Real world fuel economy from new GE Jazz

Hello Everyone,

I am planning to buy a new Honda Jazz GE soon with manual transmission... but not sure if I should get the 1.3 or 1.5 version.

I am very interested in hearing about people's experiences with "real world" fuel economy & range in their cars....

I am currently leaning toward the 1.3Ltr as fuel economy is more important to me than performance... (and ADR figures how a significant difference). However, as ADR figures are notoriously inacurate in the real world just wondering if there is actually that much of a difference in real life ?.

Thanks.

My belief is that if you place importance on acceleration when city driving, you will tend to use more throttle in the 1.3 than in the 1.5, hence causing fuel consumption figures to be very close. For the size of the Jazz, I'd go for the 1.5. Also remember that the 1.3 is also a VTEC engine now, not a fuel-saving i-DSI engine.

best to get a eg with a b18cr motor
u can get 700kms out of 38 lts
or something close to that
alot better than any jazz fuel economy

my friend have a 1.3 auto,it said 6.7(from the computer on board) really hopeless in real life performance (come out from junction/stop sign) while i tried the 1.5 (7 from the computer on board)which is ok. In real world it really depends on your driving style. i would agree with Aarong's suggestion 1.5 will be a better choice. If you put the feature side by side the 1.3 won't save you much. even you count the so called fuel save it still not justify 1.3 a better choice.

From my first tank of fuel with the GE8, I only got 360km out of it (mostly city driving). With my Gd1 i can usually get abt 5.5l per 100km. I must say the interior of the GE is much better than the GD model.

i got GE8 VTI 1.5 auto, and the full tank can run about 450km after 3000km time, and i hope it can do better in future. Don't trust the board computer, it just not quite correct compare to real life.

yea the computer is a bit off...just got my yellow jazz 3 weeks ago, the first 2 weeks it says 9.7L / 100km so yeah do not 100% trust on the computer, 1.5 is better i agree with what aaronng

Thanks for the info & advice guys, it's been very useful... Hopefully fuel economy will improve after the engine has been 'run in' for a while ?.... Even the best figure quoted of 450km from a tank is disappointing. Sounds like 1.5 is the one to go for.

My GE8 goes only max 13+km/L of fuel. Sometimes it falls to 12km or less per litre. Not that great considering that I had and Integra GSR that did 12 (totally stock).

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Originally Posted by makes

Hello Everyone,

I am planning to buy a new Honda Jazz GE soon with manual transmission... but not sure if I should get the 1.3 or 1.5 version.

I am very interested in hearing about people's experiences with "real world" fuel economy & range in their cars....

I am currently leaning toward the 1.3Ltr as fuel economy is more important to me than performance... (and ADR figures how a significant difference). However, as ADR figures are notoriously inacurate in the real world just wondering if there is actually that much of a difference in real life ?.

Thanks.

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The manual trans only comes with 1.5 engines, and by the way it costs more than the auto paddle shift... a reversal of the usual where the manual costs less.

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Originally Posted by robin silas

The manual trans only comes with 1.5 engines, and by the way it costs more than the auto paddle shift... a reversal of the usual where the manual costs less.

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That's not true in Australia.

The 1.3 and the 1.5 come in manual or auto. Only the VTi-S Auto comes with paddle shifters.

I keep careful records of my fuel consumption, always filling to the neck of the screw cap.
Over the last 17,000kms I average 14.82 kms/litre
or 6.75 ltrs/100kms. As I wrote before, it takes a tank of gas for the computer to adjust the timing when you go to 98RON and the savings negligible. The engine is set up to run on 91RON.
My best mileage is 16.46km/lt or 6.08lt/100km.
My worst is 14.04km/lt or 7.12lt/100km. (aircon running)

I have a GE 1.5 VTi manual.

I get somewhere between 5.9 and 6.7 depending on where I go and how I drive.

I mostly use E10 or 91, but have tried 95 for a couple of tanks. My results from this are inconclusive so far, and I'm reluctant to spend the extra 13c/litre to find out based on the evidence I've seen so far.

