Good v bad

[guest5685]

When I went down the Honda dealership to test out the Mk3 I loved the look of it but it was 2inches narrower (about 5cms to all you young 'un's).

It seemed taller too.

Looking at the specs of the Mk2 and Mk3, the overall width of the Mk2, excluding wing mirrors, is 1695mm compared to 1694mm for the Mk3, a difference of only 1mm.  If you include the wing mirrors, the widths are 2029mm for the Mk2 and 1980mm for the Mk3, a difference of 49mm, about 2 inches.

well I was only 1mm out 

[John Ratsey]

well I was only 1mm out 

But the key point is that the width of the car's body hasn't significantly changed but the mirrors stick out an inch less on each side, which is no bad thing.

[guest5679]

Both my wife and I don't think there is as much space in the front in the new Jazz compared with the previous model, ...

I suspect this statement is true, but I can't quote any physical dimensions in support of this assertion.

On my recent test drive of the Mk3 Jazz, the first thing I did after entering the car in the driver's seat was to push the seat back as far as it would go and raise the seat to its highest level.  This is my preferred the position of the driver's seat in my Mk1 Jazz.  I am tall and I prefer a high position when I am driving.

With the driver's seat in this position, my legs definitely felt cramped in the Mk3 Jazz, even after I had adjusted the angle of the back of the seat to my liking.  There is no such problem in my Mk1 Jazz.  So I do suspect that there is less room in the front of the Mk3 Jazz compared to the Mk1 Jazz.  And I suspect it is also true compared to the Mk2 Jazz because I don't recall experiencing this problem a few years ago when I had a test drive in a Mk2 Jazz. 

So, in order to find a comfortable position for my legs in the Mk3 Jazz, I had to lower the driver's seat significantly.  (On both the Mk1 and Mk3 Jazz, when you lower the driver's seat, it also has the effect of moving the seat further back.)  So, if I do buy a Mk3 Jazz, I'm going to have to find someway of raising my body in the driver's seat.  Not ideal!

[guest5679]

The Mk3 lost ... other more practical little storage places in comparison with our current Jazz.

Yes, this is something that my wife and I noticed during our test drive of the Mk3 Jazz.

Our Mk1 Jazz has a fairly large glove compartment with an internal shelf, a wide shelf under the glove compartment and a similar one for the driver under the steering column, reasonably sized side pockets on the front doors, three small compartments in the central column in front of the gear lever (one of which is occupied by the removable ash tray/rubbish tray), and three small compartments in the vicinity of the hand brake.

The Mk3 Jazz has a much smaller glove compartment with no internal shelf, much smaller side pockets on the front doors, no wide shelves in front of the driver or front seat passenger, and no compartments in the vicinity of the hand brake.  However, it has retained the three compartments in the central column in front of the gear lever.  Overall, my wife and I think a lot of storage space has been lost.

We need to be able to store, within easy reach of the driver or front seat passenger, the Jazz handbook and other documents and booklets, packs of tissues, packs of hand wipes, two breathalyser kits (for motoring in France), two yellow visibility vests (for continental motoring), reading glasses and sun glasses, guide books and maps, travel documents, two 500ml bottles of water (e.g. Volvic, Evian, etc.), and possibly a few other things that don’t readily come to mind.

And, if the compartment to the right of the steering wheel is the ash tray/rubbish tray, how is my wife supposed to dispose of used tissues, hand wipes and any other rubbish while I am driving?  (Neither of us smoke, by the way.)

There is also a small compartment in the boot of our Mk1 Jazz in which we keep our spare bulb kit (for continental motoring), a chamois leather, and a window squeegee.  This compartment has also gone on the Mk3 Jazz.

[John Ratsey]

You haven't mentioned the Mk 3's storage box between the front seats. It can hold quite a few bits and pieces (and has a USB socket in the bottom). Get the right size of water bottle and they will fit in the door pockets.

