Jazz as a motorway hack?

[guest1462]

Hello everyone.

It looks like I'm going to start to do a lot of motorway commuting shortly - about 500 miles a week. A friend suggested I get a second car just for commuting instead of using our big family car, which seems like a good idea, and after looking around I really fancy the Jazz - I like the fuel economy, the reliability, and the looks!

I wanted one since I it came out, and I'm a bit of a Honda fanboy in any case. Just wondered if anyone had an opinion on whether the Jazz would be a good motorway car or would it be cruel to get one and hammer it that much?

I also wondered if anyone had any advice on how much I should spend - should I get the cheapest one possible as I'm going to be racking up the mileage anyway, or should I get a younger one which might have a bit more stamina left in it? I'd like to spend as little as I can get away with but I can go a bit higher if it'll mean more value for money (or is that a question like, "how long's a piece of string"?)

Cheers
MS

[guest869]

I do quite a few motorways miles in my 1.4 53 plate. Anything over 80mph (when I am in Germany of course....   )  feels a bit thrashed but I quite often sit at 80mph. The car is quiet.

Fuel economy goes down to 45mpg when I can get over 50mpg if I cruise at say 60mph.

If you go for an early one  (around 53 plate) then be aware of the warrently issue such as gearbox, rear wheel bearings and leaking rear roof.

[JazzyB]

As a motorway car - No it just doesn't have the power/torque I found.

Its great around town and side roads.

But on a motorway upto 70mph in lane 1.

[guest1451]

Funnily enough that's exactly why i bought my Honda Jazz last week, My Lexus IS200 was killing me in the wallet with the 26MPG and other costs so i got rid of it and bought a cheap Honda Jazz. Mine is a 2002 1.4SE with 93000 miles already on the clock but was previously owned my a very car caring owner so i felt confident the car was in very good condition and would last a good few more years. To be quite honest my belief is that Japanese and German cars are so well made these days that 100,000 miles on the clock is just getting warmed up. So far I've only done 100 miles on the motorway but from my initial impression it seems good the trip computer is showing around 44MPG so I'm happy with that. As for the ride... bear in mind i'm comparing this with my Lexus IS200 i just part exchanged for this Jazz. The ride is comfortable enough, i have noticed the Jazz is more bumpy and there's more wind noise but to be quite honest these are only minor complaints cos if the car was cheap and will save you money in the long run then these little niggles you will get used to because your body just gets used to it... plus there's always the stereo... Overall though i love it! cos it's Soo much cheaper to run than the Lexus and I'm smiling to the bank.... Did i mention it's very practical as well? Do make sure you check the cars service history and make sure everything that should've been done or changed was done and changed before you buy a Jazz with my kind of mileage otherwise you might bump into some headaches very soon... I have noticed that roaming around towns, cities and villages the Jazz is in it's element, if you're looking for economical comfortable motorways miles then the Jazz mind not be the perfect match, I'm only saying this cos i bought it for the same reason as you and I've already spent the money and bought the car so I'm already in the thick of it.

[culzean]

Why not - the Jazz is quite happy to sit at 70 to 80 mph all day, is pretty quiet and low wind noise, and tyre noise is low if you have the right tyres on it. Forget the idea that the engine is 'revving too much' or is 'too small' to go on the motorway, I would rather have a Honda engine in front of me than any other engine on the planet, irrespective of size.

Motorway miles are actually much easier on a car that the constant cold starts and stop start driving of town driving. You will be able to use Castrol EDGE or similar oil and get the benefit of the extended mileage drain period within 12 months.  Personally I am wary of cars that do not cover many miles because I consider the best maintenance you can do to your car is to use it every day and do a reasonable mileage (especially for the CAT and the oil) - to me a car is a tool, not something to polish everyday and sit on your drive for the neighbours to admire, and I hate people who take some kind of smug pride in saying how few miles their car has covered and how much more it will be worth when they trade it in. My aim in life is to 'wear out, not rust out'.

