Justin Fox
05-01-07, 05:11 PM
http://www.geocities.jp/masa_suxel/jazz.jpg
OK... I know I've bashed the Honda Jazz a billion times before. I'm here to contradict myself (hey that's a good thing right?!).
After living with it for a couple of days I can already see why people might love this little van/car thing. I even think it looks nice (I'm borrowing the VTiS). The new kit is definitely nicer than the old one.
It's an auto, latest model. I played with the 7 speed paddle shift for about 5 minutes. Works faster than Christinas tiptronic shift/paddles in her MX-5 and also holds "gears" better. It also has down gears on one side (left paddle) and up gears on right which makes much better sense than any of the rest (same as Alfa Romeo, Ferarri etc). Still silly and best left in auto mode.
"D" is pretty boring, "S" is sporty and there's definitely a difference in acceleration off the lights in "S" mode rather than leaving it in "D".
The steering is so light, perhaps the lightest steering I've ever felt in any car. Feels a little strange on fast-ish tight corners, say a roundabout, as you have to turn the wheel quite a lot to get the car to turn... but the wheel spins back very fast when you let go of it (unlike say Christina's MX-5 which forces you to turn it back yourself).
You can feel the constantly variable auto when you come across a big hill. Instead of having to put heaps more pressure on the accelerator to go up it, you can feel it trying to apply more power to keep the same speed. All in all a lot smoother than old skool jerky automatics that's for sure.
It's super easy to stay at 60km's/hr. I found this hard in the EVO (LOL!). IE: This car will keep you (well, me!) out of trouble.
Amazingly it steers/corners damn well on a twisty bit of road. I am quite surprised. Also can handle being chucked into a sharp corner with ease.
General Conclusion: Quiet, easy, comfortable, handy and... easy (oh I said that already). Easy to park (does amazingly sharp turns at parking speeds).
All of a sudden everyone's cutting me off and I feel like I should be in the left lane, but then they're all braking in the corners and I'm just throwing the little Jazz in there and catching up as well as changing lanes into gaps in traffic very easily as I have great vision in and out of the car (hey it's also got great brakes!).
Love the instruments/speedo, it's so clear and lit up day and night. Stereo's not bad either, like the big buttons and stuff... feels like a Mac rather than a PC.
All in all, OK, it might cause more accidents by having people fall asleep at the wheel (as the car is so easy to drive, read: boring) but it's a great car for the masses. I could definitely live with one... for a while at least! :)
OK... I know I've bashed the Honda Jazz a billion times before. I'm here to contradict myself (hey that's a good thing right?!).
After living with it for a couple of days I can already see why people might love this little van/car thing. I even think it looks nice (I'm borrowing the VTiS). The new kit is definitely nicer than the old one.
It's an auto, latest model. I played with the 7 speed paddle shift for about 5 minutes. Works faster than Christinas tiptronic shift/paddles in her MX-5 and also holds "gears" better. It also has down gears on one side (left paddle) and up gears on right which makes much better sense than any of the rest (same as Alfa Romeo, Ferarri etc). Still silly and best left in auto mode.
"D" is pretty boring, "S" is sporty and there's definitely a difference in acceleration off the lights in "S" mode rather than leaving it in "D".
The steering is so light, perhaps the lightest steering I've ever felt in any car. Feels a little strange on fast-ish tight corners, say a roundabout, as you have to turn the wheel quite a lot to get the car to turn... but the wheel spins back very fast when you let go of it (unlike say Christina's MX-5 which forces you to turn it back yourself).
You can feel the constantly variable auto when you come across a big hill. Instead of having to put heaps more pressure on the accelerator to go up it, you can feel it trying to apply more power to keep the same speed. All in all a lot smoother than old skool jerky automatics that's for sure.
It's super easy to stay at 60km's/hr. I found this hard in the EVO (LOL!). IE: This car will keep you (well, me!) out of trouble.
Amazingly it steers/corners damn well on a twisty bit of road. I am quite surprised. Also can handle being chucked into a sharp corner with ease.
General Conclusion: Quiet, easy, comfortable, handy and... easy (oh I said that already). Easy to park (does amazingly sharp turns at parking speeds).
All of a sudden everyone's cutting me off and I feel like I should be in the left lane, but then they're all braking in the corners and I'm just throwing the little Jazz in there and catching up as well as changing lanes into gaps in traffic very easily as I have great vision in and out of the car (hey it's also got great brakes!).
Love the instruments/speedo, it's so clear and lit up day and night. Stereo's not bad either, like the big buttons and stuff... feels like a Mac rather than a PC.
All in all, OK, it might cause more accidents by having people fall asleep at the wheel (as the car is so easy to drive, read: boring) but it's a great car for the masses. I could definitely live with one... for a while at least! :)