I have had the airconditioning on most of that time.

I test drove a 1.3 auto and though the performance was OK, I doubt you'd improve much on the above figures because you need more right foot in the 1.3 to go places, especially with a load on.

If most of your driving is in the city and alone, the 1.3 makes a powerful argument given the price difference. It still matches the performance of most of it's competitor's 1.5s

I have a GD3 ' 07 VTi and reset the trip meter every time I fill up. This in turn resets the instant fuel consumption back to zero. Should I be doing this, or will the computer become more accurate if I just leave it?

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Originally Posted by 4thGenExi

I have a GD3 ' 07 VTi and reset the trip meter every time I fill up. This in turn resets the instant fuel consumption back to zero. Should I be doing this, or will the computer become more accurate if I just leave it?

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Did you mean average fuel consumption?

If you want to measure average consumption over the tankful then what you are doing is alright. If you want to measure the average over the life of the car, then don't touch it ever, but I don't think that would be all that useful.

You can also measure the average for a given journey by resetting the meter at the beginning.

I get similar consumption to rossw. I drove to the Gold Coast and back yesterday and averaged 4.5L/100kms for highway driving and then later on when I reset it and drove through the city/suburbs I averaged 6.7L/100kms. However in really bad traffic I have gotten up to 8.2L/100kms. All in all I have only filled it once ( + the dealer's 1/4 of a tank) which I ended up going to 621kms before filling it up for the second time. I have a 09 VTI-S with paddle shifters and on I use them most of the time as I find it better for fuel economy.

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Originally Posted by 4thGenExi

I have a GD3 ' 07 VTi and reset the trip meter every time I fill up. This in turn resets the instant fuel consumption back to zero. Should I be doing this, or will the computer become more accurate if I just leave it?

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the way the Average fuel consumption is Measure by Distance(KM)/Fuel Consumed
Whats wrong with that is when you not moving (eg waiting for girl for 1hr out side her house) it is still using fuel. And that adds to the Average over all fuel consumption that’s why people get very very high reading! Specially people who turn aircon on and when car not moving it just adds up!

My average is 9.5L/100km according to the computer.

Right now I'm averaging 8.3L/100km. Purely city driving. When I go to the freeway combined with my city driving - it goes down to 7.6L/100km.

I haven't had pure freeways so I can't tell unless I reset it. I think the sticker label I saw on the VTI is 6.6L/100km.

Hopefully, I can get that someday. Maybe when I drive to melbourne.

urs is auto? I got averaging 8.x L/100km right now when passed 8000km mark. the best ever result is around 7L/100km when most of freeway travel. I think 6.6L/100km is not easy to achieve especially by auto transmission. But time will tell...

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Originally Posted by LSD GD3

the way the Average fuel consumption is Measure by Distance(KM)/Fuel Consumed
Whats wrong with that is when you not moving (eg waiting for girl for 1hr out side her house) it is still using fuel. And that adds to the Average over all fuel consumption that’s why people get very very high reading! Specially people who turn aircon on and when car not moving it just adds up!

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Well, that's the same answer you get if you divide fill quantity by distance travelled, which is the normal way to judge fuel consumption.

I would suggest if you are waiting for someone, turn the engine off. Then your average will improve.

In the end, you are paying for the fuel whether the car is moving or not.

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Originally Posted by rossw

Well, that's the same answer you get if you divide fill quantity by distance travelled, which is the normal way to judge fuel consumption.

I would suggest if you are waiting for someone, turn the engine off. Then your average will improve.

In the end, you are paying for the fuel whether the car is moving or not.

