First drive: 2012 Honda Jazz in the UAE

The Honda Jazz, a sub-compact hatchback, is the kind of car that should be dominating its segment. And yet, it is the Toyota Yaris and the Nissan Tiida that have a stranglehold on sales, making the Jazz a niche product. For a while, we thought it was the price. Starting at a ridiculous Dhs 63,999 nowadays, and topping out at Dhs 71,999, you could buy a midsize sedan for that kind of dough, let alone a pint-sized runabout. But there was a time many years ago when the Jazz was actually cheap, and even then it wasn’t a familiar sight on Dubai roads. Pity, because the Jazz is a rather remarkable car in many respects.

We’ve already reviewed the Honda Jazz before, and the 2012 edition hasn’t really changed much. Up front, it gets a new grille and a prettier bumper, while in the rear, there are new light clusters as well as a reshaped bumper. New wheel designs round out the changes.

The interior remains exactly the same, except for new cloth upholstery. That means you still get the uncannily voluminous space, the magical rear seats that can flip up or fold down, the mind-boggling 11 cup-holders, the greenhouse-like optional panoramic glass roof, just enough power accessories to keep you happy, and the pleasure of enduring panel after panel of hard plastic.

But we noticed one difference between the old one and this new one that wasn’t mentioned in the marketing materials. The new model actually rides a fair bit better. Still riding on 185/55 tyres on 16-inch alloys, we drove our top-spec tester from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and back without so much as a hint of the bumpiness that we were expecting. In fact, we noticed the smoother suspension as soon as we drove off with this car from Honda’s office. The firmness of the suspension was one of the prominent complaints we had of the 2010 model, and now it feels more comfortable.

The weakling engine remains however, still churning out 118 hp and 146 Nm of torque, both at high revs. However, it handled our highway trip, a constant drive of 140 kph, without trouble, even if revving at 3000 rpm all the way. Summer temperatures were already evident, so we had the a/c and fan at full blast to cope, thereby drowning out any road or wind noise that might’ve been present but keeping us cool. The huge windows were screaming for tint, but overall, the 2012 Jazz is easily among the better sub-compact cars for long-distance cruising.

Thankfully, Honda has retained the handling characteristics that made the Jazz an “award-winner” in the books of many single-minded critics. There is precious little body roll, and the steering feel is so precise and meaty that it could pass off as a Type-R model based on the fun factor alone. But while the platform is ready to party, it’s the economy-car bits that let down its dynamics, namely the small brakes and the skinny tyres. However, that can be fun too, controlling the squirelly movements under hard braking and making the tyres squeal as they understeer at their early limits.

The Honda Jazz packs almost everything you didn’t ask for, but will be happy to get, such as baby-sized paddle shifters, USB port, six airbags, ABS, fog lights and more, and while it all drives up the price, what you get in the end is a car that satisfies every need that you might have from a car, whether it is to commute to work comfortably, drive cross-country efficiently, have fun tackling twisty roads, haul cargo when moving house, park easily in crowded places, and hold enough drinks for your football team. There really is no other car in its class that is engineered to offer the same level of practicality.