+1 even Guangzhou manufactured Honda FIT and some other models like Accord, Odssey still very good quality:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by dyljoy
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+1 even Guangzhou manufactured Honda FIT and some other models like Accord, Odssey still very good quality:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by dyljoy
Ya, and better features of new FIT(Jazz here) which made by Guangzhou compare to ours, damn
True:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by dyljoy
Quote:
Originally Posted by kongfu
Ha ha ha, how did u guess?
I'm disappointed with the new jazz, after so much hype prior to its Aus release. Value, equipments, certain style wise have gone backwards, I personally will wait for the facelift model.
hey all.. sorry to start with a negative post...but is it just me or do others feel let down by Honda Australia?
The Honda Fit 08/09 could have been an awesome groundbreaking car, but what has been released in the last few weeks is nothing short of underwhelming.
Other posters already have mentioned the drawbacks of the Australian (Thai import) version to the japanese version.
I was sorely looking forward to the moon roof (Sky Roof in japan) but to find out it won't be available as an option has left me looking at other cars.
:unlove:
ill give you advice
stop looking at overseas models to judge wat comes out here, then you wont feel disapointed. wats released somewhere else is almost never the same as here, get over it its still a great car.
Yeah. One could look introspectively and give up. Which is probably what I'll have to do.
I have a suspicion though HA are holding back on the market early adopters and will be releasing better accessories later on. Especially if that modded Fit from Thailand was actually a Thai build.
oh, I didn't look over seas, I went to the Tokyo Motor Show last year and saw them first hand. Thus I was looking forward to the release in Australia. The Australian release falls short of it's potential by a long way.
think i may have to disagree here, with the mass media or the internet now a days, you cant expect consumer not compare to overseas models, especially the market honda is aiming at. In the past (say 10 years ago), most information we get about new models came from honda itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nax
FitRs, i reckon honda already had the market set up nicely with the old jazz, they would had build on it by release something special, but with so many goodie missing, its disappointing. and i dont understand why people hate on the thai build? i am sure there is quality management.... or is there..!?
I had my Jazz serviced yesterday and I got the new Jazz as a courtesy car. I was really looking forward to test driving it. The car I got was hardly used (only did approx 100km). My first impression when I got in the car was that it was a bit more roomy and I like the new stereo/CD console. Also this model has side curtain airbags. I also liked the steering wheel controls (sound system etc.) and there a couple of extra cup holders and an extra glove-box. There are 3 baby seat anchors at the back and there is now a headrest for the rear centre seat. The sun-visor has a larger mirror (I'm desperately trying to find positivs here) But it all went downhill from there.
Now before I continue, I must stress that this is my opinion only. I ended up driving the car to work, then uni, then home, then shopping before going back to the dealer for the drop-off. I did about ~150km's in it all up.
I've already said what I like about the new version. Now for the con's. The car lacks power slightly. It may not make sense on paper, but I own a gli 03 model (which was getting a 90k service) and believe me, it feels like it has more power (better acceleration). This may be down to the new conventional gearbox whereas mine has cvt. The cvt is way better than the current gearbox as I found this one to be a bit noisy when on 1st gear (also cvt is just a much more smoother ride) and jerky at times. I just really hated the gearbox.
Also, I drove the car like I do my own car and the fuel consumption reading was 6.7L/100km whereas mine is 5.9-6.0L/100km.
The plastics used inside the car have a very cheap feel to them. And the centre console (where the cup holders are) is very badly designed! My left knee was resting on it all the time and that are of the console isn't curved, instead it's a corner. There is no where else to put one's leg (and I'm used to placing my knee there as in my car, there isn't anything there as the console ends way above it). My knee is still hurting.
The actual radio/CD player controls on the console suck. as there is only one control knob for volume, tuning and the equaliser. Also, the stereo can't actually be turned off, bringing the volume to 0 is the equivilant to switching it off (I didn't spend too much time trying to turn it off, so I may be wrong, but I couldn't figure out how to do it.). But the actual sound quality is good.
The rear hatch just sucks. The opening/closing isn't very smooth and the handle on the inside is awkward. The interior door trim is not very impressive; thin cloth over cheap hollow sounding plastic.
There a couple of things missing in this model, the side mirrors don't have indicators and they don't have the mechanised folding. Also, the whole side mirror isn't painted, as some parts visible from inside are just black plastic, which looks ugly.
It would have been nice to have triptronic controls. Which reminds me, the gear knob is fugly and again has a cheap feel to it.
Overall, I didn't like it and my advise to anyone considering buying it would be to either wait for the facelift model, test drive the Vtis (I don't know what that's like) or look at another car.
