… Honda Jazz …
This is going to sound really stupid, although that hasn’t stopped me in the past. But driving the wee Honda Jazz home recently there were times when I felt like Jensen Button. Yes, I know. Crazy, but with good reason.
Returning home from a rally meeting in Wooler (Englandshire) the A697 northwards was busy with tourists and motorised human kennels which made me think the A68 would be just as bad, so I opted for the backroad over Lempitlaw to Kelso and then up the Tweed Valley to Lanarkshire.
Not such a good move. The holiday-making rubber-neckers were marvelling at the glorious Scottish vistas opening up ahead of them including one elderly couple in a 27 year old Renault Master, styled not so much as a holiday chalet, more like a whitewashed garden shed. They seemed hell-bent on seeing how big a queue they could build up behind them before they pulled over. Which they did at the chippie in Innerleithen, leaving the rest of the frustrated tailback behind them to finally get the wind on their windscreens.
The queue ahead of the Honda therefore opened up a bit, but with only 102hp throbbing away under the bonnet, this was going to take a bit of planning. Which is where the Honda powered Jensen Button analogy comes in.
A miss-spent youth traversing these roads had built up a good bit of knowledge about where the straights were and it was all about getting the car into the right gear and on the boil on the exit of appropriate bends. Even so, care had to be exercised. If summat was coming t’other way, the planned manoeuvre had to be abandoned. But with a sweet little gearbox and an eager willingness to rev to 6000 rpm, headway could be made.
Acceleration is not a strong point with a nought to 60 time in excess of 11 seconds, but once on the move and the engine spinning hard, it actually felt quite brisk. Aided no doubt by the six speed ‘box which meant that it was quite easy to keep the engine on song. Naturally I got nowhere near the top speed of 118mph, but Jensen’s car lacks a bit of top end too, does it not?
Anyway, that was a very satisfying run home. By the time some folks had seen the straight and were thinking about it, the bright orange pellet was alongside and past. The method involved hanging back slightly on the approach to the appropriate bend or in some cases planning two bends ahead. Then accelerating into and through the bend carrying the momentum ready for the indicate and pull out if the road ahead was clear. Good progress was made and I felt almost as smug as Jensen in his McLaren afterwards.
That run put an entirely different complexion on a wee car which is often seen as more ideally suited to the school run with a squaatter of weans aboard or going for the weekly shop.
That does the Honda Jazz a dis-service. What helped with the drive home that sunny evening was a roominess and comfort that added just a little more confidence to the driver coupled with plenty of grip in the corners. Just one slight complaint though, the front seats are a bit narrow. More old lady sized or lithe teenager, not really for someone with a pie-enriched diet. In other words, some corners required a bit of internal bracing. Otherwise, it really is a surprising wee motor.
And you know what? At the end of my week with the car, including that spirited run up the Tweed Valley, average fuel consumption was 66 miles to the gallon. Just imagine what that could have been with a more caring and sensitive driver taking in the views. On that basis a 70mpg is an easy target and perhaps even 75!
The test car was priced at just short of fifteen grand, but this was the top of the range model with an improved interior trim level and SatNav, but the range starts from £12,785 which makes it pretty competitive with other 1300cc front wheel drive hatchback runabouts. And the bonus? Honda build quality and engineering.
Would I have one? Probably not. Despite the fun it’s not my cup of tea, but I would certainly recommend it to someone looking for a frugal, comfortable and roomy runabout – and perhaps a part-time F1 fan!