Honda Jazz - The elderlys best kept secret?

[GeeAy]

Ok, so I pranged the C - and drove it into my wifes car, which pushed it into the garage...Somehow I survived, and the car is now in the bodyshop. Wonder what i'll get (this time) I thought?

Imagine my utter disgust to be handed an 18 Plate Honda Jazz in orange. - Visions of being harassed by other motorists, parking up at the football ground and being offered an OAP ticket. Falling asleep as I drive due to sheer boredom.

The humilitaion as I drove home was so intense, that when I parked, I covered my face before running into the house.

Anyway. 1 week later... Its ****** fantastic.
Its amazingly practical. The rear seats fold, with a natty operation that brings them up, then lowers them so the backs lie flat. You can also lift the rear squabs and lock them up to create another seperate load area. All this means its vast inside for its visual size, but the best bit is when you get moving.
The VTEC engine begs to be revved, yes, its happy for you to trundle around at the front of a half a mile queue of road users, but exploit the upper rev ranges aided by the the light precise 6 speed box and things get a whole lot livelier , not a rocket ship of course, but you can make some reasonable progress. Allegedly it has 100PS, but without revving it, you'd never know.
Handling is great, especially when you consider the car doesnt have 'sporty' pretentions or rubber. The seat is really comfortable and its reasonably refined - Ride a bit firm perhaps so can get a little fidgety, but all is forgiven when you hit the twistys.
Its got toys too. Cruise (why?) auto headlights, auto dipping, touch screen (though i dont really like it)

Its utterly wasted on the elderly it really is.

 

[Blobcat]

I had a previous iteration as as courtesy car and like you really enjoyed the experience, of course like you I wasn't driving it like the normal Honda Jizz driver so surprised a few road users. It also used next to zero fuel which I liked a lot.

I would have one if I had a requirement for a small hatchback. I've friends (retired..) with a top of the line new one (they changed the last one as it was a year old...) and that is very nice.

 

[flowrider]

Funny how when you get to a certain age the Honda Jazz starts to look good.

 

[Frontstep]

The rather odd idea seems to be that all elderly people lose their marbles, the reality is they look for practical transport which lets be frank isn't a bad idea.

On today's roads your 155 mph sub 5 sec 0-60 rubber band clad hurtling bus is something of a joke.

 

[LostKiwi]

The rather odd idea seems to be that all elderly people lose their marbles, the reality is they look for practical transport which lets be frank isn't a bad idea.

On today's roads your 155 mph sub 5 sec 0-60 rubber band clad hurtling bus is something of a joke.

But it's a lot of fun.....

 

[Rappey69]

According to many polls the jazz was the worlds most reliable car, only to be recently pipped by the Toyota yaris with 100% customer satisfaction and no faults

 

[noonboots]

It'll be a a cold day in hell when I start wearing beige and driving a sensible car. Even if it is practical and does silly miles to the gallon. In fact only yesterday my son was laughing at me because I bought an old SL as a retirement car.

 

[Rory]

I had a previous iteration as as courtesy car and like you really enjoyed the experience, of course like you I wasn't driving it like the normal Honda Jizz driver so surprised a few road users. It also used next to zero fuel which I liked a lot.

That one - mk2, 2009 to something like 2015 - is much better than the latest one. We have two in the family. The old people on the Jazz forum don't like the mk3 - Honda has cut corners (as all manufacturers do) and made it feel 'cheaper' and the tech is iffy, especially the touch screens on some models.

They're not without issues either, especially as they get older. Honda used to be good at looking after owners but all that has gone out of the window in the last few years, I guess with their sales figures being so poor - a lot of the long-standing highly regarded dealers have shut down for various reasons.

 

[Frontstep]

Trying to square the circle with a car that's suitable for our crowded pot holed roads and our Lewis Hamilton aspirations has led to many turkey cars over the years.

How many of us have sat tight lipped as you take a ride in your friends new toy, crashing from rut to rut and getting a headache on the way.
The fuel gauge signalling a leak as you try the mental gymnastics needed to believe that carbon fibre cup holder is a great value extra at £600.
As you fold yourself up like an origami duck to get out (thank f**k its over) you look over at your bald tubby friend beaming from ear to ear who is convinced this latest 6 figure wet dream will both increase the size of his manhood and make his mum proud.

I'm not convinced a Jazz is the way ahead, its motorised mobility scooter persona is a step to far but who knows,
maybe I'm being a snob.

 

[Blobcat]

Trying to square the circle with a car that's suitable for our crowded pot holed roads and our Lewis Hamilton aspirations has led to many turkey cars over the years.

How many of us have sat tight lipped as you take a ride in your friends new toy, crashing from rut to rut and getting a headache on the way.
The fuel gauge signalling a leak as you try the mental gymnastics needed to believe that carbon fibre cup holder is a great value extra at £600.
As you fold yourself up like an origami duck to get out (thank f**k its over) you look over at your bald tubby friend beaming from ear to ear who is convinced this latest 6 figure wet dream will both increase the size of his manhood and make his mum proud.

I'm not convinced a Jazz is the way ahead, its motorised mobility scooter persona is a step to far but who knows,
maybe I'm being a snob.

