2021 Honda Jazz e:HEV Luxe long-term report part two

Our little Jazz had a big job to do last month; take the family away for the long weekend. When we arrived at our destination, our hosts commented, “How’d you all fit in that little thing?”

That’s a Jazz trick; it’s more than meets the eye thanks to its smart interior packaging. It helps that we also have a handy gear bag that we can strap to the roof of our vehicles. Here we put all our light but bulky stuff and it effectively doubled the luggage carrying capacity of the Jazz, proving a small car can work for a family. The Jazz has a well shaped boot for a small car, and there’s a cubby under the floor to stash yet more stuff. There’s no spare tyre however, only a can of repair goo. This we discovered after picking up a screw in the rear tyre last month; we could hear the air hissing out after we’d parked up. As luck would have it, we happened to be right next to a tyre shop at the time so a proper puncture repair saved the day.

How’d the Jazz go cross-country, five-up with a load strapped to the roof? Not too bad considering. With the added payload, the suspension travel managed to cope with most bumps so the Jazz’s highway ride quality remained largely intact. This aspect is quite good for a small car, with little in the way of tyre noise. We didn’t attempt much overtaking on the trek; better to be safe during long weekend travel. Even so, the powertrain was working hard cresting the hills. The engine was beavering away constantly during the trip and so the 400km travelled returned 5.5L/100km. Highlighting the fact hybrids always work better in the city, within a week of trawling around urban environs, the average was steadily heading down towards 5L/100km. With some judicious use of the throttle to maximise those EV miles, you can expect average fuel use to be in the low 4L/100km range for round town running. While the Jazz hybrid system is rather complex, driving it isn’t with few modes to mess with. There’s an Eco button, and a B mode for the trans, which adds a modicum of braking regen. However, it could do with more to maximise regen efficiency and save the brake pads but it’s probably all the little motor can muster.

As we’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, the rear seat area is a Jazz trump card, with enough space for a pair of adults/a trio of kids to fit comfortably. The Magic seat is quite plush too, while its ease of conversion (both folding down and flipping up) adds to its practicality.

It’s also handy come time to vacuum out all the muck kids leave behind, the seats lifting up out of the way to suck up everything underneath.

The Jazz’s floor mats are also rather good, covering the entire foot well. They also have handy little tabs that tuck in under the door sill trim, making sure they stay in place to capture all the filth. It’s those little things that help make life sweeter in the Jazz hybrid.