Honda Jazz (Fit) test drive since 2008 hatchback

Improvisation

Why jazz? Probably because improvisation on a given topic led Honda Motor engineers to creating an original car.

 

Small city cars are increasingly becoming fashionable due to their practicality. The workload of megacities turns moving through them into existing flour and completely repels the desire to use a large sedan, so manufacturers pay attention to cars specially designed for such daily exercises. Today, compact cars are in the production program of almost all leading companies. And designer and technical solutions make them more and more similar to each other. The Japanese initially betrayed the Mini class of great importance and now hope for the successful expansion of their babies to foreign markets.

  

Honda Jazz exterior The main topic of improvisation. The hood line smoothly passes into the windshield, and the roof line abruptly breaks off on the rear door. Real single -crew! It seems that something similar was already, but the Hondians managed to make a recognizable car. The good-natured smile of the radiator grate, the headlights under large transparent caps and the ribbed hood are perhaps the most original parts of the car. The rear lights consist of three parts: the red halves are separated by a transparent insert with two turns of the turn signals and the reverse light, which very highlights the back. But in the profile, the car looks quite ordinary, even boring, against the background of a tall body, even fourteen -inch wheels seem small.
The salon leaves an ambiguous impression: on the one hand, everything is thought out and convenient, on the other, a combination of high -quality and cheap materials looks clear dissonance. The front panel is made of expensive embossed plastic, and the visor visor and the central console made of unpretentious plastic. The audio control buttons with a CD player make an openly Chinese impression. There are three large dials on the instrument shield: speedometer, tachometer and indicator of the amount of fuel. It is clear that the rest of the functions carry control lamps, but the absence of a coolant temperature indicator is somehow unusual.

 

As expected, Jazz car for two: a driver and his neighbor. They are spacious and comfortable. But behind the situation is more complicated. The problem is old as the world over their heads is a place, but there is nowhere to put your legs. And this is despite the fact that the creators of the machine bombed the floor by shifting the gas tank.
 
But what is Jazz on the go? Is there an improvisation in motion? It feels like a quite ordinary car. Traditional MacPherson in front and a twisted beam on longitudinal levers from behind in combination with an impressive wheelbase provide an acceptable level of comfort when driving. But not only. Such architecture of the platform made it possible to get a win in the internal space. 1.3-liter engine with 83 liters. p., equipped with a direct injection system, aimed at maximum fuel savings (6.9 liters per 100 kilometers of city streets, judging by technical characteristics) and compliance with increasingly tougher environmental standards. Up to 2000 revolutions, the motor is frankly drilled, but then wakes up, cheerfully and smoothly spin up to 6000 rpm. The five -speed box works perfectly: you rarely find such clarity of switching and small moves of the gearbox lever on small cars. There are no complaints about controllability either. The steering wheel amplifier, as expected, facilitates maneuvering at low speeds, and in quick turns supports a stable feedback with the driver.

   

Of course, it is difficult to understand the new car in a short time, and some nuances remained unsolved. But in general, Jazz left the feeling of a well -balanced, modern car. Now the car has headed for certification, and at the end of the summer and early autumn it will appear in the dealers.
 

Text: Dmitry Belov
The car is provided by Ralph Art Division.

Photo: Roman Ostanin
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

A source: Wheel magazine [No. 57/2002]