Before the Test Drive - Honda Jazz 1.4 i-VTEC Si Manual

With a pending test drive of the Honda Jazz 1.4 i-VTEC Si manual, here are my thoughts about the car before getting behind the wheel.

What is the Honda Jazz 1.4 i-VTEC Si All About?

The Honda Jazz is Honda’s smallest car offering and competes with many other popular superminis such as the Fiesta and Mini Cooper. The Jazz has quite an uptake because of its great practicalities.

The entire Jazz range is powered by 2 engine options, a 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.4-litre petrol, with only 9bhp between both engines. The car we have on test is the 1.4-litre i-VTEC petrol.

There are various levels of trim that you can purchase the Jazz in. The model we are testing out is the fairly well equipped SI model. The SI trim comes with 16″ alloy wheels, sport’s suspension and sport’s styling front and rear bumpers and side skirts. Hopefully this will be enough to Jazz up the Honda.

Expectations – Honda Jazz 1.4 i-VTEC Si Manual

This will be my first time behind the wheel of a Honda Jazz. I have never been overly keen on the Jazz range as I have felt it doesn’t appeal to the younger market and could do with a more powerful engine option.  But I’m very happy to give the car a fair review. Let’s see if the Jazz can convert me.

As with all Hondas, I expect a high level of build quality. I have previously tested the Honda Civic Tourer which felt extremely well put together and this helped with the overall car ownership experience. I’m sure the Jazz will be just as good in this respect.

I am happy that we are testing the SI model with the additional bodykit, as the standard model, some might say, looks a little plain. Hopefully this body kit will give the Jazz the edge over the base model and give it a younger appeal.

Looking over the technical specification for the 1.4-litre i-VTEC engine the car has 99bhp, 127Nm of torque and will do 0-60mph in 11.8 seconds, these figures won’t be enough to set your hair on fire, but it does mean that the car will be able to return around 50mpg. Which is a good thing for your wallet. I think there may be a chance that the Jazz will feel a little bit under powered, but I will hold my judgement until I have driven the car.

Furthermore, I expect great things from the practical side of the car. I think the car will be very driver friendly, small touches make all the difference like large doors that open widely and magic rear seats that can fold up like cinema seats to allow you to place taller objects in the back. All this means that you can really make the most of the small space.

So let’s wait and see how we get on.

Supplied by: Honda

Before the Test Drive - Honda Jazz 1.4 i-VTEC Si Manual