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Is an economical hybrid powertrain enough to make the latest Jazz hit the high notes?

They say it’s lonely at the top, but for the Honda Jazz, the same can equally be true towards the other end of the scale.

Indeed, the hybrid superminis of the world is a group that counts the Honda Jazz, Toyota YarisRenault Clio E-Tech and the MG 3 as its only members.

Remains a car that many a motoring journalist will recommend to others but very few would own. Its packaging and efficiency really are marvels; but these are the things that sell white goods, not cars

Compared to its rivals, the Jazz has always put functionality and practicality high on its list of must haves, and is often defined by its clever interior packaging. 

Since its 2001 launch, the relatively compact Honda’s exceptional practicality and versatility have helped it to win favour with more than seven million buyers around the globe.

Hoping to build on that success is the fourth-generation model, which arrived on UK roads in 2020 before receiving a heavy update in 2023. What sets it apart from its supermini rivals is that the Jazz is sold exclusively with a petrol-electric powertrain in a bid to keep pace with ever-tightening emissions regulations. 

But since this generation of Jazz made its debut in 2020, new versions of both the Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris have arrived. So how does the Honda Jazz stack up against its hybridised competitors, and is its quirky styling and intelligent packaging still enough to catch the attention of wannabe supermini owners. 

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The Jazz line-up at a glance

The Honda Jazz is offered exclusively as a hybrid in the UK and is available in four different guises: Elegance, Advance, Crosstar Advance and Advance Sport. 

Elegance opens the line-up and gets 15in alloys, parking sensors and adaptive cruise control, while mid-rung Advance adds larger 16in wheels, heated seats and steering wheel and keyless entry. 

The Crosstar Advance boasts a more rugged aesthetic, featuring a raised ride height and additional body cladding to make it look more off-road friendly. Bookending the Jazz range is the Advance Sport, which gets the same kit as the Crosstar, but goes without the go-anywhere styling. 

DESIGN & STYLING

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440083 Jazz and Jazz Crosstar

Known as the Fit in other global markets, the Jazz has a strong following with younger buyers in its home market, but in Europe – and the UK at least – it’s always struggled to connect with a youthful demographic. 

The Jazz’s pseudo-MPV styling has never captured the attention of younger, image-conscious buyers, and is instead a more popular choice among the retired crown green bowls set. You only need to look at the latest version to realise that Honda has probably come to accept that fact. 

Sickle-like LED running light motif in the headlight cluster is a neat design cue on a relatively clean, featureless exterior. The blue border on the Honda badge, sited between the headlights, denotes this as an electrified model.

Its proportions are still that of a supermini, but its tall body and large glasshouse means there’s still an element of MPV-ness to its design. Overall, it's clean, simple and far less busy than its predecessor. 

There’s little to catch the eye, although our Crosstar test car looks more assertive than the entry-level Elegance. There’s not much by way of visual punch, but the rugged styling of the Crosstar at least gives it a bit of character when compared to rivals like the Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris. It’s unlikely to turn heads in the street, but it's by no means unattractive. 

And let's not overlook the fact that the Jazz puts function over form, with clever packaging at the very forefront of its design. The fuel tank sits below the front seats to maximise rear space, for example – and you still get the versatile upwards folding ‘Magic’ seats.  

Powering the Jazz is a e:HEV hybrid system which comprises two electric motors, a battery and a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which makes 120bhp and 187lb ft of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels via a fixed-gear e-CVT. 

INTERIOR

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454108 Honda Jazz e HEV

There’s little style or vibrancy to the Jazz’s cabin, which is pretty plain compared to bolder and more colourful supermini interiors. 

Dark, soft-touch materials, coupled with the glossy white trim around the gear selector and on the steering wheel, make the Jazz feel pretty subdued inside. That being said, build quality is high, and there’s a solidity to its various fixtures and fittings. Plus there’s soft-touch materials on key touch points like the steering and door handles. 

