Banda is a small town on NH17, which runs between Bombay and Goa. Located in Maharashtra, on the bank of Terekhol creek, not too far away from the Goa-Maharashtra border, Banda has some historical connections. According to tourist guides, while Bandeshwar is the village deity, Banda has been called different names, depending upon who was ruling at the time – during Adilshah’s reign, it was ‘Diwansahebi,’ and ‘Adilabad’ at other times. Banda used to be the administrative centre for some 125 odd villages, and has witnessed several political conflicts in the past – Dutch, Portuguese, British, and even Moghul. Banda has a temple and memorial to Shri Ram Swami. Banda also has many mosques and steeples, such as ‘Rede Ghumat’ and ‘Bail Ghumat.’ Apparently this 250ft-high structure is still standing.
I say apparently, because I haven’t seen it. For that matter, I haven’t seen Banda either. So, you may ask, why this short history lesson? Because, I’ve only been to the outskirts of Banda to do a U-turn and return to Fort Aguada in Goa. Thanks to Honda, a bunch of journalists recently visited Goa for a night, and were unleashed on NH17 in Honda’s new Jazz for a pre-launch drive – I was among them.
That’s what this is actually about – the Jazz. Now, the Jazz is not a new car, it’s just new for India. It’s actually been around, globally speaking, since 2001 when Honda launched the first generation Jazz in Japan. Since then, the Jazz has been sold in some 130 countries, being known as the Fit in some of them. As of June 2009, India also joins the Jazz/Fit club. What Indian owners are getting is the second-generation car, which is a good thing – even though the first-generation model clocked up very impressive sales of 2 million.
One of the best things about Goa, apart from the beaches, the wine, the sausages and the Dodol and Bebinca, is that the brilliant, up-and-down, sometimes sweeping, sometimes dipping NH17 runs through it. So Goa is an ideal place to check out a new car, while having a good time as well.
The first thing you say to yourself when you set eyes on the Jazz is that it’s a mini-MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle) – MPV, as in Renault Espace, or Toyota Innova here in India. Yes, Honda had briefed me about the Super-Forward Cabin and the Dynamic Forward Leaning Form. But stand behind any rear corner of the car, and the MPV lines hit you instantly. Indeed, many people I came across on the drive (who have only the Innova to relate to) asked me if Honda had made a ‘chhoti’ (small) Innova!
Talking dimensions, the Jazz has an overall length of 3,900mm, a width of 1,695mm, and a height of 1,535mm. The wheelbase is 2,500mm, which helps to give the Jazz its MPV-ish look when viewed in profile. The Jazz rides on 175/65 R15 tyres.
Continuing with the exterior, the Jazz looks rather compact when viewed straight on, either from the front or the rear (thanks to the tail light treatment), but the profile tells you it’s been designed to carry people.
Inside, the fascia is both smart-modern and traditional. The instrument binnacle houses a tachometer, a speedometer and a fuel gauge. The speedometer has the trip computer readout integrated into it. While the driver’s seat is comfortable and has good lateral support, it’s the rear and its one-motion-operation ‘Magic Seats’ that warrant description. Just by altering seat configurations, one can swiftly transform the Jazz from a people-carrier to a goods carrier. Choose between the tall mode, the utility mode, or the long mode, and carry anything from plants and dogs through tents to music instruments for a rock band.
The AC and music system are in the centre of the stylish fascia with the music system controls replicated on the three-spoke steering wheel that’s also found in the City. Another point to note, and one has mixed feelings about this, is that both sides of the fascia have drinks holders incorporated right in front of the AC vents so that both driver and passenger can enjoy chilled drinks on the move. It’s a good idea – just as long as the drink is non-alcoholic. Another point is the upholstery, which gives the interior a smart look. The door pads have the same pattern as the seats but in a different material. This, according to Honda’s Natsume-san, is because many Indian drivers wear short sleeved shirts while driving, so the material used on the door pad is intended to feel good whenever a bare arm rubs against it.
