What is it?

In name, nothing new, but Honda has refreshed the Jazz and Jazz Crosstar model range with new, sportier styling, alongside an increase in both power and the level of standard equipment on all grades.

New design elements such as revised bumpers reflect a more dynamic personality, while the more rugged Crosstar variant also receives design revisions to exterior and interior trim.

Specifications start with the generously equipped Elegance, offering an increased level of standard features, including a new leather-trimmed steering wheel, a rear facing camera, and vanity mirror illumination. The new range topping Advance Sport grade receives several exclusive design features and chassis revisions.

Honda’s e:HEV hybrid technology continues to be specified as standard on both the Jazz and Jazz Crosstar – now with a 10kW increase in power for a smoother, more refined driving experience. The two-motor powertrain has been upgraded to increase responsiveness and driveability while maintaining exceptional efficiency, with CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency remaining the same as before.

Honda has continuously evolved its e:HEV technology, drawing on more than 20 years’ experience of designing, building and refining hybrid drive systems. The Jazz became the first Honda model to be sold exclusively across Europe with an advanced hybrid powertrain when it launched in 2020, with HR-V, CR-V and mainstream Civic models following suit. This completed Honda’s pledge to have electrified its entire European automotive range by 2022.

The refreshed Jazz range builds on the most comprehensive suite of advanced safety features and driver aids in its class, the Traffic Jam Assist function has been upgraded to now feature steering support from 0 km/h, reducing the burden on the driver when navigating traffic.

The updated Jazz can also now be selected with a tow bar accessory with a capacity of up to 500kg, expanding the model’s already exceptional levels of usability.

What do we think?

The refreshed range features interior design upgrades throughout the cabin, including new surface materials and seat options, in Elegance and Advance grades, the black interior trim has been lightly revised and updated for 2023 through the application of new seat fabric that features a new design.

On Crosstar grades the interior also sees the addition of new transmission tunnel edging and a revised black water-repellent seat fabric, while the cup holders positioned at the outer edges of the dashboard are now finished in the same gloss black finish to compliment the new dash and door panel material.

In all models and grades the collar trim for the gear switch selector is also upgraded to silver, while the door switch trim now receives a matte finish consistent with other touchpoints alongside a new, frameless rear-view mirror for Advance grades onwards.

The new Advance Sport grade introduces several sports-focused styling features, including a three-spoke steering wheel detailed with yellow stitching and featuring paddle shifters behind the steering wheel, which control brake regeneration force.

It also features a unique combination of black and grey synthetic suede and prime smooth synthetic leather, with yellow stitching to match the steering wheel and door card trim. Metal sports pedals round out the sporting make over.

The dashboard incorporates a slim instrument panel that sweeps horizontally across the cabin, with no visor effect that restricts the field of vision and further enhances the sense of spaciousness. A central 9-inch HMI touchscreen and 7-inch full TFT instrument cluster – included as standard – is simple and easy to read. All convenience features and controls are easy to reach and use, contributing to a stress-free driving experience.

You’ll also find an impressive luggage capacity of 304 litres, which grows to 1,205 litres with the rear seats down. What’s more, Honda loves to cater for dog owners with plastic flooring in the cargo area – something that makes more sense than fabric anyway in any boot, given that it’s much easier to clean.

Interior space is further enhanced by positioning the fuel tank beneath the front seats in the centre of the chassis, which is unique in the Jazz’s class. This allows it to retain the versatile rear Magic Seat configuration with both fold-flat or flip-up flexibility, to create a versatile cargo space. The design also retains the  wide aperture tailgate opening and stepless flat floor for easier loading of larger items.

Front seat occupants also benefit from Honda’s body stabilising seat frame with premium mat-structure support, which increases comfort levels and provides greater lumbar support to minimise fatigue. To further increase driver comfort, the position of the brake pedal optimises foot angle to offer a more natural foot placement.

Rear leg space of 986mm is made possible by the cleverly packaged rear suspension layout and e:HEV component packaging, while revised seat padding thickness ensures adults can sit comfortably in the second row.