Physical dials for the air-con are within easy reach of the driver. Honda probably could have integrated them into the touchscreen if it wanted but we’re glad it didn’t.

All of your primary points of contact – be they the drive selector, the controls for the air-con system, or even the buttons on the 9.0in dashboard-mounted infotainment screen – are within close reach and they all convey a satisfying sense of robustness to the touch.

Where the Jazz really comes into its own is with the flexibility of its interior. With the second-row ‘Magic seats’ in place, rear passengers will find they’re treated to generous leg room – head room is less impressive, but adults won't complain much if journeys are short.

There’s a 304 litre boot, which is decent but not quite class-leading. But as far as storage goes, that’s just the beginning of the story. What makes the Honda’s cabin really shine is its versatility. 

The rear seats can be folded completely flat to open up 844 litres of storage space to the window line, or 1205 litres to the roof. 

You can also fold the rear seat cushions upwards independently from one another, which allows you to make use of the Jazz’s flat rear cabin floor. This effectively turns the second row into another boot of sorts, and is handy for transporting taller, bulky items, such as pot plants or kids' bicycles.

For those reasons and others, the Jazz stands head and shoulders above its supermini rivals as the most practical car in its class. 

Honda Jazz infotainment & sat-nav

Our Jazz test car came fitted with a 9.0in touchscreen that runs a similar operating system to that found in the high-tech Honda E electric car. 

Admittedly, that sat-nav set-up is relatively basic, but with wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity and Android Auto as standard across all variants, it’s unlikely that many owners will rely on the navigation system.

It’s logically-configured, if a bit slow to respond to inputs. You get two handy shortcut buttons, and a couple of USB ports, although it goes without any USB-C connections. 

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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Honda Jazz 2020 road test review - engine

While the Jazz e:HEV powertrain sounds complicated, it is pleasingly slick and easy to operate. 

In many respects, the Jazz feels like an EV to drive, with performance delivered in a smooth and progressive manner. Indeed, the Jazz will run in pure-EV mode during low- and mid-speed driving, the engine working as a generator to charge the battery that feeds the motor. 

The e:HEV badge is set to appear on a number of new Honda products in the coming years. By 2022, the firm will have a total of six electrified models on sale in Europe, of which the Jazz and the E are two.

For additional oomph, like when accelerating onto a motorway, the engine will clutch onto the front axle. Ultimately the Jazz’s powertrain does all the hard work for you – you just have to sit there and drive however your mood suits. Thankfully there’s a handy symbol on the dash which tells you which mode the car is operating in. 

It’s certainly better than the early 107bhp system that powered early cars, and there’s a decent amount of gusto when pulling out of a junction. Around town it’s amiable, with the electric motor offering good throttle response and you don’t notice the hybrid system juggling between petrol and EV drive modes. 

At times its accelerative efforts feel quite laboured, however, particularly when you’re joining a motorway or pulling out to overtake. Under hard acceleration it can get pretty vocal, with a characterless background buzz that is often a consequence of fitting a CVT gearbox. 

Straight-line performance is nothing to write home about, with the Jazz hitting 60mph in 9.6sec – that’s slower than the Renault Clio hybrid (9.3sec) but faster than the Toyota Yaris hybrid (9.7sec). 

We’d have liked a bit more feel from the brake pedal, which felt a bit long and mushy at times. Still, the car’s brake pedal blends regenerative and friction braking pretty well. 

RIDE & HANDLING

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440079 Jazz and Jazz Crosstar

Unlike the Toyota Yaris, it offers little in the way of driver engagement or satisfaction, with simplicity of operation and handling security high on the Jazz’s list of dynamic qualities. 

The Jazz changes direction in an accurate but laid-back fashion, with steering that’s medium-paced and reassuringly hefty feeling. It deals with faster corners without issue, although there’s plenty of lateral body roll.

Stable, predictable handling is the Jazz’s approach to cornering, with ease of driving prioritised over engagement. Its body can lean a bit under load but balance is neutral.

This is more pronounced through quicker directional changes but it’s mostly well controlled. 