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?:confused:My answer was already example of why you should turn the engine off ! anyways

but my point was these fuel consumptions things are just Average there are a lot of ways to help improve like (For Auto) put on neutral at the lights or traffic jams. it all adds up. my gd3 1.5(CVT) Average around 7.4 - 7.6Avg on Vortex / Vortex 98 on City Drive. i very very rare hit the 8.0Avg most of the time it hit 8.0avg is because of a bad batch of fuel (fuel quality are not consistence) and i drive a lot! and very consistence with where i go there for i know when the fuel are bad. had a few different types of bad ones. one time the fuel was so bad no matter how you step on it, it just don't move, and another time you can feel a lot of power but you can see the fuel meter drop very quick.

I try E10 before I find it gives more power then normal unleaded and gives a little better mileage around 7.6-7.8Avg for me!

a tip: changing intake and muffler helps. before I changed fuel consumption was 7.8-8.0avg (but not big barrel straight out canon muffler)

I know most of the manual people are in the low 6avg area, but I am a heavy foot driver so my avg are very high already.

O there are many many ways that effects your fuel consumptions. weather (hot / cold Days) going more up hill ( for small engine cars it make very very big different even small hills), loads fully loaded with people or goods.

Thanks for your hints, mate. I will try to use ur method to test my next tank, see how it can improve. anyway, my car is GE8 1.5L auto.

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Originally Posted by LSD GD3

?:confused:My answer was already example of why you should turn the engine off ! anyways

but my point was these fuel consumptions things are just Average there are a lot of ways to help improve like (For Auto) put on neutral at the lights or traffic jams. it all adds up. my gd3 1.5(CVT) Average around 7.4 - 7.6Avg on Vortex / Vortex 98 on City Drive. i very very rare hit the 8.0Avg most of the time it hit 8.0avg is because of a bad batch of fuel (fuel quality are not consistence) and i drive a lot! and very consistence with where i go there for i know when the fuel are bad. had a few different types of bad ones. one time the fuel was so bad no matter how you step on it, it just don't move, and another time you can feel a lot of power but you can see the fuel meter drop very quick.

I try E10 before I find it gives more power then normal unleaded and gives a little better mileage around 7.6-7.8Avg for me!

a tip: changing intake and muffler helps. before I changed fuel consumption was 7.8-8.0avg (but not big barrel straight out canon muffler)

I know most of the manual people are in the low 6avg area, but I am a heavy foot driver so my avg are very high already.

O there are many many ways that effects your fuel consumptions. weather (hot / cold Days) going more up hill ( for small engine cars it make very very big different even small hills), loads fully loaded with people or goods.

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intake n a nice twin loop will save u bout 1-1.5 litres per 100 kms, but when u floor it every now n then - watch the fuel meter drop!!

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Originally Posted by dyljoy

urs is auto? I got averaging 8.x L/100km right now when passed 8000km mark. the best ever result is around 7L/100km when most of freeway travel. I think 6.6L/100km is not easy to achieve especially by auto transmission. But time will tell...

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yes, it's auto/VTI-S. Did I hear it right? using paddle shifters results in lower fuel consumption? (p.terribilis) - wow 621 kms. Haven't even gotten to 400kms on a full tank.

Can someone post their intake/exhaust that gained them 1/1.5km i.e. twinloop? Is that both for 1.3/1.5L M/Auto versions?

E10 gives better fuel consumption/regular unleaded? Is that Caltex/Shell/whichever?

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Originally Posted by rubyjazz

yes, it's auto/VTI-S. Did I hear it right? using paddle shifters results in lower fuel consumption? (p.terribilis) - wow 621 kms. Haven't even gotten to 400kms on a full tank.

Can someone post their intake/exhaust that gained them 1/1.5km i.e. twinloop? Is that both for 1.3/1.5L M/Auto versions?

E10 gives better fuel consumption/regular unleaded? Is that Caltex/Shell/whichever?

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E10 will theoretically give you worse fuel consumption by 3% due to the lower calorific value. That balances against the slightly higher octane (about 93 instead of 91 if the ethanol is blended with regular unleaded) that allows more ignition advance. I haven't found much noticeable difference between regular ULP and E10, but I can't get regular ULP here anymore, it's E10 or 95 octane now. I use E10 and it works fine.

