Honda Jazz EX I-MMD CVT

Great fuel economy, but much of the technology 'caused me grief'

The Honda Jazz hybrid replaced a Ford Fiesta Vignale 1.0T automatic - a lovely high specification car with every factory option fitted, but it 'drank petrol' and had become a 'drain on my wallet'.

The Jazz was just 4 months old and only had 920 miles on the odometer when I bought it - from a local Ford dealer. I did wonder why the previous owner traded it in against a new Ford, and so soon.

But this was the highest specification Jazz I wanted, with very low mileage, in my favourite colour, Crystal Red - a £950 factory option, and it had upgraded alloy wheels - a £1,000 factory option. The most appealing factor was price: up to £3,000 less than identical cars for sale at Honda dealerships.

Its doors did not close with the same heavy clunk of the Fiesta, and were 'dinged' too easily by careless people in car parks. Stone chips were noticeable, because white areas became visible on the red paintwork.

I began to experience one technology-related issue after another, but 'lived with' these because of the fuel economy. It was easy to achieve 50+ miles to the gallon.

The Jazz was very comfortable on the journeys I made of up to 70 miles. One feature I particularly liked, particularly on stretches of roads with sharp bends, was the engine braking 'B' gearbox mode. This slowed the car without needing to apply the brakes so soon or at all - and it improved fuel economy.

After two windscreen glass incidents in fairly close succession and one car park 'ding' too many, I 'said goodbye' to the Jazz in April 2025 after more than 15,000 miles of driving.

I have problems with dexterity. These never affected my driving of any other cars. The points marked below with an asterisk were dexterity related.

1. *Within days of getting the Jazz, I'd gone out on a dark Friday evening in my Ford Mondeo and returned home in the early hours of Saturday morning. I was woken from my slumber by the doorbell ringing. A neighbour told me that all 4 windows of the Jazz were completely down - and it was raining. I had unknowingly pressed the key fob before going out on Friday evening in such a manner that all the windows opened fully.

2. The Security Alarm System does not sound when the ignition has been turned off and windows have been left open.

3. *The 4 electric window switches located on the driver's door remain active for some seconds after the ignition has been turned off. On many occasions I returned to find one or more windows were not completely closed. I had unknowingly pressed on one or more switches when getting out of the car.

4. The Cross Traffic Monitor emits a loud beep at roundabouts every time a vehicle passes on the nearside, or is in very close proximity on approaching where I have the right of way. I never became accustomed to this sudden and unnecessary alert. It was the most annoying issue of all. Ford cars I have owned since 2015 were / are fitted with the same technology which operates silently and unobtrusively. [The Cross Traffic Monitor 'comes into its own' in car parks, particularly when carrying out reversing manoeuvres. I wanted it only to function in those circumstances.]

5. *I repeatedly experienced difficulty setting the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) when joining motorways. I think this is because the Speed Limiter function shares the same switch. On one journey I couldn't set ACC and 'fiddled around' for some time the next day, whilst parked on the drive. [I get into my Mondeo which I've not driven for a month or two and set the ACC in seconds without having to think.]

6. *The ACC can be pre-set, so I did this to avoid setting problems when joining a motorway. However, on several occasions I was driving on 'A' roads and suddenly realised the car was in autonomous mode, because I had unknowingly pressed the ACC switch.

7. With the ACC active on the motorway and driving in lane 1, when a passing car moved across from lane 2 to lane 1 a long way ahead, a beep sounded.. A beep also occasionally sounded when no vehicles were anywhere to be seen. I found it annoying. Ford cars don't do this.

8. *After touching the display screen on several occasions I unknowingly pressed the hazard warning lights switch, which is located below the screen, and drove for some distance on motorways with the hazard lights flashing.

9. I drive in such a manner to avoid potholes, activating the Lane Departure Warning (LDW) frequently. In extreme cases, in addition to the orange dashboard display, a loud series of beeps sound. The LDW function cannot be permanently disabled. The switch to turn LDW off before each journey is located in such an awkward place it it clear that Honda do not want drivers to disable this function. Ford cars I have owned since 2015 are fitted with the same technology which operates silently and unobtrusively.

10. The tyre Deflation Warning System - more commonly known as Tyre Pressure Monitoring System - is basic and, unlike Ford cars, does not display individual tyre pressures. If the tyre with low pressure can't be identified by sight, it is necessary to check each tyre.

11. The Hands Free Telephone is simply this and, unlike Ford cars, it cannot alert drivers to incoming text messages or read them out loud.

12. In intermittent mode, the front windscreen wipers sometimes suddenly started to wipe on the fastest setting when it was only raining lightly.

13. The headlights and tail lights cannot be turned off when the car is being driven at night. This meant I was unable, for example, to 'signal' to a lorry driver on the motorway to pull over because their trailer had no lights.

One issue arose under warranty during my period of ownership - the passenger side electrically operated mirror made a 'groaning' noise and did not always fully retract. The Honda dealer to which I took the car for servicing said a number of cars have had this fault, but they could not order the new part before seeing the problem on my car, so I had to make the 20 mile journey to their premises.

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