Steep hills and country lanes

[Chipitin]

I am considering the purchase of a Jazz (Advance or Sport) in the near future but would like to hear opinions from existing owners re. steep hills -does the engine rev excessively on a long climb (compared to normal petrol car)?
Also, do the safety systems  cause annoying alarms on narrow country lanes?
Don't think I will be able to check these things out on a test drive so comments would be appreciated.

[Jazzfan49]

In a normal ic engine car going up a steep hill you would be in a lower gear and having to pull higher revs, so the Jazz is no different in as much as the more speed you require results in higher engine revs, it’s not overly excessive and it’s typical of the Jazz transmission system, Honda makes engines that like to rev are are extremely reliable and long lasting so no worries there.
As for country roads and narrow lanes I’ve never had any problems with the safety systems bearing in mind you can turn them off, I personally leave all safety systems on and have no problem's, I’ve had my 23 reg SR for 10 months and 10k miles and use it on all roads and absolutely love it, it’s so relaxing to drive plus it is quiet and comfortable, I’ve never once regretted buying it and would buy another. 

[ahavoja]

The Road Departure Mitigation System (RDMS) can be turned off, so that's good, but it turns on again when you restart the car next time, which can be annoying to some. You can try how to turn it off (by using the thumb scroll wheel on the steering wheel) when you take the test drive, to see does it annoy you.

The RDMS sometimes beeps and tries to turn the steering wheel when I'm driving on partially snow covered roads, but your arms are stronger than it, so not a big problem, just a bit annoying. Luckily it doesn't happen every time I drive.

The engine only revs up to higher revs when the Jazz needs more power, which happens when:
- Going up a steep hill at high speed.
- Accelerating hard.

So if you drive the steep hill up slowly, the engine will almost just idle.

The best part is that it all happens automatically, so you don't need to worry about it. Mk4 Jazz is easy and relaxing to drive like an electric car, with the exception that sometimes you hear the engine running in the background like you would in a normal petrol or diesel car. At higher speeds the tyre and road noise is louder than the engine noise, so above 50 mph I can't even tell by hearing when the engine runs and when it doesn't. Could be a good idea to test drive also above 50 mph, and do some hard acceleration.

[CB72]

I drive on steep hills and country roads regularly and have no problems.  Going up hills it revs a bit but no more than a IC car but You don't have to worry about what gear you are in and you can keep up with the fastest vehicles. On country roads the RDMS kicks in if you get to near to the verge especially when pulling over to pass another vehicle but only at speed. The Jazz seems to pick up more muck than other cars I have owned, especially the back window when raining. You won't be disappointed with a Jazz.

[Nicksey]

Flies up hills no problem. I have found it looses no power and once you understand the 'auto gearbox' and how to use it, you will find it better than a manual by far. Definitely not a slouch.
The RDMS and its other gadgetry are fine, again once you understand them.
You will enjoy its effortless driving style, comfort, performance and economy.

[Lord Voltermore]

I agree with the others. Great on Hills( and mountains.)    Hill starts are a doddle. No rolling back, clutch control, releasing handbrake etc. .  Just press the accelerator and off it goes.  Simples. 

I get very few RDMS activations on narrow country roads.   Especially once you get used to it.  If you really find  you cant tolerate it, and reducing its sensitivity doesn't help, you can switch it off.

I cant compare it with previous Jazz models. But leaving aside all iits  advanced  clever tricks ,driver aids   infotainments etc    its the hybrid technology  that has  really impressed me.  A massive leap forward  in refinement and ease of driving  compared to anything I have driven before. 

[Kremmen]

Also, on steep hills you have the electric motor backing up the engine, or vice versa, if both are needed

[5thcivic]

I came from manual 1.8 vTec Civics so was concerned about the noise and acceleration in comparison. For the test drives I went on dual carriageway and when empty slowed to 20, 30 mph and put my foot to the floor to 60+. No problem for acceleration, maybe even better low down for extra torque from the electric, and noise no different to flooring a normal engine car, maybe even less than most. It is the most relaxing car and the nearest to my full electric to drive for an auto without the dull spot problems of auto gearboxes or whiny constant belt drives. For years I looked down on auto gearboxes, the only pleasurable ones were V12 Jags when I worked on the control units. Now with the Jazz I'm glad to have rid of the gearbox.

[tfw7]

I find the RMDS too sensitive on narrow roads so turn it off each time I start up.
I have one particular hill where I always think it is over revving - have usually stopped at roundabout at the bottom, then accelerate quickly away to 50 - seems a bit noisy but nothing too bad.

[Geoff_W]

I've found the RDMS system too sensitive, so always switch it off for every journey. On narrow country lanes the system has an aversion to road edges and hedges, continually trying to pull the car back to the middle of the road - not helpful with oncoming traffic. Also, it objects to crossing the central white road markings which, on urban roads with parked cars, you have to do a lot. Still, despite the foregoing, it's a great car to own and drive, and I certainly wouldn't go back to a manual transmission.

[Lincolnshire Rambler]

Having driven my jazz across a fair few very steep passes in Lake District and some good inclines in North Yorkshire it makes it all Effortless. And a traffic jam leaving whitby last summer up blue bank was 30mins of stopping /crawling 5 yards to stop again and repeat was totally easy !! A manual with handbrake would have had me u turning back down the hill !! Doing so in the jazz in 30c heat with the aircon working  in silence is ‘ simply clever ‘ to pinch the Skoda ads comment … even on 1:4 hills you only need to touch the accelerator a bit to release the brake hold and off you climb . The IC engine then revs only as much as it’s needs .it’s I think the only time you can hold the petrol engine at a particular speed as otherwise it reduces the IC speed as the power demand tails off once your over the hill . The large amount of torque available from the electric motor is key to this effortless performance . And similarly going downhill the deaccleration performance us very smooth progressive .

[Ext3h]

Hills up to round about 100-150 meters of elevation pose no issue whatsoever, you won't even notice extra consumption. If you start with a full battery at the bottom it will be empty at the top (with the engine still quiet, possibly even still full EV depending on speed), and full again on the way down.

It does require some smart switching between Eco and (if available) Sports mode, add that's unfortunately the ONLY way to influence the target battery charge the car is aiming for, and you want to make sure it's not empty when you start the climb! Eco aims for a Window between 20-40% charge, Sports for 60-80%. So you can just this to pre-condition the battery at peak efficiency.

Bigger climbs or descents result in slightly higher revs , and motor brake on the way down. Also far from noisy though.

Just in case you are wondering, you have to do about >100mph at a >5% climb to actually get the engine reving up to full speed for an extended period.

[Chipitin]

Many thanks for all the interesting and informative replies - far more than I expected.
I think owner's opinions carry much more weight than online reviews.
I am now looking forward to a test drive in the near future and it is good to know that there is such a friendly and helpful forum available.
Thank you all again.

[Lincolnshire Rambler]

I know on long motorway inclines the jazz will drive on IC power directly to quite a high speed before it needs to run on the electric motor to take over . And yes it’s well in excess of 70 before it does so! Obviously if you floor it going up the grade it will spin up the IC engine to release the power needed by the electric motor .In normal up the inclines the electric motor will top up the IC power or charge the battery if it levels off or descends . The only time it doesn’t if you are heading out with a cold cabin and the heat is needed from the IC engine . But I don’t zoom about with a cold engine and I live quite a few miles off any dual carriageway to be able to do so…!

[CB72]

Try Porlock Hill in Exmoor, no need to select a lower gear