2009 Model Honda JAZZ Pics, Specs & Pricing

[FitRS]

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.

[Nax]

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.

[FitRS]

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.

[800ZR]

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.

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.
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..!?

[Jazzdude]

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.

[dyljoy]

thx for your opinion, I want its facelift model release asap, but i know it won't be happen in short period, sad.

[kongfu]

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 GD3 still better

[Nax]

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)

[Jazzdude]

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.

[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

[Jazzle]

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.

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...

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

[donkeykwong]

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.