I really like my Jazz and was thinking about maybe upgrading to this one, but that's out of the question for the time being. I wouldn't take this new Jazz if they offered it as a trade for my Jazz for free. The original Jazz was a great car, and this new one is a great dissapointment. Honda Australia needs to lift it's game. The car needs more features as standard (fog lights, triptronic controls, folding side mirror & indicators, etc.) and more options (sunroof, inbuilt gps, etc.) and finally the interior needs to be changed to make it a more comfortable place to sit and drive. And bring back the CVT as this gearbox isn't very good at all.
thx for your opinion, I want its facelift model release asap, but i know it won't be happen in short period, sad.
+1 haha:D GD3 still better:thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by dyljoy
i just think its a bit silly, people dont expect all the technology that is released in japan to come out here, or all the movies that are in america to come out instantly here (theres a massive lag on some movies believe it or not) You cant blame honda for you looking elsewhere and then getting disapointed with what they give you. because truth be told the australian market is grossly different to the american and japanese markets, which is why we dont even get some of the models, let alone accessories that they get elsewhere. the honda market in aus is still just a baby, and it would be suicide to think it could support heaps of models. plus if u put the moon roof and all the accessories in it, it would jack up the price, and the 90% of the jazz market who buys them cuz they are cheap and simple get around cars would probably go elsewhere (as they already do to some extent because almost all small cars are cheaper)
I understand what you're saying, but why bring out a new model which is inferior to the equivilant old one? It doesn't do the brand any favours. For the current spec model, the price is way too high. Not worth it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nax
ya fair enough,. but believe it or not most people seem to make buying decisions based on looks and ride, which this car has, they couldnt really be fussed whether or not it has every bell and wistle. its a fairly cheap, reliable, fuel sipping car. the reason they didnt change much is because it was already doing massive sales in comparison to other cars, why mess with a good thing? they tweaked the style, added things like ipod adaptor, and made the auto gearbox more reliable, and they are still selling like u wouldnt believe
so true, it's not just honda.. if you look at the mazda2, the one u get in japan gets 83kw,, the one we get only has 74kw LOL AHHA...Quote:
Originally Posted by Nax
if you're to compare, should compare with other models that we can actually get in australia..
i reckon the new jazz has better spec than the old one.. probably coz i dont care much about what gadgets come with the car like fog light etc... the higher-revving engine and disc brake turn me on big time haha... and it's roomier and comes with curtain and side airbag, and imo better interior...
howeever i still find them to be exxy comparing to its competitors... eg: mazda2 neo 1.5L is only $500 more expensive than the 1.3 GLi... :(
jazzdude.. were you testdriving the gli?? it's probably less responsive coz the new l13a now produce less torque in low rev range than the last one... just a thought
maybe honda australia might bow to public opinion and do something, quick facelift, maybe in early 09, or a price cut of a 1.5K or something, like Mazda with the new 6, a month after release there was a avg 2K price drop across the range because there were complaints and opinion it was over priced.
Cant wait for the wheels review on the Jazz, depending on how it goes, maybe it'll give honda australia the kick up the bum it needs so it can realise what a disaster theyve made out of what shouldve been a slam dunk of a car release.
Also, if we are comparing other aus cars, we should all take a look at the new ford fiesta, theyre dropping that baby with a whole lot of bells and whistles for what would be nearly the same price if not cheaper than the jazz. Looks like ford knows how to gain market share.
After reading this article you may reconsider buying any Ford :)
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Communi...n-big-trouble/
Big Three in big trouble: meltdown in Motown
By Ben Oliver
17 September 2008 10:11
At the end of last week CAR spoke to some senior car industry analysts at the big investment banks. What they told us, privately, was shocking. They said that while they could once be pretty certain that the US government wouldn’t let one of its Big Three car makers go bankrupt, they now just didn’t know. And they agreed that letting one of them go to the wall might even be a good thing.
At a stroke, it would take a lot of excess capacity out of the system and might help secure the future of the remaining two.
How Lehman's bankruptcy will affect the auto sector
This was last week, remember; before the US Government risked global financial meltdown by letting Lehman Bros go bankrupt as a warning to the others. Letting GM or Ford or Chrysler go under would be far less risky.
And it seems far more likely now. After Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and now AIG, American taxpayers don’t have the appetite for many more bailouts. The further tightening of the credit crunch after the Lehman fiasco makes it even harder for the Big Three to borrow money to stay afloat. And the longer and deeper the downturn, the more likely they are to run out of cash.
So how bad is it for the Big Three?
Pretty terrible. GM lost $15.5bn (£8.7bn) in the second quarter of 2008. All three regularly post monthly sales figures down 30 percent on the same month last year. They’ve been hit by a genuine double-whammy. First, the economic downturn has seen almost all the car makers' sales slump by single figures.