Simple answer is you don't restrict yourself to just 1, I had 5 cars and 3 bikes until quite recently

Horses for courses

 

[GeeAy]

For another view - My Wife hates it. She simply hasnt got beyond my own day 1 thoughts, and never will. It could have a vibrating seat and she still wouldnt have one.

 

[d215yq]

Trying to square the circle with a car that's suitable for our crowded pot holed roads and our Lewis Hamilton aspirations has led to many turkey cars over the years.

How many of us have sat tight lipped as you take a ride in your friends new toy, crashing from rut to rut and getting a headache on the way.
The fuel gauge signalling a leak as you try the mental gymnastics needed to believe that carbon fibre cup holder is a great value extra at £600.
As you fold yourself up like an origami duck to get out (thank f**k its over) you look over at your bald tubby friend beaming from ear to ear who is convinced this latest 6 figure wet dream will both increase the size of his manhood and make his mum proud.

I'm not convinced a Jazz is the way ahead, its motorised mobility scooter persona is a step to far but who knows,
maybe I'm being a snob.

Glad it's not just me, I test drove a couple of 4-5 year old cars for a friend who knew nothing about cars and I advised a closer look at the suspension on each one as they just crashed and bang where the W124 was fine (and this is an old one with warn springs as the front wheels are considerably lower than the back ones). Also can't see what the enjoyment is from driving them as it's immeidately clear that the accelerator is not connected to the engine so it just doesn't feel involved.

Maybe it's a small petrol car thing as the only new hire car I found fun driving was a fiat 500. I drove the new e class (W213) for a few days as I was chuaffer at a mates wedding and the only fun thing about it was slamming the accelerator down on a slip road, and waiting 2 seconds of nothing as it worked out what to do and then being catapaulted up to speed. Whilst it put a grin on my face I then realised I was entering a motorway at 90mph so stopped doing that. I'm sure it gets boring pretty soon anyway even if you don't mind getting points and that was just the 220d model

There's something nice about the small petrols/older cars about being completely connected to the road through less electronics, sensible tyres so a reasonable ride, and being able to floor it and find out you are still under the speed limit. It's also nice to "feel" like 65-75 is a reaosnable turn of speed so there's no frustration at driving at that speed (which i often have to do for hours on end!).

Don't get me wrong if I just wanted some infotainment and maybe drove in traffic all the time and had no interest in thinking about my driving the W213 was a lovely place to be and objectively good but as a fun car I personally couldn't think of anything less fun.

 

[Rory]

For another view - My Wife hates it. She simply hasnt got beyond my own day 1 thoughts, and never will. It could have a vibrating seat and she still wouldnt have one.

What does she normally drive? My wife always had superminis, but she used to work in town in an office with a very tight car park and the rest of her life is spent shopping, so something easy to park and carries a lot of shopping were her priorities.

When she got her first Jazz, a fairly early mk1 in 2003, she wasn't keen on the image but the car was a cut above everything else in its class at the time. It just worked flawlessly for 6 yrs, to the extent that we forgot we normally change her car at 5yrs! She didn't even want to look at anything else which made my life easy so we got a mk2 in 2009. She got one with a full glass roof, which kids think is brilliant. When one of our daughters needed a car she chose a Jazz too, a 2014 mk2.

However wife now has a VW Tiguan and I have to say she's fallen in love with that. It does pick up a lot of car park dings though! We'd probably have looked at Honda HR-V if it been out in time, but that's built in Mexico and it's getting a bit of an iffy reputation. Also our really good local dealer got canned and the new one is awful - had multiple customer service issues, including sending our daughter out with dodgy brakes.

Our son-in-law still drives wife's old Jazz - he doesn't care, he used to have his mum's Micra! He's very rough with cars though - makes me weep.

 

[John Laidlaw]

For another view - My Wife hates it. She simply hasnt got beyond my own day 1 thoughts, and never will. It could have a vibrating seat and she still wouldnt have one.

Vibrating seat in a Jizz....that would be interesting

 

[keefysher]

Jizz in a Vibrating seat ...that would be interesting

FTFY

I can read your mind

 

[John Laidlaw]

FTFY

I can read your mind

That’s my subtlety gone now then Keith

 

[Srdl]

The rather odd idea seems to be that all elderly people lose their marbles, the reality is they look for practical transport which lets be frank isn't a bad idea.

On today's roads your 155 mph sub 5 sec 0-60 rubber band clad hurtling bus is something of a joke.

I’m now of state pension age and have recently bought a thoroughly practical car. Four doors, biggish boot, comfortable and easy to get in and out of - and it does 155mph, sub 5 sec 0-60! Long may it continue.

 

[V6Matty]

You were being subtle John

 

[LostKiwi]

There's something nice about the small petrols/older cars about being completely connected to the road through less electronics, sensible tyres so a reasonable ride, and being able to floor it and find out you are still under the speed limit.

I hear ya. The most fun I've had in a road car is chucking my Smart Roadster about on country lanes. Second most was the S3 in the IOM...

 

[GeeAy]

What does she normally drive? .

MX5 -NB shes had it 16 years from new, and its the other vehicle that I didnt mention in my situation. Accidentally stamped on the accelerator whilst on hold and still in reverse. Went up the drive at a rate of knots, Pinned it to the garage wall. Ive paid for the repair to avoid a write off.
Got both back today...