Automotive Business Review February 2015 | Page 50

New cars |

by Tristan Wiggill

Honda on song with new Jazz
The third generation Honda Jazz has been launched in South Africa and will be available in local
dealerships by mid-February.

➲ Several new colours enhance the sheetmetal

T

outed by Honda South Africa as,
“One of the most important Honda
models worldwide,” the latest
iteration hopes to attract a slightly younger
buyer and, as a consequence, employs
edgier styling this time around. That said,
the newcomer’s strongest suite remains
its flexibility and innovative use of interior
space and in this regard, Honda has
increased the vehicle’s overall length and
stretched its wheelbase from generation
two.

six airbags, it is the only one to miss out on
a service plan as standard.
The new Jazz is sourced from India and
is assembled in the company’s Rajasthan
plant which employs several hi-tech
processes in manufacture, including
robotic roller hemming and an assembly
frame conveyor that automatically adjusts
the working heights of the cars as they are
being built in the interests of worker safety
and comfort.

On initial inspection, the new Jazz
appears rock solid in terms of build
quality and we were hard-pressed to find
any noteworthy panel gaps during a brief
drive in the Western Cape.
New Jazz is an attractive alternative to
the popular VW Polo and Ford Fiesta
and has the advantage of greater interior
flexibility, thanks to the relocation of the
fuel tank and changes made to the rear
suspension.

Generation three is powered by either a
1.2 or 1.5-litre petrol engine, while the
choice of transmission comes down
to either a five-speed manual or Earth
Dreams CVT, which, interestingly, still
makes use of a traditional torque converter.
Power and torque outputs are reported
to be 66kW/110Nm and 88kW/145Nm
respectively.
Derivatives include Trend, Comfort,
Elegance and Dynamic, with each adding
f