Respect The Little Guy: Honda Jazz 1.3

For a congested city like Metro Manila, small cars make a lot of sense. They’re easy to park, easy to navigate through tight alleys, and their tiny engines give you great gas mileage. Except… they get no respect from the big ones. SUVs, trucks, and buses are the gorillas of the urban jungle. My mom’s Honda Jazz is great for hauling as it’s even roomier than some small SUVs, but it’s also everybody’s favorite victim for cutting off, swerving, and occasional pushing into another lane whenever I have to borrow it for an errand. It doesn’t help at all that the darn car is colored pink. Yet it’s a fact, however diminutive Honda’s wonder car is, the little Jazz is still the darling of savvy car buyers for its utilitarian appeal, clean good looks, and fun driving character. There is still a waiting list if you want to get one, especially with the latest update which has given it more aerodynamic front fascia, new wheel design, and some other aesthetic updates, The new 1.5-liter variant with the “burnt orange” paint job might be getting all the stares, but the 1.3-liter variant is arguably the best value. Despite its humble displacement the little engine pumps out a respectable 100 HP and 94 lb-ft or torque thanks to the magic of variable valve timing. Acceleration on normal situations like merging on the highway and passing slower vehicles up to 100 kph is quite good, especially if you’re not loaded with more than one passenger. On the open road it’s good for a respectable 170 km/h top speed before it simply runs out of enough juice to push its arrowhead body further into the wind. A 5-speed stick shift is available, but the 5-speed automatic is arguably the better choice. There’s a very little lag or shift hock, and the only thing you’ll miss is the option to change gears for yourself with the 1.5-liter’s shift paddles. Handling is also remarkably sharp for and entry-level car with responsive steering, an agile feel in the curves, and a squat, stable ride on the highway thanks to its relatively large wheelbase. Honda has done a remarkable job of maximizing the Jazz’ interior, and though the high driving position won’t endear itself o race car fans, it does give a good view out that petite drivers will appreciate. As always, the “ULT” (Utility-Long-Tail) seats are worth their weight in gold. Flip a lever and they collapse into the floor, creating a cargo area that can easily swallow two bikes (even three if you’re very adept at packing) plus all the bags and boxes that a weekend warrior bring along. Apart from the substantial mass of the dashboard – a consequence of having pushed the wheels out to the very corners of the car, thus requiring more space to fill up after the firewall – and the quality of its plastic, there’s a premium look and feel to the interior that must justify its rather high asking price. Over the course of a week I logged nearly 400 kilometers with the Jazz, using it for everything from grocery runs to a training weekend in Subic. I kept up with all but the fastest-moving traffic on the NLEX and SCTEX, got fantastic fuel economy of between 10-12 km/l despite lots of brisk driving, and lugged all manner of cargo from suitcases to bicycles to grocery bags and the family. The only thing that was missing was the visual mass that would have lessened the number of times I was cut off by asinine buses and taxes, although the “Serious Black” paint job helped to give it a little more respect than usual. It may no longer be the cute new kid on the block, but the little Honda’s virtues give it substantial staying power for those who want a small car that can do it all. Originally posted in C! Magazine October 2011 Edition Author: Andy Leuterio