclusive features like the Magic Seats – the seats can be maneuvered in a number ways like folding both the rear seats, or just one, or folding the front seats individually  to get the kind of space you need to transport things of various shapes and sizes. Honda calls the different seat arrangements long mode, tall mode, or utility mode depending on the arrangement of seats.

Smart up to date interiors.

            It also has a 7" touch screen display and touch panel auto air conditioning like in the new City. The display has an HDMI port to connect your smartphone or tablet. There is a USB port inside the central armrest where you can keep your device as well as connect it. For those of you who like keeping a lot of bottles inside your car, we have a bit of bad news as Honda has reduced the number of cup holders from ten to nine.  

       Other than that the tech includes Hill Start Assist, Antilock Braking System and Vehicle Stability Assist. The Jazz features a cool spoiler on top of the boot as well. But it remains to be seen how many of these features make it to the Indian version.  Even though the main competitors of the Jazz – the Suzuki Swift and Hyundai i20 are somewhat similarly specced with just minor difference in the areas of overall length (the i20 and the Swift have a wheelbase of 2570mm and 2430mm respectively to the Jazz’s 2530mm) and some minor features, the Jazz has an edge over them since Honda has always been known for their smart interior packaging and their smooth high revving engines. The Swift is the lowest priced of the lot but it misses out on some features like a reverse camera. The huge waiting time for the i20 is a turn off as well. Now with this sharper design (which looks especially menacing in black), it will boil down to the way the Jazz will drive in the real world as well as its pricing, both of which remain a mystery. But one thing is clear- Honda is about to step up and shake up the market.