Don't buy the 1.3lt engine Jazz. My mate bought one for his wife after driving a 1.5lt for the last two years. The 1.3 does no better in city fuel consumption and wouldn't pull your hat off. He had two large mates in the car recently and it struggled to get up the steep ramp in a car park. As I wrote before I get 6.75lt/km from my 1.5 vts and that gave me over 630km to the tank. By the way, the tank (which is under the front seats) and the long filler pipe hold about 43 litres filled to the neck of the screw cap. Don't fill this much unless your driving about 20 km straight off or parking in the shade. The expansion of the fuel when it warms up will stress the plastic, especially the joins at the tank and the filler!

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Originally Posted by rossw

E10 will theoretically give you worse fuel consumption by 3% due to the lower calorific value. That balances against the slightly higher octane (about 93 instead of 91 if the ethanol is blended with regular unleaded) that allows more ignition advance. I haven't found much noticeable difference between regular ULP and E10, but I can't get regular ULP here anymore, it's E10 or 95 octane now. I use E10 and it works fine.

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That's what I thought E10 should be worse. Is cruising on neutral bad? I sometimes do this when not in cruise control and see the consumption drop bit by bit.

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Originally Posted by rubyjazz

That's what I thought E10 should be worse. Is cruising on neutral bad? I sometimes do this when not in cruise control and see the consumption drop bit by bit.

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If you coast in neutral, the engine will idle and use fuel. If you coast down a hill in gear, the fuel will shut off completely. you can verify this from your instantaneus fuel consumption, which should drop to zero when you are coasting.

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Originally Posted by rossw

If you coast in neutral, the engine will idle and use fuel. If you coast down a hill in gear, the fuel will shut off completely. you can verify this from your instantaneus fuel consumption, which should drop to zero when you are coasting.

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confusing. the instantaneous fuel consumption i think drops to zero in neutral.
how can fuel consumption shut off when the engine is revving higher in gear than in neutral/idle?

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Originally Posted by rubyjazz

confusing. the instantaneous fuel consumption i think drops to zero in neutral.
how can fuel consumption shut off when the engine is revving higher in gear than in neutral/idle?

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Fuel consumption shuts off when you are coasting because the injectors simply don't open. In a modern engine, the fuel injection rate is decided by the computer, rather than approximated using the airflow like it is in a car with a carburetor.

Each injector has a little solenoid in it that pulses rapidly. Each pulse allows a measured amount of fuel in. The longer the pulse, the more fuel.

When you have your foot off the accelerator, and the RPM is above a set value, the computer knows you are coasting and simply doesn't open the injectors. The engine is kept turning by the wheels. As soon as you add throttle, the computer starts opening the injectors again.

This doesn't happen in neutral, because in neutral with no throttle, the engine is idling. In order to keep the idle going the computer must add some fuel (although not a lot). The consumption gauge shows zero when you stop in neutral because you aren't moving. That's the way Honda have chosen to deal with the divide by zero problem. (x litres/0 km)

^^thanks for the clarification, I was also thinking about cruise control in downhill. I think that definitely do not turn off the injectors (am I right?). That should consume more fuel than idle. Or is it the same with coasting in drive foot off accelerator?

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Originally Posted by rubyjazz

^^thanks for the clarification, I was also thinking about cruise control in downhill. I think that definitely do not turn off the injectors (am I right?). That should consume more fuel than idle. Or is it the same with coasting in drive foot off accelerator?

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I guess it depends on the hill. If it is steep enough that you can coast down it in gear with the throttle closed, then the cruise control will do that too. You might even pick up speed unless you change down or use the brakes, either of which will cancel the cruise control anyway.

Hey all,

I haven't posted in quite a while...not really since buying my Jazz.

I'd like to start by saying this - what a solid little well made decent performer and versatile vehicle this has turned out to be - definately no regrets!

I love checkin' out the fuel consumption of my little Jazz, and it's interesting to see that some people up here are experiencing the same effects that I am too.

