Hot hatch feel

[guest5505]

As time passes and I've got to know my Jazz, I've started driving it with a bit more enthusiasm. It seems to respond well to spirited driving, revs well (even though it's only the 8v 1.2) and it seems to have a bit of a go-kart feel about it. Does anyone think along the same lines, or is it all in my mind?!

[guest5589]

Agreed. Its a very good car I like me you stay with in legal limits at all times.

I find in 2nd and 3rd Gear the car responds beautifully. Rolling start in 1st and hitting red line at 6000rpm followed up by shift to second and you are safe to merge into motorway from tiny slip roads of A1M.

Even though the Jazz is taller and heavier, I think compared to my Yaris it goes round corners without excessively leaning and the heavier steering compared to hydraulic Yaris's one is more accurate.

Mind you I did upgrade to optional 15inch alloys as tyre walls on 14" was too soft. Another thing that improved the feel was that I replaced the original plastic gearknob with a much heavier metal one from Civic Type R. You can find 5 speed pattern ones from Accord Type R but they are very rare while CTR ones are available quite easily.. changes the feel of the shift for the better.

[Garyman]

Agree with whats been said so far.

If you go a bit further like what I've done with suspension, braces and the Spoon rigid collar kit- the handling is superb and really fun to drive, especially in corners.

I've actually been round the track a few times in mine with other more powerful Hondas ( went with Hondas On Track ) and I'd managed to keep up with them round the twisty and bends and surprised a few members.  The only thing that lets it down is the 1.33 engine 

[guest6230]

I must admit I've only had my Jazz since Saturday but on Sunday I took it to the Derwent reservoir for some mountain biking and I was really surprised at how well it went around the twisty Derbyshire bends. You would have to do something really stupid to get into trouble with it. I think with some good quality coilovers (i.e. not FK) it would be hard to catch. Mine has rear disc brakes which helps - not sure this was standard? I also have the 15" alloys which will be getting some Pirelli's. The gear knob reminds me of my MKII GTI golfball lol.

[Jeffyjazz]

I'm quite amazed by the handling of the jazz but find it very slow and it leeeeeeeeeeeans a lot

The back end can get wriggly you just need to make sure you definatley of the brakes before turn in or it gets a little loose at the back but it takes it with minimal correction sort of magically goes with the flow.  It was even better with bridgestones all round.   I would like to take on a track it's been on thruxton but it's too fast and is boring in a jazz

I find it more fun than my type r, I was tempted to lower and stiffen it up a bit but was put off after buying spoon coil overs for the type r and felt they ruined it especially on the English bumpy roads. It was two unpredictable if you found bumps round corners so I put it back to standard


 I think Honda just make stuff right

[guest6230]

I think more fun than a Type R might be pushing it, I used to love revving my EP3 past 5000 RPM just for the sound :-) But I do think the handling of the Civic was over rated, I went to a remapped Smart Roadster afterwards, and that was in a different league through the corners!

[guest5589]

Not fair comparing a mid engined roadster to a FWD hatchback. But yes ever since they got rid of double wishbones the handling of Civic hasn't been the same. EP3 was the last good handled even with McPhearson struts upfront. FN2 too heavy and dull.

I think driving a slow car fast is always more fun than driving a fast car fast. Jazz is all about momentum and best bit is, when you look the mpg it's still around 48 or more so the excitement doesn't cause weight savings on your wallet.

[guest6230]

One thing I'm liking is the torque from low revs of the 8v engine, it's so responsive compared to small 16v engines I've driven which only come alive at around 4000RPM. The Roadster was great fun but the turbo was very on/off regarding power which made it frustrating, you had to plan ahead. As far as mpg I'm more than happy with the Jazz, I've got into the habit of using V Power which no doubt helps.

[guest5589]

Yep. The engine is happy in 3rd doing 30mph which compared to my twin can Yaris is so much easier. Incidentally I only run my Jazz on Asda fuel and only sometimes use BP 95. Yaris used to hate Asda but doesn't make any difference what so ever on Jazz. I have seen as high as 57mpg on 40 mile round trips on trip computer doing 30-50mph on A406 etc and almost 48-53mpg on motorway depending on wind direction. London city driving never lets it go above 50 though.

[guest6230]

To reach 50mpg in city driving is pretty impressive, I reckon only the latest stop/start cars could better that! Certainly better than the Yaris 1.3SR I once had. I avoid supermarket petrol, too many bad experiences with it. I read the Jazz like super unleaded because of its high compression ratio so will stick with it.

[MikeG1944]

Agree about Supermarket petrol, a local taxi firm stopped their drivers using it as it was burning out valves, as there are very little or no additives in the cheap fuel which help mileage and look after the engine. It just meets the legal spec and that's it. We always stick to BP, Shell or Texaco, the BP station is just 100yds away.
They started another station a couple of miles away on the A10 near us that started selling the cheap stuff at 4p to 5p under the BP price, pretty cheap but not for my Jazz. You get what you pay for in this life, most of the time.

[guest5589]

I usually document the 'shown' mpg after a regular 150 mile trip I take monthly with a 60/40 mix of M25 and 30mph city. I do drive sensibly and always drive at or below speedlimits. After traffic, I think direction and speed of wind is the second most important factor affecting your mpg on motorways.

For me, after 100,000 miles on the clock, Its more important to keep on top of oil changes and plugs then to spend 5p extra per liter on an 'assumed' benefit of branded fuel. Supermarkets sell what they get from the refineries.. they might not have the additives but I don't think on a 14 year old engine that has been through hell and back it makes any significant difference. But lets not get stuck on benifits of fuel.. here were are talking about handling characterstics of Jazz

I have a question... I know from reviews that when the car was launched, the suspension was criticized so much Honda revised it. When was that? 2003? 2004? Are shocks and springs on facelift models i.e post 2004 have different tuning?

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[guest5505]

I agree that driving a slow car fast is more fun than driving a fast car fast. The most fun car I have ever owned was a mk 1 Seat Ibiza (the Fiat based one, not VW) with the 0.9 ltr engine. You could drive it on the limit all of the time. Later I had 2 hot hatches, a Saxo VTR and an Ibiza 20v Turbo but they both had a rock hard ride and I hated them both. It has put me off hot hatches. The Jazz ride is firm but not uncomfortable.

[guest5589]

Reminds me of my first car: 1982 Suzuki Alto SS80 with its 3 cylinder 800cc engine. I loved driving that car.. 4 gears and no belts to be seen.. No PS, no ABS .. infact it didn't even have brake booster..

[guest1372]



I have a question... I know from reviews that when the car was launched, the suspension was criticized so much Honda revised it. When was that? 2003? 2004? Are shocks and springs on facelift models i.e post 2004 have different tuning?

I think, judging from front suspension part code numbers, that the change is quite early before the facelift. 

Front suspension control arms left and right differs for cars after VIN# ---GDx---2s239349

From very distant memory I think they might of changed the body mounting position by a small amount, so the updated suspension cannot be retro fitted.
--
TG

P.S.  Fiat Panda 750 for the luke warm hatch win! Or maybe that's just as a 17 year old driver


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