I suspect one reason for reduction in convenient storage is safety, possibly increased airbag provision but also the removal of anything that could hurt legs in the event of a collision. The Mk 3 also lost the bottle storage next to the passenger side mirror. My wife grumbled but I welcomed the change because a bottle in that hole would obstruct the driver's view of the nearside mirror.

[guest5679]

You haven't mentioned the Mk 3's storage box between the front seats. It can hold quite a few bits and pieces (and has a USB socket in the bottom).

I must have missed that!  Is it under the armrest on the central column, behind the hand brake?

Get the right size of water bottle and they will fit in the door pockets.

Next time I visit my local dealer, I'll take along a 500ml bottle of Volvic or Evian and see whether it will fit in the side pockets of the doors.

I suspect one reason for reduction in convenient storage is safety, possibly increased airbag provision but also the removal of anything that could hurt legs in the event of a collision. The Mk 3 also lost the bottle storage next to the passenger side mirror. My wife grumbled but I welcomed the change because a bottle in that hole would obstruct the driver's view of the nearside mirror.

My Mk1 SE Jazz doesn't have bottle storage next to the passenger side mirror.  Must have come in with the Mk2?

[guest3042]

The more I read on the forum about the Mk3 Jazz the more I think I will keep my Hybrid. The negatives seem to outnumber the positives, or am I misinterpreting the comments?
Does any new Mk3 owner have misgivings since buying the new car?

[guest5679]

During my test drive in the Mk3 Jazz, I looked inside the boot and got the impression that the boot is smaller than that in my Mk1 Jazz.  So, back home, I looked up the specifications.  The documented boot capacities are as follows: 353 litres for the Mk1, 399 litres for the Mk2, and 354 litres for the Mk3.  So, in theory, the Mk3 boot is 1 litre larger than Mk1 boot.

However, from a practical point of view (that is, from the point of view of storing suitcases, holdalls, shopping bags, cardboard boxes, etc.), the most useful part of the boot is the rectangular area between the wheel arches and between the front and back of the boot.  The “nooks and crannies” are more difficult to make use of.

So, this week, I called by my local Honda dealer with a tape measure.  The boot in the Mk3 Jazz measures 100.5 cm between the wheel arches and 70 cm from the front to the back of the boot.  In my Mk1 Jazz, the size of the equivalent rectangle is 102.5 cm x 72 cm.  So, the “useful” part of the boot in the Mk3 Jazz is actually smaller than in my Mk1 Jazz.  But, considering the small differences in the dimensions, I was a little surprised that I was able to detect this difference simply by inspection.

My eye might have been helped by the fact that, in both the Mk1 and Mk3 Jazz, the back wall of the boot (at the very rear of the car) has a concave profile, but this concave profile is much deeper in the Mk3 Jazz than in the Mk1 Jazz.  And, when I measured from the front to the back of the boot, I measured along the centre line of the boot, to the deepest part of the concave profile.  So, the floor area of the boot in the Mk3 Jazz might be considerably smaller than that suggested by the 2 cm difference in the two front-to-back measurements.

In the 11 years that we have owned our Mk1 Jazz, we have packed so much into the boot.  At times, it has been a very tight squeeze.  If we get a Mk3 Jazz, it looks as though it might be an even tighter squeeze.  So I’m a little disappointed.

I reported earlier in the thread that, compared to our Mk1 Jazz, the Mk3 Jazz appears to have lost some space in the front seats.  And now it appears to have lost a little depth in the boot as well.  Considering that the overall length of the Mk3 Jazz is 16.5 cm longer than our Mk1 Jazz, I am left wondering where all the extra length has gone.  In the back seats?  Under the bonnet?

[John Ratsey]

Yes, the extra length in the Mk 3 was given to the back seats and you can quickly see this if you look at the space in the footwell. Honda's advertising claims more back seat legroom than an S class Mercedes, not that most Jazz owners are looking for this feature. Why such generosity for the back seat passengers is unclear. Possibly so that the front seats can be tilted back for Honda's relax mode or maybe Honda assume that there is a market for chauffeur-driven Jazzes.

