| |
Telegraph Motoring: Honest John explains why the Honda Jazz is so good.
Our 'agony uncle' explains how Honda's versatile little hatchback took his fancy, while two Jazz-owning Telegraph readers describe why it's the car for them.
Versatile, small, frugal and built in Swindon. What's not to love about the Honda Jazz? The little car has its flaws but, according to the hundreds of Telegraph readers who own one, the faults are mostly minor and forgivable.
In fact, so many of you have written to Motoring to praise your Honda hatchback over the years, we felt it was time to celebrate this unassuming hero of the roads with a look at its popularity through the eyes of its owners, including a couple who each have one, and the person who recommends buying a Jazz more than anyone: our own automotive agony uncle, Honest John.
Perhaps most impressively, the Jazz is a brilliant piece of car interior design. It sits the driver and passenger on the fuel tank, and leaves floor space where the tank would normally be. Lift up the rear seat squabs and instead of petrol there is space in the centre of the car for pot plants, bicycles, wheelchairs and small children to get changed standing up. Ford, Fiat, Citroën, Toyota and everyone else all wish they'd thought of that.
When the car was launched in 2002, Honda fitted a 1,339cc chain-cam direct-injected petrol engine that proved to be as economical as a diesel, and offered the option of a seven-ratio continuously variable transmission (CVT) that can be treated as a simple "press and go" automatic.
Unsurprisingly, the car caught on in Britain in a somewhat older market than in other parts of the world such as Thailand, where it is seen as a trendy young person's car and there is even a magazine devoted to outrageously customised Jazzes with 19in wheels, powerful sound systems and even gull-wing doors.
But now, despite having come top of reliability surveys, the original Jazz is starting to age and, sad to say, it shows. Manual gearbox bearings break and, if the very special fluid in the CVT transmission is not changed regularly, that fails too. The ride quality and steering were never brilliant – the original Jazz was never a car you wanted to extend for the fun of it. Maintenance can get expensive as the cars get older; rear door seals leak, wheel bearings fail. Air-conditioning and electric windows can also give trouble.
Don't buy a Jazz that is six or seven years old and expect it to remain fault-free. Seven years is the Japanese scrap-by date. In Britain, the best engine we got was the 82bhp 1.3 (called a 1.4 for marketing reasons). That was until last year, when an all-new Jazz arrived. This Mk2 is much better looking, more powerful, a bit bigger and shares the "magic" rear seats of the original. It steers more precisely and rides and handles better, too.
Instead of the easy-driving CVT, however, in a failed attempt to keep emissions under 121g/km (and in the £35 tax bracket), Honda fitted an automated manual transmission that has found far less favour because of the way its electronics damp the throttle between changes, leading to lurching if the driver tries to compensate. And if you want a spare wheel, you have to pay extra for it.
From October 2009, this new Jazz has been built at Swindon alongside Honda Civics (where, intriguingly, it is also assembled as a 120bhp 1.5 with a five-speed torque converter automatic for the South African market – a model for which many British Jazz fans would give their left feet).
To read the rest of this article and see what current owners think of their Honda Jazz please follow this link>>>
To be kept up to date on news, new products, offers and events at Barretts Honda please follow us on Twitter: BarrettsHonda
Labels: Honda deals, Honda Jazz, Honda Swindon, Honest John, Telegraph Motoring
The CRZ coming soon to Barretts Honda.
Barretts Honda's Jazz tops residuals tables.
Barretts Honda of Canterbury are pleased to announce that the Honda Jazz is Britain’s best car for retaining its value according to Parker’s annual depreciation report which surveyed almost 300 model ranges.
As well as class-leading residual values, the latest Jazz – which went on sale in 2008 – offers many features of a bigger car such as load space, driving feel and high-spec equipment, but with the great fuel economy, low emissions and more affordable running costs of a small one, making it ideal for car leasing and contract hire customers.
And the Japanese carmaker can afford to be pretty smug at the moment, with its newly-launched CR-V set to boost the residuals at the larger end of the Honda model line-up. The 2.2-litre ES, likely to be the most popular variant, has a residual value of 39.1 per cent based on 3 years or 60,000 miles. Its nearest competitor, the Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 Sport TDi, comes in at 38.9 per cent.
