We have a 1.8 Civic and mk2 Jazz in the house, the Jazz is much better on fuel, I really notice that when time comes to fill up. Civic is more sporty, more power all the way and very stable on motorways ( does not get blown around by sidewinds and 'bow waves' off big trucks, also a nice footrest by the clutch pedal, which the Jazz does not really have, and of course MK2 jazz has 5 gears and Civic has 6. Strangely at 70 on motorway Civic doing pretty much the same RPM as Jazz ( about 3200 ) - they missed a trick with 6th gear not to make it more of an overdrive for more relaxed cruising. The dash design on Civic and Jazz could not be more different - the Jazz is messy with tiny little buttons in odd places, that Civic is wonderful, bigger controls, much better placed and more intuitive, and within easy reach and of course the digital speedometer - which is magic.
You are lower down in the Civic and have to keep telling rear seat occupiers to mind their heads on the way in and out of car. Rear armrest is great in Civic, and you have much better centre console cubby holes, and the door pockets don't try to cut your fingers off when putting stuff in and out. The Jazz is much easier to get in and out of and the interior much lighter and airier feeling, my wife can sometimes struggle to get out of Civic - especially if parked close to kerb. The Honda engines are always mega-reliable whether petrol or diesel - but there is no doubt the Civic is much thirstier than Jazz ( or maybe it is just the way I drive Civic, and when in Jazz her indoors is probably in with me - she kindly lets me drive whenever we go anywhere together ( LOL ) but in the Civic on my own ...... ( well its good to give the engine a blast every so often ).