But high oil prices have hammered the Big Three particularly hard; the bulk of their sales and profits in their home market are in the big, thirsty SUVs and pick-ups that US consumers are deserting in droves for smaller cars from Toyota and Honda.
How can Ford, GM and Chrysler survive the downturn?
Only by building the smaller, more economical cars their rivals already do so well. The US government has already offered at least $25 billion (£14bn) in low-cost loans to help them dump trucks, and switch their factories to building better, cleaner cars. Ford will start building six European-designed cars in the US, including the Fiesta.
GM yesterday unveiled the intelligent Volt and can share small cars with its European and Korean divisions. Privately owned Chrysler looks a lot more exposed, with little new product coming until 2010 and no wider family to help.
So will the Big Three become the Smaller Two? Ask us again in six months. Right now, nobody knows.
Would you let GM, Ford or Chrysler go bankrupt?
Quote:
Originally Posted by donkeykwong
I believe that happened with Toyota's release of the Camry. It was widely anticipated but also suffered post release disappointment. Thus it was re-marketed with a slightly different look & name.
I don't see why Honda wouldn't do the same.
Besides the new body shape this Jazz offering is hardly amazing in terms of features and accessories even if you were to compare it with other current domestic offerings.
I took the VTi for a spin today at Honda.
Pros:
Handles well - no understeering
Acceleration
Right side mirror convex so allows for greater visbility
Maintained power with two adults and air con running
1.5L ivtec
Cons:
Already mentioned value on the car
Lack of standards & accessories
I mean even the arm rest in the VTi is an "option".
Price 24700 otr. no extras
Besides the new body shape & magic seats, nothing really stands out in this car.
I feel sorry for the sales staff. This car as it is, is hard to sell.
Anyway, went across the road to Mazda to compare the 2 and 3.
Took the 3 neo sport for a spin.
Pros:
standards already in place
M day sale promo (head light protector, auto lights on in dark, bluetooth kit, extra 3 year dealer warranty)
Auto/Manual transmission (like the old jazz)
15" alloys
great to drive
fully imported from Japan
2.0L
Was not expecting to buy a car today, but walked away putting a deposit for the Mazda 3 Neo Sport.
Accessories thrown in:
Tints 35%
boot tray
boot lip
mats
alarm
price of 24500 otr.
It was impossible not to go for it after doing a driving and interior review. I needed a new car. I waited for this 2008/2009 model but it wasn't anything like the Jazz of 08. I'm still sad I didn't get a Honda, but I'm happy that I got a decent deal for a good car.
Well,as you said no understeer for new jazz is impossible. Understeer is common for FWD car
i wanted the new jazz but not anymore....... even the new accord gives me problems.... sick of it........ doesnt matter made in jpn or thailand.... thats the best of honda quality..... but doesnt mean that its bad quality.... u just get wat u pay for.........
FitRS
Good luck on your Mazda 3 , however are you aware of the new 2.5 ltr Mazda 3 being released early 2009 , mate you have bought an outgoing model thats been around for years yes its not a bad car but i wouldnt be paying top $$$ for a superceded Mazda :zip:
Cheers
Michael
I thought the 2.5L was only for SP25?
Dunno, the steering was very responsive. I'm driving an old Toyota Corolla and an aging Nissan NX at the moment and the Jazz was tight in control. I found myself having to turn less than I would normally spin the wheel.Quote:
Originally Posted by kongfu
To contrast the Mazda 3 I drove also yesterday was more like my two old cars, which we're getting rid of.
Thanks Michael. Believe me I always get purchases guilt on buying stuff and this morning was no different. The top dollar comment has only heightend that. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Lock & Load
At the end of the day, I'm not too worried that it's an out going model. I know the new 6 has it's new revision out and it looks good. I feel I missed an opportunity in December 07 when I test drove the Jazz VTi 07 model because it was fully featured, much more than this 08/09 Jazz for the same price.
As for the price of the Mazda 3 I know I could of squeezed more but it's not such a bad buy is it? :confused: ;) It's a probably a better size for my family as my wife needs this car and we have an 8 month old who still sits in a safety chair. I compared the interior space and it would be cramped with the saftey chair and two adults in the back for the Jazz.
As for Civic, I'm not a huge fan of the body and the interior. The price again is not as competitive.
Plus if the 3 doesn't work out at least I've got some lead time to wait for the Honda Australia to upgrade the Jazz, which I'm more certain they will do.
As long as you keep the mazda 3 for a few years and dont try to upgrade to the newer model you have done well but if you try and get out of it in a hurry you may miss out .
Dont worry be happy :)
Cheers
Michael