So the official fuel consumption figure is 6.1 for the Jazz VTI-S built in 2007.
I fill up and reset the counter, it starts high for the avg however that's because most of the work you do to get out of the gas station is stop/start.

Typically around the city I get an average of 6.9L/100k's, the worst I ever got was 9.3L/100k's (the wife was driving - she has a lead foot), and the best I ever got was 5.2L/100k's using only the CVT mode (no paddle shifters) and only city work.

I was only able to achieve the 5.2L/100k's by making sure I estimated lights and coasted as much as I could without interrupting traffic. Acceleration was limited to 2500rpm which is fine for city driving anyway, speeds we up to 80 on short freeways.

I find the economy is best at around 50kph, the Jazz uses 3.2L-3.4L/100k's on flat tarmac of good quality in CVT mode, and revs a little over 1100rpm tyres are inflated to 3psi higher than recommended cold spec.

When the speeds get up, the fuel consumption starts to get high too.
At 100kph, the consumption is about 5.4L/100k's flat tarmac with little/no wind. The same speed using the paddle shifters in 7th gear after it selects it's highest ratio (after about 15 seconds of selecting 7th) and the fuel consumption drops to about 4.8L/100k's.

so what i've managed to work out is if you drive below 70kph, the CVT does best, however if you're doing speeds above 80kph, it tends to be better using the paddle shifters and selecting the highest available gear for cruising (7th speed from 51kph upwards).

the very best i've been able to do out of short trips (ie. not a full tank) is 4.8L/100k's, this was mainly around town (note: not city - town), mostly 60kph or below, and your typical traffic lights/stop signs/giveways/etc. Not pushing up hills too much, and coasting as much as possible to stops/traffic lights/etc.

Ended up doing 80k's like this, but then had to hand the keys over to my tiny-but-mighty wife. I think the tank finished up on about 6.2 or something....still good none-the-less.

Generally if i'm driving, it's not hard to get above 600k's per tank (usually up to 650k's) doing mixed driving, however when my wife drives it's hard to get more than 500k's out of the tank.

I think I should change my driving habbit from now, coz my GE8 Jazz with auto transmission never can achieve over 450km when fuel light on,. Maybe coz my left foot and always aircon on.

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Originally Posted by dyljoy

I think I should change my driving habbit from now, coz my GE8 Jazz with auto transmission never can achieve over 450km when fuel light on,. Maybe coz my left foot and always aircon on.

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Plus yours is the later model 5 speed auto not the CVT. Why Oh why did they drop the CVT?:(

My GE8 is a manual ('cause I couldn't have a CVT) and I get similar numbers as Everybody2. Just remember the dash gauge is about 10% optimistic.

I probably should've noted, when I bought the car I confirmed it's speedo against 2 GPS units (one navman one tomtom), as well as confirmed the fuel consumption avg figure against the amount of fuel I had acctually used in the tank at each fill.

I monitored the fuel consumption over about 5 tanks when I first had the Jazz....it was accurate enough to be indistinguishable. :thumbsup:

I should've also pointed out, the highest fuel consumption was also in summer and the air-con on basically full-time. :cool:

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Originally Posted by Everybody2

I probably should've noted, when I bought the car I confirmed it's speedo against 2 GPS units (one navman one tomtom), as well as confirmed the fuel consumption avg figure against the amount of fuel I had acctually used in the tank at each fill.

I monitored the fuel consumption over about 5 tanks when I first had the Jazz....it was accurate enough to be indistinguishable. :thumbsup:

I should've also pointed out, the highest fuel consumption was also in summer and the air-con on basically full-time. :cool:

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It must only be the GEs that have the accuracy problem.

My normal consumption is still 9.5-10L/100kms. :( Without aircon.

If I'm very slow in accelerating from stop or turning, since I don't want to push it and save gas - the guys behind are pretty irritated.

How many km u done so far? 9.5-10L/100kms since too high without aircon, my highest one is around 8.8L and I am always run with aircon.