Honda’s e:HEV powertrain offers an increase in maximum power output with improved acceleration performance and refinement. Total powertrain output is increased to 90kW / 122 PS (from 80kW / 109 PS), with 253 Nm of electric propulsion torque. This increase in the overall system output is achieved through a 10kW increase in power from the traction motor, whilst engine power has also been increased to 79kW / 107 PS (from 72kW / 97 PS) to improve driveability and overall system efficiency.

Despite the increase in power output, the fuel-efficient hybrid system still produces CO₂ emissions from 102 g/km (WLTP) and fuel economy of 4.5l/100km (WLTP) on the Jazz and 109 g/km (WLTP) and 4.8l/100km (WLTP) on the Jazz Crosstar. 

What’s really impressive is the 60.1mpg we achieved over 300-odd miles of mixed bag roads.

Transitions between EV and Hybrid Drive feels seamless while Engine Drive is used for motorway speeds, supplemented by an on-demand peak power ‘boost’ from the electric propulsion motor for faster acceleration, with 253Nm of torque that also provides substantial low-speed acceleration.

Sharp acceleration or steep hills do induce a gruff response from beneath the bonnet and a slightly laboured feel to progress. In Hybrid Drive, excess power from the petrol engine can be diverted to recharge the battery via the generator motor, while a similar effect can also be achieved in EV Drive, harvesting energy through regenerative braking.

The infotainment package is fairly high-spec combining intuitive technology with in-car connectivity. Infotainment features and apps that can be accessed via touchscreen or voice activation. These include weather, parking locations, music, navigation, location finding, and telephone services.

The LCD HMI touchscreen is easy to use with clear colourful tiles for all apps, and physical controls for key functions providing a safer and more ergonomic experience. All heating and ventilation settings are controlled through physical buttons or precise-feeling dials.

The system interface is navigated using familiar smartphone-style usability, with swipe controls to scroll through pages and lists. The display can be configured to suit any usage requirements, incorporating customisable shortcuts to frequently used functions and audio sources. This can all be supplemented by smartphone mirroring, enabled by Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, with the latter available via wireless connection for the first time in the Jazz.

Active and passive safety technologies includes Traffic Jam Assist function, which now features steering support from 0km/h to reduce the driving burden when in stop-start traffic and a front wide-view camera with a broader field of vision and night-time operation, increasing safety in more situations. It’s good, but can become irritating on the narrow country lanes.

There is also

• Collision Mitigation Braking System: Applies the brakes when the Jazz cuts across or turns into the path of a car. It can also detect pedestrians and cyclists when there is no street lighting at night.
• Adaptive Cruise Control: Manages the gap to the car in front and allows the car to follow vehicles at low speeds when in congestion (Low Speed Follow)
• Lane Keep Assist: Helps keep the Jazz centred in a detected lane, applying steering assistance if it the vehicle is drifting out and operating from 72km/h urban and rural roads – as well as multi-lane highways
• Road Departure Mitigation System: Helps the driver stay on the road, by alerting them if the vehicle approaches the outer edge of the pavement (into a kerb, grass or gravel border), an oncoming vehicle, or drifting into another lane without indicating
• Blind Spot Information: Standard on Advance and Advance Sport grades and comes complete with Cross Traffic Monitor
• Traffic Sign Recognition System: Uses the front wide-view camera to detect speed limit and ‘no passing’ road signs whenever the vehicle is moving forward and displays these on the seven-inch LCD display. Two road signs can be displayed at any one time – the right side only shows speed limit signs, while the left shows ‘No Passing’ signs and speed limits with additional information, such as weather conditions
• Intelligent Speed Limiter: Recognises traffic signs and sets the speed limit accordingly. If a slower speed is shown compared to what the vehicle is doing, an indicator on the display will flash with an alarm sound and the system will gradually decreases speed
• Auto High-Beam: Works at speeds of more than 25mph to automatically switch high beam head lights on or off depending on oncoming and preceding vehicles (cars, trucks and motorcycles), bicycles and environmental light

The driver can decide how much driver assistance information is displayed on the seven-inch TFT liquid crystal display (LCD) instrument binnacle.

Honda Jazz 1.5 i-MMD Crosstar Advance eCVT