Can’t miss this

Jazz Sport has been given a youthful look, says Willem van de Putte

A COUPLE of years ago my parents were in an horrific accident on the way down to the South Coast; both fortunately survived, although my father still has some lingering injuries.

When my brother and I met with the assessor, he shook his head, whistled the way only insurance company employees can and stated matter of factly that had they been in any other car other than the Honda Jazz we would probably be at the Bethlehem morgue. Cloud, silver lining I suppose, so when the insurance had paid out and a call needed to be made for a replacement, there was not a moment’s hesitation in placing an order for another Jazz.

The Jazz has always been right up there when it comes to reliability, a solid frill-free drive with a ton of space for a hatchback, particularly when the rear seats are folded.

So when I stopped for lunch and my father came out and cast an eye over a canary-yellow Jazz Sport, he was somewhat bemused at what the Japanese car maker had done.

So what have they done to get those that count themselves in the younger bracket to take a closer look when they go out to spend their hardearned money? First up, styling, not so much understated but pretty much in your face with a wider, lower-stance sleek grille with black and chrome elements; LED daytime running lights and gloss black mirror housings are standard. The same goes for the front bumper that has integrated fog lamps with black surrounds and a can’t-miss front splitter.

At the back, again a can’t-miss spoiler and diffuser, all of it quite stylishly finished off with red detailing. The sill extension between front and rear wheel arches and black alloy rims complete the package.

Inside it’s nothing like the Jazz we’ve become accustomed to, with red stitching on the seats and the leather-trimmed steering wheel with multifunction controls. You get sport pedals, push-button start and keyless entry, soft-touch dash and a seven-inch touchscreen with a CD receiver, something I appreciated as an “older” person. Not to worry, though, there are still Bluetooth, USB and HDMI connections and a rear-view camera.

Sound is taken care of with six speakers that would be enough to keep any youngster at a picnic or braai more than satisfied.

It’s got the looks for sure, but does that filter through to the performance stakes? Under the bonnet is a 1.5 litre I-VTEC engine with 97kw (at high-revving 6600r/min) and 155Nm that features Earth Dreams Technology. Seriously.

The suspension has been tweaked, so too the steering rack, and it now sports discs at the rear wheels as well.

I gave it a bit of stick over the week I had it and handling and cornering is top-notch; even the occasional hairpin passed without too much of a fuss.

But, and here’s the rub, it’s fitted with a CVT gearbox and if you boast a Sport moniker you really want to feel part of the driving experience and as such it should have had the option of a manual transmission. Sure you get Step Shift and gearshift paddles, but it’s just not the real deal. However, all is not lost – you still get a Honda Jazz which is never a bad purchase considering the space you get for rear passengers, reliability and decent consumption, and its build quality is legendary. And to be fair, with the petrol price heading towards R20 a litre, do you really want to be haring around with the rev counter in the red?