Love me- Love my Jazz (Honda Jazz 1.2)

Member Name: goosey

Product:	Honda Jazz 1.2
Date:	15/06/09 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Small exterior, large interior. Economical

Disadvantages: None as yet

Due to the 'credit crunch' and on going media banter about carbon-footprints, fuel economy and costs. I thought I had better do my bit and replace my old and thirsty 1.6litre car with smaller engined vehicle and seeing as it might be the last car that I would purchase ( well they do last longer nowadays if looked after) I decided to buy new, nothing flashy, yet it had to be reliable.

I admit to loving Toyota cars, but the nearest franchise was 25 miles away - too far to keep driving back and forth for services. So, bearing in mind the ever increasing fuel prices, I tried the 'other' Japanese car maker - Honda, which also apparently had a good reputation for reliability; the dealer was situated a mere 3miles from home.

I went for a test drive in a 1.2litre Honda Jazz, expecting it to be comparatively sluggish after being used to a higher cc engine and was very surprised to find how nippy it was and even more amazed at the amount of interior space.

Unlike the 1.4litre Honda Jazz, ( which has the same outward appearance) the 1.2litre car does not have steering column controls for radio and CD player nor an air conditioning system; neither of which I would choose to have personally, but can imagine would be very useful extras for many.

One extra that I had not come across until then is that the milometer was a three in one system and by pressing a button it turned into a trip-meter; press again and it would indicate the fuel consumption in mpg for any given journey and or collective journeys.

I was extremely impressed with the rear seating system. These, a one third/two third split, can be dropped forward to extend the boot, OR - and this is the clever bit - The seats can be raised backwards -like cinema seats - which automatically lock into position. This arrangement is ideal if you need to transport something too tall to fit into the boot or on back seat.

I also thought that the seating belt arrangement for the middle rear seat an excellent safety idea. Most middle-seats have a lap-belt, which is not the safest of systems. The Honda's mid-seat belt is concealed in the roof and can be pulled down and locked into same safe position as the two outer seats. Brilliant idea.

Obviously different garages will offer different deals. I went on line just to check the prices - women are supposedly charged more than men. However, that was not the case. (I wonder if it was because I had expressed an interest in Toyotas?)
So,when offered a full tank of petrol, and tax for a year on a very reasonably priced vehicle, I happily ordered one and chose my own number plate from a fairly long list.

It was a week - seemed much longer- before I could collect my car. I felt like a kid at Christmas - Hyper-excited and impatient.

I have owned my Jazz, now, for just over a year and am very, very, very pleased with its fuel consumption, easy handling, superb cornering , (like the old minis were.) and once again pleasantly surprised at how relatively inexpensive the first service turned out to be. Not to mention the customer service which was second to none.

When the Jazz went in for its first service, I was supplied with as much coffee as was possible to consume while sitting in comfort reading magazines (my choice) or alternatively they would have loaned me a car to use whilst mine was being serviced.

I still suffer the 'new car-owner's syndrome' where nobody is allowed to eat or drop crumbs in the Jazz. I park well away from other vehicles, or if I must, then will park next to a new(ish) car, for they would not want to dent theirs either, and I dry it off (when wet) before locking it away in my garage. How sad is that!!

Summary: My tenth car, but only the second to capture my heart.

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