JAZZ STAR IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Honda’s new hybrid supermini is stylish, spacious.. and will always steer you in the right direction
Maggie Barry
Let’s get something out of the way immediately – you will never get lost in a Honda Jazz, the sat nav is magnificent.
Instead of simply putting in a postcode, I was able to pinpoint my destination exactly (a tourist attraction deep in the countryside).
As I was guided directly to it, I saw another driver dithering on country roads clearly looking for the same place I was.
“Congratulations, Honda! ” I murmured as we turned into the driveway a few minutes later, reckoning it would be some time before we again saw the car that had once been in front of us. And it was. I was drinking a leisurely cup of coffee by the time the car and driver finally turned up.
The other feature I liked about this system was how straightforward it was. Instead of pompously asking “Destination?”, it prefers “Where do you want to go?” – a much more friendly question.
It is the little things like this that will ensure the celebrated Honda loyalty – and, of course, the style of this new Crosstar EX addition to the Jazz range.
The little supermini runaround has been jacked up and, well, jazzed up to become the Crosstar EX in this guise, with a small SUV- like appearance, two-tone colouring, bold roof rails and a new wheel design.
It is perky and fun- looking with a surprisingly spacious interior and a boot into which I easily slung a golf trolley.
The seats are comfortable and easy to adjust and the dials and switches are kept to a minimum to avoid confusion.
It’s aimed at young people who like to get out and about and, with this in mind, the seat fabric is waterproof and the sound system powerful.
But more than this, the Crosstar, like many of its contemporaries, has been electrif ied. The entire Jazz range has been hybridised as part of Honda’s move into powertrains in keeping with the 21st century.
The Crosstar, like its siblings, uses a self-charging system that pairs a 1.5-litre petrol engine with two electric motors. You charge as you drive and there is a little graph to the left of the instrument panel which shows the level rising and falling as you brake, decelerate or push on. To the right is the petrol gauge.
There is an extra gear B on the transmission to intensify the level of power recoup and an EV mode button for city cruising.
It is a nippy little thing to drive, with a great turn of speed out of the blocks whether you are at the traffic lights or a roundabout, and it pushes on smoothly on the motorway.
The size means that on country roads it spins easily around corners and bends and does not shrink in fright at the approach of a school bus on narrow roads.
This is a beefed-up Jazz that seems to be revelling in its new style and it is certainly eye-catching in the car park.
The Crosstar gets all of the equipment of the top- of- the- range Jazz EX to complement its look and raised height so that means, even for a small car, there are heated front seats and steering wheel, as well as a rear view camera.
All Jazz models come with features like auto wipers, adaptive cruise control, heated door mirrors, traf f ic sign recognition and lane departure warning.
This is the fourth-generation Jazz so nearly 20 years of pleasing the public is in its DNA, with the new model quite the Crosstar in the firmament.