The Indian Jazz is powered by an 89bhp, four-cylinder 1,198cc i-VTEC engine with Programmed Fuel Injection, which Honda says has been specifically designed for India. There is a 1.4L engine available abroad, but Honda has no plans to bring that in currently. Besides, the 1.2L engine allows Honda to take advantage of current excise benefits in India.
i-VTEC, as Honda owners and other car enthusiasts know, is a way of regulating the opening of intake and exhaust valves according to engine speeds. This results in optimum burning of fuel, and results not only in better power delivery, but also fuel economy. The engine’s max power comes in at 6200rpm, while the maximum torque developed is 81lb/ft at 4800rpm. The Jazz returns 16.1km/l, which is an ARAI certified fuel economy figure.
As mentioned in the ‘history lesson’ before, the drive was a short one – from Fort Aguada to Banda, just across the border in neighbouring Maharastra. The 100km to-and-fro drive is just a fraction of the total distance of the highway, but adequate for a first drive. I have to say that I was a little surprised during my first attempt at getting past another car while still in town. Despite having changed down a gear, I barely made it past the ‘overtakee.’ More circumspect thereafter, I decided to explore the engine a little more before attempting another overtaking maneouver. What I discovered is that, if the engine is under 2000rpm, there isn’t enough torque to accelerate away cleanly. The stretch of NH17 we were driving on had a good mix of straights, as well as a number of inclines and twisty bits. To tackle these inclines, one typically had to drop a couple of gears to be able to climb easily despite carrying momentum. Overtaking maneouvers had to be given thought before undertaking them. Even while driving at a steady speed, if I came off the accelerator and momentum dropped, there was not enough torque available to simply step on it and get a move on.
Once you cross 2500rpm though, getting closer to 3000rpm, it’s as if you have a different engine under the bonnet. One can actually hear the growl at 3000, which gets pretty loud by the time the engine reaches 4500rpm, and by now the Jazz is almost flying along the road – entirely stable even at 120km/h. Approaching the twisties, you change down in time to keep the revs up and suddenly you’re enjoying the drive. Unlike the earlier people-carriers, which were no-hopers on sharp turns, forget twisties, the Jazz handles rather well on the bends – so well in fact that it’s easy to think of it as a car, and not an MPV. I eased off considering it was the monsoon season in Goa, and I didn’t want to be caught out by a wet road. When it comes to slowing down however, the brakes could have been more confidence inspiring. It may also have something to do with the fact that mine was the last of three batches of mad journos unleashed on the Jazz.
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At the 71km mark on the odo, I pulled over to sit at the rear, and be driven back to Aguada. I also used the opportunity to check my fuel consumption according to the trip computer. I must mention here that I deliberately drove in fourth gear most of the time and rarely went over 80km/h (except while checking smoothness of quick gear changes, or to check high speed stability) because most cars return better figures when driven in fifth on a highway and many owners will be driving their Jazz in city traffic where they may not get into overdrive. Having said that, the figure I attained with the AC on all through, and stopping for photo shoots, was 14km/l.
Coming to the rear seat experience, the first thing you notice is the amount of glass area around you. Both front and rear pillars have quarter glasses in them – the front for improving driver visibility. The ceiling dips just after the rear seat, thus giving the passenger the benefit of headroom, which was more than adequate for me. Legroom too was more than adequate.
The Honda Jazz is also a safe car, as certified by a Five-star rating from EURO-NCAP. However, that is for the European-spec version. What is common with the Euro-spec car is the G-FORCE Control Technology (G-CON) body that is designed to control impact energy during a collision, and limits injuries together with SRS Airbags, as well as ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) with EBD (Electronic Brakefoce Distribution).
People who’ll find the Honda Jazz ideal will be parents dropping children with their school bags to school, office-goers car-pooling, families going on picnics, and even people who sometimes need to ferry goods around the city. For them, the Jazz, starting at Rs 6.98 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi) is available in six colours – Deep Sapphire Blue, Sherbet Blue, Habanero Red, Alabaster Silver, Crystal Black Pearl and Tafeta White.
Honda have taken yet another bold step in introducing
the Jazz in India, as they attempt to cement the creation
of a new segment in the evolving Indian car market. With
its many virtues, the Jazz has a lot going for it indeed – whether or not they’ll be successful, however, only time
will tell!
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Engine |
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1,198 cc / in-line 4 cylinders / 16 valves / i-VTEC |
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Fuel |
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Petrol |
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Transmission |
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5-speed Manual / Front-Wheel Drive |
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Power |
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89bhp @ 6200rpm |
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Torque |
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81lb/ft @ 4800rpm |
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Price |
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6.98 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi) |