Residual Values
Residual values from CAP Monitor based on three years or 60,000 miles are:
- Jazz 1.2 S (90PS) 42%
- Jazz 1.2 SE (90PS) 43%
- Jazz 1.4 ES (100PS) manual 44%
- Jazz 1.4 EX (100PS) manual 44%
The Parker’s survey uses the value of cars, as if they were being sold privately, in good condition with 10,000 miles on the clock and compares this to their cost as new, 12 months earlier.
Small cars showed they are certainly the safest bet for depreciation, taking 35 of the top 40 places in the index.
The best performers of 2009
- Honda Jazz (08 on) – £1379?2
- Fiat 500 (08 on) – £1460?3
- SEAT Ibiza (08 on) – £1552?4
- Hyundai i10 (08 on) – £1650?5
- Mazda 2 (07 on) – £1702?6
- Kia Picanto (04 on) – £1760?7
- VW Fox (06 on) – £1781?8
- Suzuki Swift (05 on) – £1900?9
- Toyota Aygo (05 on) – £2148?10
- Mitsubishi i (07 on) – £2271
The biggest losers of 2009
- Maybach 62 (03 on) – £127,526?2
- Maybach 57 (03 on) – £115,253?3
- Rolls-Royce Phantom (03 on) – £81,183?4
- Bentley Arnage (98 on) – £66,040?5
- Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (05 on) – £51,627?6
- Mercedes-Benz SL Class AMG (02 on) – £51,381?7
- Bentley Cont. Flying Spur (05 on) – £47,080?8
- Aston Martin DBS (08 on) – £41,347?9
- Bentley Continental GT Coupe – £40,110?10
- Ferrari F 430 (05 on) – £37,188
To be kept up to date on news, new products, offers and events at Barretts Honda please follow us on Twitter: BarrettsHonda Labels: Barretts Honda, CAP Monitor, Honda Jazz, Parkers Guide, Twitter
HONDA LAUNCHES SUPER GT RACER.
HONDA LAUNCHES SUPER GT RACER
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today introduced the HSV-010 GT, which will compete in the GT500 class of the 2010 Super GT Series (managed and run by GTA Co., Ltd.).
The letters “HSV” stand for Honda Sports Velocity.
To be kept up to date on news, new products, offers and events at Barretts Honda please follow us on Twitter: BarrettsHonda
Get a grip this winter in Britain's most reliable 4x4.
The Honda CR-V recently topped the charts for reliability with one of Britain's largest warranty companies.
To celebrate Barretts Honda of Canterbury in Kent are offering 0% APR financing or 3 years free servicing on new Honda CR-V.
However if you choose your new CR-V before the end of January 2010 and you will receive both!
For more details please follow this link
To be kept up to date on news, new products, offers and events at Barretts Honda please follow us on Twitter: BarrettsHonda
Labels: Barretts Honda, Honda CR-V, Twitter
MOT Failure Rates Released.
An investigation shown on the BBC website by Martin Rosenbaum and a Freedom of Information request has resulted on the failure rates of cars going through their MOT test being made public.
The full report is available on the VOSA website, but Mr Rosenbaum has very kindly analysed those cars which were first used in 2004 and created the league table you see here.
Normally we like ourselves and our products to be at the top of any league table, but this is one league where we are very happy to let the competition fight for the top spot.
Labels: BBC, Martin Rosenbaum, MOT test, VOSA
Pilgrims Hospices - Barretts Group support the Tri Hospice Cycle Challenge.
 On Sunday 9th May 2010, east Kent will be whirring with the sound of wind through spokes as cyclists who like a personal challenge and a healthy day out raise money for Pilgrims Hospices.
The ride is aimed at all cyclists, but especially those looking for a personal cycling challenge who possibly haven't cycled 70 miles before.
The Barretts Group are pleased to support this event and will be assisting with the organisation. Best of all Barretts staff will also be joining the cycle ride and raising money for the charity.
For more details please visit the event page on the Pilgrims Hospice website where you can download a sponsorship form and register.
You can now also follow Pilgrims Hospices on Twitter: PilgrimsHospice
Labels: Barretts Group, charity, Kent, Pilgrims Hospice
|
|
|
| |
|
