2018 Honda Jazz Facelift: Trying to Drive out of the WR-V’s Shadow

Can the minor facelift on the 2018 Honda Jazz change its fortunes? We drive one to find out.

The 2018 Honda Jazz has got a minor facelift, but no mechanical changes. 

Photo: The Quint

If you have never seen a Honda Jazz up close before, you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference in the 2018 edition of the Jazz, compared to the earlier car. The changes are really minor. Mechanically, nothing much has changed.

So why is the 2018 Honda Jazz relevant today? It faces competition not just from the Suzukis and Hyundais of the world, but from its own sibling the Honda WR-V, which for all practical purposes is a beefed up Jazz-based cross-hatch. The sales figures say as much, with the WR-V outselling the Jazz 2-1.

However, don't write off the Honda Jazz just yet. It is one of the most spacious hatchbacks you can find in its segment. The facelift has also had a model rejig, with the number of variants being cut down and prices ranging from Rs 7.35 lakh to Rs. 9.29 lakh. There are no base variants as such anymore.

The 2018 Honda Jazz comes in four petrol variants - V and VX with a 5-speed manual transmission or V and VX with a 7-speed CVT (automatic) transmission and paddle shifters.

It also comes in three diesel variants with a mid-level S variant in addition to the top-trim V and VX grades.

Mechanically, there aren't any differences. The petrol Jazz has a 1.2 litre, four-cylinder petrol motor that puts out 90PS of power and 110 Nm of torque, with a 5-speed manual or CVT transmission. It's not the peppiest car out there, but is decent enough for the city bump and grind.

The diesel Jazz gets a 1.5 litre motor that churns out 100PS of power and 200 Nm of torque with a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Honda has rationalised the features a bit in the Jazz. The petrol VX manual variant we tested doesn't get push-button start or cruise control - those features are present in the CVT variant. The rear seat now is a single bench. The earlier variant had 60:40 flip-folding "magic" seats that could either be folded flat individually or the seat base tilted up for flexibility in carrying cargo.

Boot space hasn’t been compromised though. The Honda Jazz still has one of the largest boots in its class, being able to swallow 354 litres of luggage.

Overall, with just about Rs 50,000 price difference between the Honda WR-V and the Honda Jazz variant for variant, customers seem to gravitate more towards the WR-V. However, the Honda Jazz is for those who want to be subtle. For those who don't want too much bling. For those who want to be different.