Honda Jazz (1996-2001) Review

Comfort and Equipment

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Honda has equipped the Fit with fine seat comfort and a good all-ways-adjustable driving position. Although the rear bench is a bit thin (also short), the hip-point position is such that the front seats don't block your view. Honda has worked hard to quell noise and vibrations, but a strong feeling of refinement runs through the whole car. The Fit is also blessed with a soft yet well damped ride to cushion the bumps. At high motorway speeds, the ride gets a bit jiggly, but up to that point, the Honda is strong in the ride-comfort department, efficiently smothering A-road bumps and crests. For a little car (at 12 ft 7 in, it's almost exactly the same length as an Audi A2) the Fit sure packs a lot in. It's a real-world five-seater and there's plenty of room to stretch out in, both front and rear - even if you are a six-footer. The seats can be set in four basic configurations besides normal mode. You can stow the 60/40 split-fold rear seats (both fold away without having to remove the headrests first), you can fully recline the front passenger seat if you want to carry something long (like a surfboard...), or, if you have tall objects to shift, you can pull up the rear seat bases to give you more space between floor and roof. Finally, if you'd like to lie down flat for 40 winks, just recline both front seats. In Japan spec, the Fit comes with a four-speaker AM/FM tuner plus CD player on the top two trim levels, or you can save just over £100 and forego the factory music completely. The entry-level car has no audio. At launch time in Japan, trick stuff such as Honda's sat-nav (including MD/CD player, AM/FM tuner and AV input jack) is extra, costing £1000 in round figures. Exactly how all this plays out (or doesn't) in the 2002 UK-spec Jazz will be revealed in due course.