The new Honda Jazz starts from £18,890, rising to £23,580 for the range-topping, crossover inspired Honda Jazz Crosstar.
Honda said its fourth-generation Jazz, to be sold exclusively as a hybrid, will “raise the bar in terms of comfort and driver enjoyment”.
The Jazz uses a similar dual-motor hybrid system to the Honda CR-V Hybrid, but downsized for its supermini application. Honda says the powertrain “provides an exceptional blend of strong and effortless driving performance and impressive fuel economy”.
The CR-V Hybrid pairs two electric motors with a 2.0-litre petrol engine and a CVT. However, given its smaller dimensions, the Jazz will use a 1.5-litre petrol engine and a pair of smaller electric motors. These will send a combined 108bhp to the front wheels through a bespoke gearbox with a single fixed-gear ratio for a more linear acceleration curve.
Honda claims a 0-62mph time of 9.4sec and a top speed of 108mph. It says the Jazz is capable of achieving 62.8mpg on the WLTP combined cycle while emitting 102g/km of CO2 in its standard form.
Three driving modes are available, allowing drivers to choose between running on the engine, the motors or a combination of the two. Regenerative braking functionality features, sending charge to the battery pack under deceleration.
The Jazz is the first in Honda's current line-up to go hybrid-only, with other models soon to follow suit. Honda announced last year that all of its combustion-engined models in Europe will be offered with hybrid powertrains by 2022.
The firm said: "Honda will expand the application of its i-MMD dual-motor hybrid system, with the introduction into smaller segment cars an important first step."
Currently, the only model it offers as a hybrid is the CR-V, which indirectly replaced a diesel variant of the compact SUV. Petrol variants are also sold. Honda UK has seen great success with the CR-V Hybrid, which accounts for 55% of the model’s sales.
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They're all overpriced!
Comparing one very expensive supermini with another doesn't mean they're good value for money!
Every time a new model is launched these days it's accompanied by a huge leap in price. The price of the new model of the even smaller Hyundai i10 has jumped by a ridiculous amount in the relatively short time between when I bought the model I own and the one recently launched.
Almost £20k for the entry level version a car from this small class is outrageous - I'm interested to see what will happen to the already falling sales now Coronavirus is here to stay for a while - maybe they will have to start almost giving them away to kick start consumer interest again.
Not actually overpriced
The prices look step but when you compare it to competitors, it's actually on a par. A 1.0 TCE auto Clio in mid spec Iconic trim is just under £18k whilst a 1.0 ecoboost 100 auto Fiesta is just over £20k in Titanium trim. You might get bigger discounts on the Renault and Ford but the Jazz tends to hold it's value well. Small cars really aren't that cheap any more.
Way overpriced
I assume Honda know they won't sell many?