I've done around 2000kms+ on it so far

oic, then ur car isn't pass run-in period, u should be achieve better fuel consumption after 3000+km

it's already on 11000 kms, since I got near 9000kms. So I've been driving it for 2000kms.

The overall for 11kms is 9.5L/100kms.

Just out of curiosity....

If you find a stretch of road that is town speed...ie 50-60kph, reset the fuel consumption meter/trip meter/whatever it is the GE Jazz's need to have done to reset the fuel consumption device, and maintain the speed (very careful with the accelerator).

What figure do you get?

Doing the same test at 50kph in my CVT it's around the 3.2-3.4L/100k's, wavering mainly due to a human's inability to hold the accelerator 'dead steady'.

I would like to hear what fellow Jazz owners who own the same model I have get as well...:cool:

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Originally Posted by Everybody2

Just out of curiosity....

If you find a stretch of road that is town speed...ie 50-60kph, reset the fuel consumption meter/trip meter/whatever it is the GE Jazz's need to have done to reset the fuel consumption device, and maintain the speed (very careful with the accelerator).

What figure do you get?

Doing the same test at 50kph in my CVT it's around the 3.2-3.4L/100k's, wavering mainly due to a human's inability to hold the accelerator 'dead steady'.

I would like to hear what fellow Jazz owners who own the same model I have get as well...:cool:

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No need to reset. I just use the instantaneous gauge. It sits around 4 ish on the gauge at that speed on the flat. Doesn't mean much. Turn on the aircon or open a window and it will change. Plus dead flat is hard to find.

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Originally Posted by rubyjazz

My normal consumption is still 9.5-10L/100kms. :( Without aircon.

If I'm very slow in accelerating from stop or turning, since I don't want to push it and save gas - the guys behind are pretty irritated.

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I am having similar fuel consumption with my Ge8 auto. The fuel consumption is horrible and i have now done 5000km. Are you guys using 91 or 96 petrol.

Also, I have noticed that the 1-2 gear change is getting very harsh/ uncomfortable at times. Has anyone noticed the same thing?

GD1_NZ, get back to Honda after recording carefully your consumption. Fill the tank right up to the filler threads of the caps. Zero your trip metre. When the reserve light comes on you have about 70km left, so fill up again to the filler threads. Note litres used and kms on the trip metre. Calculate your consumption. If it is as bad as you say, get back to Honda, there is something wrong with your tuning. Maybe check your compression in all cylinders, the rings may not have bedded in, or the values sealed?

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Originally Posted by debowen

GD1_NZ, get back to Honda after recording carefully your consumption. Fill the tank right up to the filler threads of the caps. Zero your trip metre. When the reserve light comes on you have about 70km left, so fill up again to the filler threads. Note litres used and kms on the trip metre. Calculate your consumption. If it is as bad as you say, get back to Honda, there is something wrong with your tuning. Maybe check your compression in all cylinders, the rings may not have bedded in, or the values sealed?

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Thanks for the useful input Debowen. I will start noting down the details of the tank that I have just filled up tonight. Since day 1, I have never got a tank over 480km (when the llight comes on) and I do 50/50 highway/town driving. I rarely turn the aircon on unless its raining and I drive the car very gently. Maybe this could be the problem, I have never even redlined the car and so the rings may not have bedded in??

Does anyone forsee an issue with using the paddle-shifters when cruising for long distances at high-speeds (for the increased economy effect described before)?

Just thinking, when the CVT is in full auto mode, the metal belt that is used to transmit drive between the pulleys normally dynamically slides up and down the V shaped pulleys when hunting for gear ratios and it never spends too much time in the one spot to be an issue.

If using the 7-sp mode and selecting a gear for a prolonged period of time, then there could be a chance that having the belt sit on the pulley would wear a ledge on the pulley? - this would then make the belt 'train-track' into this grove even when in CVT mode?

2009 VTI-S paddle shifter.....around town consistantly 7.2 according to the readout.
That is with normal unleaded and not driving it manually with the paddles.