Hill climbing ability

[Lord Voltermore]

I think some owners who might  be contemplating buying a mk4  may be concerned about the hybrids  ability  to climb and descend steep hills.

I have commented in the past how IMO it climbs long continental alpine passes  easily, and long descents are no problem even in D mode. Albeit maybe a bit noisier than usual when working hard  or  having to use its ICE for engine braking, rather than generator magnetic  drag.

I have recently been able to put it through its paces in North Yorkshire , where hills can be very steep, although generally quite short. But probably as challenging as any you could find in the UK  . Indeed I said to Mrs LV (in a fake Yorkshire Accent) "Eh Yup Lass, this is like the alps only steeper" 

I went up and down  Sutton Bank (on the A170 near Thirsk)   several times.  This is 25% ( 1 in 4)  . No problem at all Up or down . It is quite short - only about a mile or so.    Two passengers
Also several other roads signed as  20% (1 in 5)   and I  made hill starts on quiet roads with undulating hillocks that must be at least 25% for a few metres.   

IMO UK owners should have no concerns , or indeed elsewhere in Europe.
   
Amazing how many road kill pheasants  we saw .  By coincidence we heard a discussion on the radio  next day  that the number of Pheasant chicks raised and released for shooting income has increased from just a few million to 50 million a year  in recent years  Needless to say the  opinions on this  were heated. 

[Jazzik]

Amazing how many road kill pheasants  we saw .  By coincidence we heard a discussion on the radio  next day  that the number of Pheasant chicks raised and released for shooting income has increased from just a few million to 50 million a year  in recent years  Needless to say the  opinions on this  were heated.

So it seems that quite a few of those pheasants have decided that it is better to get run over (and slightly damage some cars in the process) than to let the hunters have their fun and get shot.

[5thcivic]

Valuable practical experience there. It is what I would expect from Honda engineering, they would not put out a system that fell down under the most extreme of "ordinary" driving conditions.

[Nicksey]

Been in the Lakes, Dales and Peaks.. never had a problem. It took a few moments to suss out descents without making the motor high rev, but find the Jazz far easier and effortless with hills than any 'geared' car previously owned.

[Lord Voltermore]

On some stretches of road  there was a live pheasant every 100 metres waiting its turn to become  road kill  and a dead one every 300 metres or so  . And these are just the ones  that survived the pheasant shooting season( captive rearing the  chicks consumes 2% of the UK's wheat crop  )  .

Lots of fat crows and raptors feeding off the roadkill   , not necessarily a good thing for the wildlife  eco system as a whole. Maybe silent EV's play their part in this . A flightless predatory bird species may evolve. 

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[Downsizer]

I think the correct behaviour is to leave the bird that you have killed for the next motorist. But preparing one for the table is a messy business!

[Bristol_Crosstar]

There are many steep hills here as I live on the edge of the Mendips. It's harder work for the car going up hills if the battery's low when you start meaning the engine has to do all the work, it still gets up ok but a bit noisy. If the battery is say greater than 70% then it's a lot easier.

[Pine]

Living on the edge of Dartmoor most of the time I am either going uphill or downhill and I have been surprised at how well the Jazz goes up the hills although I don't think I have experienced a drained battery.  Plenty of times I have seen the HV battery indicator at 100% before I've even got half way down a hill and I have never seen it go below 30%.

My Jazz is fairly new so I was wondering if I will notice any difference when the car is fully run in.

[Kremmen]

I remember climbing Porlock Hill in a 850cc Hillman Imp with 3 on board and luggage which was a struggle but it made it

I would imagine a 1,500cc engine with powerful electric assist when available should be OK

[Nicksey]

Living on the edge of Dartmoor most of the time I am either going uphill or downhill and I have been surprised at how well the Jazz goes up the hills although I don't think I have experienced a drained battery.  Plenty of times I have seen the HV battery indicator at 100% before I've even got half way down a hill and I have never seen it go below 30%.

My Jazz is fairly new so I was wondering if I will notice any difference when the car is fully run in.

3 years old, 37k miles.. and I still see 100% full and only on a couple of occasions (and very briefly) has it dropped to 2 bars/20% before flicking back to 30% before starting the steady recharge to 100% again.

[Lord Voltermore]

My Jazz is fairly new so I was wondering if I will notice any difference when the car is fully run in.

Not noticed any difference at 12K miles.   But I have heard fuel consumption may improve a bit when the car is fully run in.   I did get the impression on my 2021 car that things changed slightly when the car reached about 1000 miles.(or maybe it was 1000 km/600 miles) Almost as if Honda  deliberately use the ECU to moderate  maximum performance for a run in period.  But I didnt notice this happening on my 2024 facelift car.