I've been looking at replacing my Jazz for a while (my normal cycle is every three to four year). Not particularly seriously but I'd already pencilled in upgrading to the new hybrid version when it finally appears. But last week I looked at the CR-V and just wasn't impressed. If that's their new hybrid technology then they are on to a loser. It is neither as powerful nor as economical as the Toyota RAV4. If that's what's in store for the Jazz then I'm not going to be impressed.
Then there's build quality. Those who know me know that I've had various (albeit minor) issues with my Jazz. None were critical but they all irked and some continue to do so. I've also never felt that the interior design was well thought out, with everything feeling thrown together. And as for the technology side, well Honda just failed miserably there. It works but it's a sad shadow of what it could be.
Whilst perusing the Toyota website I noticed how good their range was (although somewhat more expensive) so decided to visit a dealer. I had a good look at and a test drive of a Corolla hybrid. It was great to see modern technology put to proper use (it has a colour LCD screen for the dashboard) and hey, their CVT implementation is smooth as silk all the time. No need to fight with an Atkinson mode - although ironically that's because they can run their engine in that mode all the time.
But anyway I've put a deposit down so that's the end of my 18 years of being a Honda customer. Poor customer service. Poor design. Poor build quality. And now it seems they can't even come out with a decent engine. Perhaps they should have rebadged Toyota's drive train since they make it available to other manufacturers.
It's been fun and even educational on these forums and I might come back with a road test report in a few weeks (but I won't if I can't avoid gloating
). Drive safe everyone.