I had a Civic 1.5 VTEC-E before the Jazz, which was only just over 100cc bigger than the Jazz engine, in a heavier car, it did 175K never had a spanner on it except for cam-belt changes, never used a drop of oil and always started first time and I got around 50mpg on a run. The only reason I had to (regretfully) trade it in was because of rust in the rear wheel arches.  I would have happily transplanted the engine into a newer body.

[culzean]

Anyone who thinks that 100K is a lot of miles in a Honda should take a look at this site - one over 700K and still going strong. As Jeremy Clarkson says, 'Its a Honda and will probably outlast the universe'.


http://www.hondabeat.com/highmiles.php

[guest1451]

My god! that's astonishing! Just goes to show, if the car has been well looked after then 100,000 miles is nothing. Bear in mind Honda engines are made to withstand very high tolerances, how else can their V-TEC engines rev so high and still remain so reliable without needing any work? Just keep the up the routine oil changes whichever comes first, one year or 10,000 miles.

[nowster]

My EX seems to ask for an oil change every 8k miles...

I do a mix of city, rural and motorway driving. I don't think the rev counter has been over 4500rpm for more than a few seconds any week.

[guest1451]

Ok, i've just had a nice long 200 mile motorway journey today and i can confirm that the Jazz if perfectly fine on the motorway, the ride is comfortable. If you doodle along at a nice 70mph then you are likely to get the best MPG figure in the region of 46 but if your in a rush and floor it touching 100 then the Jazz can also accommodate, the MPG fill fall to around 43MPG and will require more concentration because of the Jazz's light weight thin wheels and higher stance but overall a guaranteed MPG of over 40 however you drive is good with me. I'm happy 

[nowster]

On the other hand, if you're happy to sit at the HGV speed of 56mph, you'll be rewarded with an MPG figure in the 50s or 60s (depending on load and terrain). On a quiet motorway when I'm not in a rush, you'll often find me pootling along with the heavies in lane 1. Even so, the 1.3 VTEC engine does have the ability to go voom if you need it.

[Rory]

On the other hand, if you're happy to sit at the HGV speed of 56mph, you'll be rewarded with an MPG figure in the 50s or 60s (depending on load and terrain). On a quiet motorway when I'm not in a rush, you'll often find me pootling along with the heavies in lane 1.

Dangerous place to be - my uncle used to drive regularly up the M6 to visit one of their factories and he was a lane 1 plodder.  He had 3 big accidents and was very lucky not to have been killed.  It's a totally different kettle of fish being hit by an HGV at 50 than by a car in lane 3 at 70.  An HGV has the same energy at 4MPH as a car does at 70.

I think Jazz is too tall to be comfortable on the motorway - it gets blown around too much by the wind and the slipstream from trucks.

[Geoffers]

Gordon Bennett!
The way some of you guys write off the Jazz as being unsuitable for motorways is unbelievable!
Not enough power - oodles more power than my Renault 21's with a 1723cc injected engine!
Too tall - my A class Merc suffered more from side winds than either of my Jazzes!
And, it has a good NCAP rating too.

Last year I drove back from the Med coast in Spain without noticing anything untoward. I've driven in, through, and around Paris many times, and mixed it with their taxis without problem. The Jazz is a great little car and deserves the title 'Best of the Super Minis'!

[RichardA]

I occasionly use the Jazz on the M23/M25 and sometimes the M3 motorway and it easily keeps up with traffic.

I don't find the road noise on the concrete sections of the M25 to be too much of a problem.

[guest806]

I use mine to get from Kent to Norfolk every now and then and enjoy the ride everytime.

[culzean]

Last year did over 2000 miles in two weeks touring Scotland including mainly motorway from Shropshire to Scotland and back, never once felt I needed more power and wasn't uncomfortable doing long spells at the wheel.  The Honda engine just purred like a cat thats just eaten a tub of cream!

A lot of people still don't understand that todays 1.4 litre engine is much better than a 2 litre+ lump from not so many years ago, and with modern engineering, build quality, materials and lubricants it is only just running in at 100K.

By the way, I read in a car magazine the other day that buying figures show that large numbers of private buyers are turning their backs on Diesel cars in favour of smaller engined economical petrol cars - looks like the Honda decision not to make a diesel Jazz was right on the money!!!