1.4 suitable for long distances?

[guest1789]

 

    From home(Edinburgh)to Hampshire.Then to Ullapool,Stirling and then York in three weeks with not the slightest problem.

[guest1809]

I will travel to Croatia in my jazz 1.4 gd next weekend, that is about 1500 km from belgium, so I will be able to answer your question as soon as I get there  .  I Really wonder how it will handle long climbs on autobahn in germany with 83 hp.
Greetings from belgium

i've forgot that i have promissed to share my experience from the long distance trip and that i will correct now:

1. i find it very comfortable and i have felt no backache after driving almost 20 hours with few stops
2. i maintained 115/120kph (3500 rpm) because i have experienced that it gets much noisier when driving above this speed
3. my biggest worry were the long steep hills in germany, but when you know that you are driving 1400 cc engine with 83 hp you cant expect miracles. engine gets us up the hill at max of 100kph and downhill i take the foot of the pedal and let it roll down the hill at speed of 120 kph (this has very positive influence on the mpg which i didn't knew before but i don't know if it has negative influnce on the engine and gearbox).
4. when using airconditioning the power loss is very noticeable but as i already said you have to realise what kind of car you are driving.
5. no problems at all
6. my wife and child found it comfortable enough on the back seat
7. average consumption over the whole trip of almost 4000 km was 5.5 l/100 km or 51 mpg (with two grownups, a child and 3 large pieces of luggage on board)

i hope this helps

my appologies for my written english, since i'm no native speaker

[olduser1]

Danke schön!

[guest1521]

A 1.2SE... albeit a GE. For long distance motoring, I'd say that - for an economical, small car - Jazz punches WELL ABOVE its  class; it is surprisingly capable with 4 adults and fully laden boot. Surprisingly, I have found that back seat passengers can travel comfortably for many miles every bit as far as if in the front. All day mileages with short breaks every 3 hours or so - even if just for a refuel and leg stretch - are no sweat.

Passenger accommodation in the rear is one of Jazz's most surprising features; more than adequate leg and headroom even for 6-footers coupled with comfortably profiled backs to those seats and not a hint of the cramped claustrophobia that is usually part of the small car experience, especially for back seat passengers.

In fact, even as a keen driver, when motoring with more than two of us I'm always willing to relinquish a front seat for one in the back... in not many cars would I enthusiastically do that.  

These observations are after almost 18,000 miles in 18 months with a whole variety of motoring including lots of motorway... German motorways, too.

[culzean]

Why are people so worried about the Jazz being suitable for long distances? Don't they know by now how good Honda engines really are??

I have a GD 1.4 SE (yes that 8 valve, under powered 'asthmatic' engined Jazz) and have done plenty of  70mph+ motorway miles without a problem.  You see the whole performance thing revolves not around absolute power, but the 'power to weight' ratio, you see the Jazz really is quite a light car. It is also very aerodynamic as well.

Don't worry so much, Trust your Honda and just go for it - I do and have never been disappointed by any Honda I have owned.

[guest1844]

Why are people so worried about the Jazz being suitable for long distances? Don't they know by now how good Honda engines really are??

It's a reasonable question. A lot of small cars are awful at speed. It also depends on what you're used to. If I jump into my old Volvo I find myself doing 90 without the radio turned up. I'd much rather drive the V70 on the motorway - however you'd expect that. It's a different kind of car.
So in answer to the question, the Jazz is very good for long distances bearing in mind its a small car. It wouldn't be my first choice of long distance car as its too noisy, neither would I choose the V70 as it's too thirsty. I'd try a Civic...

[culzean]

Cars are not designed to be noisy! Most noise in a car normally comes from the tyres - get the right ones and 80% of the noise disappears - I know that because my first Civic came with factory fitted pirelli tyres and it was a very noisy car on most road surfaces,  fitted Michelin energy and it was like a different car.  The Noise certainly isn't coming from the engine on a Jazz because I bet I'm not the only one to try and start the the Jazz engine when it is already running, because unless you look at the rev counter you don't know its running.

I can hold a conversation at 70mph quite easily, it is marginally noisier in the cabin than my brothers Lexus diesel at that speed, not bad for a car that costs about half as much.

[guest1393]

Hi There,
 
Just back from a holiday in Southern Brittany complete with roof box.  We live in West Yorkshire and found no difficulty in the trip.  Love the Jazz - feel the force.
 
Regards.

[Boanerges]

As someone who regularly used to take a Citroen 2CV loaded with two adults, two kids and two beagles plus all their luggage up to Yorkshire from Dorset, I wouldn't hesitate to take our Jazz anywhere.

My wife and I recently did the same trip in the Jazz and despite cruising at 70mph wherever possible, the fuel computer showed 57 mpg when we got there. While in Yorkshire we toured around with our daughter and her two children on board and the computer still showed an overall 54 mpg.

I still maintain that the Jazz is the best car we have ever owned.

[guest2134]

hey man took my 05 1.4 SE to Newquay a good 260 mile cost me £40 BARGAIN

Alan

[guest2698]

I love doing my long motorway journeys, although I never go more than an hour and a half. Two dogs in the back and stuff for the shows are no problem and I'm regularly overtaking without any effort, although having to do sudden braking because of some idiot pulling out isn't good as the car loses momentum. With a CVT I find it can slow down nicely on its own without too much braking.

[guest2744]

I'm a Brit living in France where 82mph (130kmph) is the legal speed limit. 
 
Though I'm a devout Jazz supporter in every way, the only thing that I'm hesitating about in upgrading my 2004 1.2 to a 2009 'new' Jazz, is indeed the engine noise over 70mph.

I've done some "scientific" research on the French motorways and tested it out, at 115 kmph it's perfect, no noise. Getting up to 130kmph the 5th gear starts 'whining' (I'm sorry but it does), then disappears after 138kmph (!) and the Jazz flys silently! However as a respecting law abiding driver I tend to always respect the 130kmph limit in France and find driving in the UK at the lower speed much more agreable.

So can anyone tell me if the 'new' Jazz engine is different from the last? Of course I could go test drive one... 

[guest2744]

PS: re above - when I said driving on UK motorways was more agreable, I was talking about the car engine noise, rather than the whole driving experience...!
I much prefer French autoroutes - with only 2 lanes there's none of this middle-lane-hogging business that seems to be getting worse in UK!!! 

Bonne route !!

[Downsizer]

So can anyone tell me if the 'new' Jazz engine is different from the last? Of course I could go test drive one... 

To me, the dominant noise in a 1.4 GE at 70 mph is from tyres, depending on road surface.  The engine and transmission are inaudible in comparison.