Ultimately the Jazz isn’t a car intended to be thrown down a road, and operates to reassure the driver at all speeds. Indeed, it won’t win over the enthusiast, but it will appeal to those who don’t put an engaging drive at the top of their priority list. 

Comfort and isolation

Much like the Toyota Yaris, the Jazz rides flatly, although more firmly than you might expect - even in the Crosstar which sits 37mm higher, with some extra suspension travel. 

It’s by no means uncomfortable, but it lacks a bit of sophistication when it comes to dealing with broken surfaces. There’s a bit of a fuss and fidget at town speeds, but it generally handles sharper edges and bumps better. 

The car can feel a little over-sprung at low speeds, yet it can also puzzle you with loose-feeling vertical body control on faster, rolling stretches of road. In such environments, the Jazz certainly likes to heave and float a bit, often using all of its suspension travel over long-wave inputs. 

These movements aren’t so unchecked as to be unsettling because they don’t disturb the levelness of the car’s body for too long. Pleasingly there’s excellent adjustability in the driving position and the seats are comfortable and reasonably supportive. 

Visibility is excellent and cabin isolation isn’t bad, either. At motorway speeds, the engine fades away into the background, while wind and road noise aren’t intrusive.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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440081 Jazz and Jazz Crosstar

The Jazz has a much higher sticker price than many of its hybridised supermini rivals. The entry-level Elegance starts from £28,060, but our Crosstar Advance cost over £30,000. 

Prices for the entry-level Renault Clio full hybrid E-Tech start from £21,895, while the Toyota Yaris hybrid comes in at the slightly dearer price of £23,445 – but they’re much cheaper even when compared to the base-spec Jazz. Even the range-topping variants of the Clio and Jazz undercut the Crosstar. 

The Jazz outperforms both the latest Toyota Yaris and the new Renault Clio hybrid in predicted residual values by a considerable margin

Of course, the Jazz still makes a strong case for itself when it comes to running costs, with solid fuel economy and a 109g/km of CO2. The Jazz is claimed to achieve 58.9mpg, and during our experience we typically saw an economy figure of 56mpg. That’s about the same as the 129bhp Toyota Yaris hybrid, which has a higher claimed economy of 65.6mpg. 

VERDICT

STATIC440128 Jazz and Jazz Crosstar

The charismatic looks, bold interior design, effortlessly agile handling and zesty performance on which so many superminis trade have barely if ever figured as constituent parts of the appeal of the Jazz. 

Honda’s approach appears to add more function and maturity into the mix, if that comes at a sacrifice of flavour and character. Ultimately, the Jazz has qualities that we can certainly applaud, but it remains a hard car to like or really want. 

Eminently practical, impressively frugal and pretty joyless to drive

Its hybrid powertrain affords sizeable gains on fuel economy and drivability and its highly configurable and voluminous interior brings unrivalled practicality for a car of this size. However, it would need at least some dynamic charm, kerbside allure or driver appeal to progress further. 

And we cannot ignore the fact that there are far more engaging and well-equipped superminis that can be had for a much cheaper price. 

That being said, the Jazz deserves credit for its persistent pragmatism and utility value, and it will continue to stand out in a class dominated by cars of much less rational qualities.

Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips
Title: Staff Writer

Sam joined the Autocar team in summer 2024 and has been a contributor since 2021. He is tasked with writing used reviews and first drives as well as updating top 10s and evergreen content on the Autocar website. 

He previously led sister-title Move Electric, which covers the entire spectrum of electric vehicles, from cars to boats – and even trucks. He is an expert in new car news, used cars, electric cars, microbility, classic cars and motorsport. 

Sam graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2021 with a BA in Journalism. In his final year he produced an in-depth feature on the automotive industry’s transition to electric cars and interviewed a number of leading experts to assess our readiness for the impending ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars.

Matt Saunders

Matt Saunders Autocar
Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce PhantomTesla RoadsterAriel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren SennaRenault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.