Honda Jazz review

There are four trims to choose from, plus the Crosstar EX and its lifestyle ambitions. The SE starts the bidding at £20,450, the SR costs from £21,935, the EX from £23,545 and the EX Style will set you back £25,940. The Crosstar costs £24,815. Of course, you can splurge on fancier paint and various other options if you fancy. 

The entry spec is basic, but you do get a few interesting bits and pieces like auto wipers, aircon, LED headlights and adaptive cruise control that are welcome. You’ll have to make do with a 5in dash display for the radio, steel wheels with plastic trim and a cheapo sound system though.

SR trim adds parking sensors, 15in alloys, wireless Apple CarPlay and a 9in touchscreen, EX gets keyless entry, heated seats and steering wheel, a rearview camera and Garmin-based satnav, while the EX Style gains a splash of leather, all the high-tech safety kit and swish 16in alloys.

What about monthly lease options? 

It’ll cost around £345 a month to get into an entry level SE car, quickly rising to £380 for the SR, £420 for the EX and £60 more for the EX Style, while the Crosstar model will cost around £450 a month. 

On fuel economy, the hybrid system certainly does its job. It’s not too difficult to achieve a solid 50mpg in the car, even if you do a lot on motorways where hybrids traditionally fall down. Around town or on slower roads you might even be able to beat the 58.9mpg WLTP figure. 

How safe is the Jazz?

It’s a nice, safe car – the Jazz got the full five stars in its 2020 Euro NCAP test, thanks to vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane centring, radar cruise, road-edge sensing and LED headlamps that all come as standard. That’s as well as 10 airbags, including one that pops up between the driver and passenger to prevent them mashing into each other in a side crash.

What about other cars?

The obvious rival for the Jazz is the Toyota Yaris hybrid – both quite similarly on all the major specs, although the Jazz has the larger boot (304 versus 286 litres) and can fit more in with the seats down (1,205 litres versus 947). The Yaris starts out around the same price and tops out around £24k. It’s significantly cheaper on a monthly lease though, where you’d be looking at £250 to £325 a month. If you’re not too wedded to the idea of a high-tech hybrid, then the Skoda Fabia is also worth a look as a brilliant all-rounder. Or you could go the whole hog and try something fully electric, like the Peugeot e-208 or Vauxhall e-Corsa.