I just got a 2023 Jazz Advance on Monday. Overall I'm very happy with it.
I was very undecided between it and the Corolla, but what tipped the scale to the Jazz was that we are a family of 3 and the space in the back of the Corolla hatchback is ridiculously small.
We mostly drive in the city and we do low mileage a year. Only occasionally we do the motorway. In this scenario the Jazz makes more sense - There is no wrong car, only bad choices for your use case.
I think the Jazz is hands down the best city car all things considered, only rivalled by the Yaris if you don't care about boot size. The reputation it has in the UK about being a car for old people is ridiculous. This car is certainly not a clunker. Maybe the very first generation Jazz was that, but MK2 was not, I drove that car for many years when I was living in Portugal and I had fun with it. Wasn't any sort of speeder but it did it's job well and that VTEC engine was just incredibly good.
Is inevitable to compare my new Jazz with my previous car which was a Civic Si 1.8 from 2010. Almost everything is an upgrade in the new Jazz, except boot size and motorway performance in certain specific situations. The Civic was fun in the motorway, in comparison the Jazz is slightly more boring but it more than pays off because of the Active cruise control and lane assist if you are driving for more than a couple of hours in the motorway. When I drove the Jazz back home for 5 hours after leaving the Civic behind, 3 things were plainly obvious:
- Much more relaxed driving and I was much less tired in the end
- The cabin was way more silent
- The suspension was way more comfortable.
The Civic was much more temperamental and unforgiving in using the clutch and accelerator making it much harder to drive. A slight touch in the accelerator makes the car rev up quickly, the Jazz has a more progressive response.
I only got the advance due to a good deal I found, just a bit more expensive than the Elegance in the same conditions, and because it was in pearl white, which is my favourite colour for this model. I actually find the keyless entry an annoyance more than a convenience, as I will eventually forget to lock the car one day and it will not close by itself. Plus I find the included navigator pointless when both Android and Apple car work well and better and the diamond cut alloys will possibly be a headache in the long term.
I'm still getting used and learning all the features of this new car, because this change feels like a change from a Nokia 3310 to a Pixel 10 pro. When I was in Spain and rented Omoda SUV I realised I really needed to buy a newer car otherwise I would not know how to drive a modern car soon...
So I'm sure I will come here with questions at a later time as AI can be a bit frustrating at times. It was telling me that this car has walk away auto lock when it doesn't...
Anyway first impressions are very good:
- Urban performance is just outstanding
- Visibility is incredible, which I love in a car and Honda is particularly good at this.
- Fuel savings are excellent
- Good cabin sound proof
- ACC works well enough in the motorway, didn't try yet in the city.
- Comfortable suspension, an improvement from previous jazz models (MK2)
- Is competent enough in the motorway for me
- Is faster than my previous Vtec 1.8L engine in 0-30mph range.
My plan is to keep the car long term because that's what I like to do. But I realise that if I want to do this and keep the car in good condition as years go by I need to do 2 things:
Apply ceramic paint coating and apply under chassis rust treatment like lanoguard.
