Looking Again At The Jazz 2023

[Jazzfan49]

In the last 30 years of driving I’ve never once had to resort to battery charging or conditioning on any car, in fact I don’t even own a charger or power bank as I mostly only drive 20 plus miles at a time so my battery is always well charged, also have never had to buy a battery except on a 1975 Hilman Imp which went bang when I stopped to help a stranded motorist who reverse connected my jump leads, far better to use the vehicle than have an expensive ornament on the drive.

[coldstart]

....  as I mostly only drive 20 plus miles at a time so my battery is always well charged ....

Well, good for you that you never ever had to go through the tedium of a flat battery in your motoring life so far!

But: What makes you think the 12V battery is "always" well charged?
Have you ever checked it's charge level?

I follow the same driving patterns but can assure you, that the 12V always gets charged for several hours whenever I connect the charger.

Modern cars manage the charge level of the 12V battery quite differently than "conventional" cars used to:
They don't "automatically" charge while driving. Seemingly they charge only, while deceleratng or going downhill or when the charge level gets truly low. All this in order to eek out even the last fractions of MPG on WLTP-tests (much to the disadvantage of the 12V battery's lifetime!)

Of course it helps to regularly use the car for more than just short trips, which explains why you never had issues so far.

I prefer to be able to just connect the booster myself and be mobile in minutes again to going through the tedium of calling road assistance for an eventual jump start.

[Jazzik]

Modern cars manage the charge level of the 12V battery quite differently than "conventional" cars used to:
They don't "automatically" charge while driving. Seemingly they charge only, while deceleratng or going downhill or when the charge level gets truly low.

The 12v battery is (automatically ) charged by the high voltage battery, via a DC - DC converter. Which is fairly common for many brands hybrids and EVs.
And of course the HV battery in a Honda hybrid is charged via the generator connected to the ICE engine, and a smidgen here and there by regen braking.

I have been driving a hybrid for over seven and a half years now and have never used (or needed) a battery charger, power bank or jump starter.

[Jazzfan49]

340 mile round trip yesterday of which 200 were in the dark, 67mpg at motorway and dual carriageway speeds, battery voltage 12.8v when checked this morning which to me indicates a good fully charged battery, if my battery was to go flat I can always use my bench psu at home or call the RAC and/or buy a new one.
 

[ninanina]

340 mile round trip yesterday of which 200 were in the dark, 67mpg at motorway and dual carriageway speeds, battery voltage 12.8v when checked this morning which to me indicates a good fully charged battery, if my battery was to go flat I can always use my bench psu at home or call the RAC and/or buy a new one.
 

That’s great mpg for motorway/dual carriageway speeds

Can I ask how good are the Jazz headlights?  I don’t drive in the dark very often but when I do it’s nice to have bright lights

[Jazzfan49]

Jazz headlights are very good, they are bright and have a good beam pattern on dip but not so well defined on main beams, but they are the best lights I’ve ever had on any car and far superior to conventional halogen units, I love driving at night with the jazz headlights even in wet conditions with poor road markings they give you that confidence to drive in the dark, and BTW the automatic high beam works well and dips as soon as it detects a vehicle approaching or street lights, just another of this clever car’s attributes towards driving safety and comfort. 

[Jazzik]

Here is a (German) headlight test of the Jazz (Crosstar, has identical LED lamps).

[Kremmen]

The Jazz headlights are very bright and white, better than HID in my opinion

I've dipped mine slightly via the rotary switch as I felt they were dazzling other drivers

A few years ago I was walking alongside a dual carriageway (at night) and amongst the line of vehicles approaching one was very bright and dazzling. When it got closer it was a Jazz

[Lord Voltermore]

With a Jazz its important to adjust the headlight level  to match  your current  vehicle loading - number of occupants, loaded boot etc.  As with most modern cars there is a little dial wheel  with different settings. I think too many drivers are unaware of this.  .

 There are recommended settings in the handbook  but I prefer to do it in reality.   With the car a few metres from another car  I turn the wheel until the headlight  beam cut off is just below the other cars window line.   Led headlights have a clearly defined cut off line and you can see it rise or fall as you adjust the wheel.

If you feel this method means dipped beam aim is too low I suppose you could refine  it.  But I would much rather slow down a bit to match  how far I can see  than to  see a bit further but  with blinded drivers coming towards me.  Some may flash their lights so we are both blind     

[olduser1]

Most of the cars and light vans I see these days have lower tyre pressures, little if any coolant and battery around 30%.
Cars are disposable products their owners shocked when a 3page bil floats in at MOT time.

[ninanina]

Here is a (German) headlight test of the Jazz (Crosstar, has identical LED lamps).

Perfect thanks for the video, really appreciate it

The headlights look amazing on the Jazz

My current Prius has very good LED’s but was a bit worried about how the Jazz would compare but they look to be every bit as good

I think auto main beam is a godsend too. I’ve only used it once in the Prius coming back from Gatwick airport but it was pretty impressive

[Lord Voltermore]

Thanks Jazzik.. But they seem to be driving on the wrong side of the road    

But seriously.  The dipped beam cut off does appear to favour driving on the right. Yet Uk drivers are told its not necessary to convert our headlights with stickers etc  when driving on the continent.   

Are UK spec  headlights different? Is it not considered necessary to convert ,or maybe its not technically feasible to convert with beam stickers .  Japan itself drives on the left.

I have never noticed whether beam pattern cut off is  flipped to the left on my UK spec car  . If so I will need to be extra careful regarding beam height when on the continent.

I suppose I could go out tonight and check  for myself  but my couch potato symptoms worsen on cold winter evenings.   Does anyone know? 

[ninanina]

Picked up my Jazz today

I asked for a final little test drive before the handover just to double check that I was completely happy with her

The handover was seamless and painless, well apart from handing over a load of cash that is!

I am mightily impressed with my new Jazz. I was worried how she’d cope on the motorway compared to the Prius but I needn’t have worried as she seemed completely happy sitting at 70+mph

I got to grips with her adaptive cruise control really easily;  it’s a completely different procedure to the Prius but works a treat

She was quiet and comfortable on the motorway on the drive home, very impressive indeed especially for a smaller vehicle

She’s so cute compared to the Prius and I’m 100% happy with her.  What an extremely nice car the Jazz is

Managed to pair my iPhone quickly and easily while I was at the dealer so if necessary I can use Apple CarPlay now

On the way home I used the inbuilt sat nav which worked really well

Also on the way home I played around with the voice recognition which was fun.  My Prius didn’t have that facility

I’m so pleased with my new (to me!) car and couldn’t be happier

[coldstart]

Congratulations and thank you for your first impressions!
(I remember exactly this happy feeling after my first test drive with a Jazz)

Have fun with your new car!

[Jazzik]

I wish you pleasant and, above all, safe miles!