Getting a MK4 perhaps.

[emp]

what is the hand brake? ...  I have no hand brake in my Honda Jazz Crosstar 2026.

I still can't work out if this is a wind-up. Is there really someone out there, driving a car, who doesn't know what a handbrake is or whether their car has one?

yes my mistake. I actually always use the "handbrake" when I park. It is the button before the "brake and hold". I forgot about that when I wrote that post.

When I still had my car with manual gears I used to leave it in the first gear and not use the handbrake. Before that I had a Mitsubishi and one time in the wintertime the handbrake got stuck. When releasing the handbrake it did not release, did not come free. I used a big hammer back then and banged on the wheel en then it finally got unstuck.

[Lord Voltermore]

That's the one thing that was a concern for me. If you have a brake failure then you are relying on an electronic component working to bring you to a stop.

With the old lever and cable you knew you had a reliable failsafe

IMO the sytem used in the  MK4 is  a major improvement in safety  over conventional cars using the 19th century technology of bowden cables and linkages  (invented in 1896)  . Older Jazz are not renowned for the efficency of their handbrakes, unless well maintained. Cables and linkages can rust or jam, and are subject to wear and tear.  And I have never been that impressed by how well conventional handbrakes stop a moving car.(essentially now 19th century rear wheel only braking )   Even if they are powerful enough to lock the back wheels this increases the chances of losing control.

With the mk 4 if the electrics fail you still have  hydraulic brakes,even if they are not fully power assisted.   Hydraulic circuits to individual brakes are separated  so you wont lose them all at once.  In a conventional  cars you would indeed lose hydraulic brakes completely if the foot pedal master cylinder circuit failed .But the mk4 duplicates this essential link using the electric handbrake switch to directly power the electric driven brake servo/abs system.  The chances of the hydraulic brakes, the electric servo/abs pump and the powerful rear electric handbrake callipers  all failing at the  same time are almost nil. (you might as well accept that fate is determined to have you  )



 

[Lord Voltermore]

 I have posted my  experiences with electric handbrakes and brake hold before, perhaps ad nauseum, but it was some years ago.  May be of interest to some more recent mk4 owners.

After many years driving a manual car I had developed a bad habit in stop/start traffic  of applying the handbrake   just slightly before coming to  a complete stop.  (barely moving - the driver behind would not have noticed)     But if  'jumping the gun' like this with electric handbrake the car would  lurch suddenly to a stop. Sometimes quite dramatic.  Even when braking to a definite and complete stop I found it better to delay  applying the handbrake by maybe a second  to allow the car time  to settle back down on its springs . Otherwise there was a short creaking noise.

Once I learned  the delights of brake hold   I encountered a similar problem .I would sometimes come gently to a stop on the footbrake but unconsciously  come off the brakes  just a fraction before fully stopping, allowing the car to come to its own gentle stop.    Barely moving,  a really , really tiny amount of wheel rotation.    But the cars abs system was able to detect this and brake hold did not activate. When I took my foot off the brake pedal the car would start  creeping forward again.   Not dangerous, plenty of time to apply the  brake again to   make sure I was fully stopped. At which point I was confident brake hold was applied.  .  I quickly overcome  both bad habits   

i

[Jazzik]

That's the one thing that was a concern for me. If you have a brake failure then you are relying on an electronic component working to bring you to a stop.

With the old lever and cable you knew you had a reliable failsafe

I'm not going to repeat what our Lord V. above has already written about this.
I just want to say:
Welcome to the 21st century, not everything from the "good old days" was better...

[coldstart]

With the old lever and cable you knew you had a reliable failsafe

Don't get me started on "steering by wire"!

[John Ratsey]

I find the brake hold doesn't give a smooth pull away,  it has a slight jerk when moving off, must be due to brake releasing with the wheels powered, I'm not keen on it, so reluctant to use brake hold unless I'm in for long wait, for example at a railway crossing. I'll try the hand brake next time though.

Same here. I didn't like that slight jerkiness and small delay.