I would have preferred a slightly larger boot although the rear seat footwells (and under the seats) provide useful stowage space if the car isn't full of people. Sliding Magic Seats would have been the ideal solution. As it is, if you flip up the Magic Seats then the space available is substantially larger than before.

I think the Mk 2's extra boot capacity came from including the spare wheel well. The tools were tucked away behind the bumper and the TRK behind a hatch on the right wheel arch.

[guest4871]

The Mk 3 Jazz seems to be somewhat inspired by the Mk 7 Civic which also advertised itself as having more leg room than an S type (also to the detriment of boot space). The Jazz later models do seem to be something of scaled down version of the Mk 7 Civic.

I had originally planned to buy a Mk 3 Jazz but the 12/ 18 month post announcement wait persuaded me to buy a Mk 2 and I am exceedingly pleased I did -  with more boot space, more glass and sensible rear leg room that suits my needs.

Also, of course, I have avoided the dreaded “auto lights permanently on” (which are, of course, not automatic) syndrome.

I am sure I read in the initial (Japanese) launch material that the Mk 3 was 5cm shorter than the Mk 2 but with a longer wheel base. The European Mk 3 is 5cm longer than the Mk 2– for me, another plus for the Mk 2.

[John Ratsey]

I am sure I read in the initial (Japanese) launch material that the Mk 3 was 5cm shorter than the Mk 2 but with a longer wheel base. The European Mk 3 is 5cm longer than the Mk 2– for me, another plus for the Mk 2.

It's possible that some of the extra overall length of the Mk 3 was used to improve the aerodynamics and/or add bigger crumple zones. The front end of the Mk 3 curves away to the sides more than the previous models which should improve the airflow but to achieve this shape Honda probably needed to make the centre slightly longer.

[edam]

I have finally decided not to get a MK3 as the boot is smaller than my MK2.
I struggle to fit my fishing chair in my MK2 as it is but in the Mk3 there is no chance.

[guest5679]

It's possible that some of the extra overall length of the Mk 3 was used to improve the aerodynamics and/or add bigger crumple zones.

Yes, I suspect that some of the extra length has gone elsewhere other than the back seats.  The Mk3 Jazz is 16.5 cm longer than the Mk1 Jazz.  So, in theory, the 16.5 cm (about 6.5 inches) could have been added to the back seats without touching the size of the boot or the leg room in the front seats!

Of course, I am aware of the all the additional space (other than in the boot) that the Jazz provides and we have made very good use of it over the years.  However, there is a “spanner in the works”.  Many (if not most or all) household contents insurance policies and travel insurance policies will not cover the theft of personal possessions left in a car unless they are completely out of sight in a locked boot.  My wife and I take frequent breaks in which we tour places in the UK and on the near Continent.  On these occasions, it is vital that we can store all our luggage and anything we buy (e.g. cartons of bottles of wine from vineyards) in the boot of the car.  And the cavernous boot of our Mk1 Jazz has been marvellous in this respect.  (That said, there have been times when we have run out of space in the boot after visiting a hypermarket in France just before boarding the ferry to return to the UK.  We have then had to take a chance and store a few articles as inconspicuously as possible in the foot wells of the back seats.)

So you can see why the size of the boot in the Mk3 Jazz is an important consideration for us.

If the documented capacity of 399 litres for the boot of the Mk2 Jazz includes the spare wheel well, I am left wondering whether the documented capacity of 354 litres for the boot of the Mk3 Jazz also includes the useful space under the floor of the boot.  If it does, then the situation is even worse than I thought.

[John Ratsey]

Some measurements for the MK 3 boot in case anyone wants to compare these with the previous models.

 - Width between wheel arches 1025mm, maximum width 1225mm.
 - Depth from sill to back seat on bottom of boot, minimum 620mm, maximum 690mm (in centre). These will reduce with height because the back seat slopes.
 - Height (to top of cover pivots (as approximation to bottom of cover) 570mm.

Plus a couple of photos of the boot.

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[guest5643]

I have found these,I assume they are Mk1 and Mk2,sorry posted same pic twice    

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