Motoring Editor MALCOLM BAYLIS sings the praises of Honda's big-hearted small car, the Jazz

HONDA is not boasting when it says it has re-invented the small car. Its latest model, the Jazz, described as a five-door budget car, is dimensionally on a par with most others.

But it is truly big-hearted, capable of carrying five adults in comfort.

Designers have produced a vehicle with the short nose styling of larger people carriers, put the fuel tank below the front seats, and introduced what it calls "Magic" rear seats that, when folded, open up a very tall luggage compartment.

On top of this it is now powered by a new 1.4-litre petrol engine, fitted with special spark plug technology which means it is a twin spark, boosting economy as well as performance.

The Jazz makes good use of its power output of 83bhp.

Performance is brisk, and as with all Honda engines the 1.4-litre i-DSI is not afraid of high revs. Incidentally, the initials DSI stand for Dual Sequential Ignition, which means it adapts automatically to the varying throttle openings.

Honda is also keen to emphasis the concept idea which has gone into the exterior looks of the Jazz.

It is based on "zenshin", meaning new, progressive and integrated, and ends up with a purposeful stance and a sporty and aerodynamic body.

It sits on the company's new Global Small Platform, a carefully thought out concept made up of individual compact units, engine and suspension included. The petrol tank is not at the back but under the front seats. The result is optimum balance. The Jazz does share some design cues with the larger Civic (and Stream) model, but overall it is a better-looking than the Civic, helped by the gradually falling roof line which hints at more coupe and sports-like styling.

Overall, the Jazz is neatly proportioned.

It is a car that also features 11 windows, counting the powered sunroof, because designers have given it small sealed quarterlights ahead of the front side windows, and added a further side window beyond the rear doors, providing more in the way of all-round vision.

Moving inside, if the amount of seats-up luggage room is class-leading, the same can be said of the rear passenger space. It is not just a matter of surprisingly generous legroom. Honda has made sure that there is plenty of room for rear passengers' feet under the front seats (a measurement many manufacturers still seem to ignore) and that it is easy to get out of the rear cabin thanks to the width of the door-sill opening.

The split rear seats are themselves ingeniously designed.

"Magic" is how Honda's designers prefer to describe the action.

Folding either the seat backs or the seat bases, to allow for different types of extra storage areas, is very simply done, and it can be carried out quite easily while standing at the door instead of having to bend double while fiddling about inside the car. None of the operation involves removing head restraints.The rear seats collapse easily into the footwell.

Getting them back into the seating position is just as simple. Magic!

Luggage room with all on-board is 353 litres, but fold the seats down and this increases to 845 litres at window height and 1323 litres at roof height.

In SE specification, the car under test, the Jazz has 14-inch steel wheels, and it holds the road pretty well through quickly-taken corners, although there is quite a bit of road noise and judder, particularly pronounced over uneven surfaces. Equipment levels are high, providing digital clock, audio system with CD player, full instrument panel, adjustable headlight height, dashboard light control, headlights-on warning, lockable fuel cap, dual front airbags, ABS anti-lock brakes and electronic brake force distribution, side impact protection, three-point seat belts for all passengers, Isofix child seat mounting points, power assisted steering and a tilt adjustable steering wheel, powered windows, driver and passenger vanity mirrors fitted into the sunshades, front cupholders, boot light, special hooks to help to tie-down boot luggage and a boot cover.

The Jazz design team obviously took a serious approach to safety provision, and the car feels robustly built.

At the same time the car is pedestrian "friendly", that is the front end has been built to absorb impact so cutting down the chance of fatal injury in the event of an unfortunate coming-together.

The Jazz also features a series of theft-deterrent measures, including a standard rolling code engine immobiliser, visible VIN, front and rear door handle protectors, door lock protectors, key protectors, dead locks and tailgate lock protector.

However, the Jazz did not shine particularly well in recent security checks when a "car thief" took only 29 seconds to get into it.

There are two other models within the Jazz range, the entry level S, also providing an excellent specifiction table, and the flagship SE Sport which rides on 15-inch alloy wheels and has a driver's seat height adjuster and an integrated CD player.

How the Jazz measures up

Model: Honda Jazz SE

Price: £10,295

Dimensions: Length 3830mm, width 1878mm (with mirrors), height 1525mm, wheelbase 2450mm

Engine: 1.4-litre i-DSI (Dual Sequential Ignition) single overhead camshaft; four cylinders in line, two valves, two spark plugs per cylinder; 1339cc. Maximum power 82bhp at 5,700rpm, maximum torque 119Nm at 2,800rpm

Transmission: Five-speed manual, front wheel drive

Suspension: Front MacPherson strut and anti-roll bar, rear trailing arm with torsion beam and anti-roll bar

Steering: Rack and pinion with electronic power steering

Brakes: Front ventilated disc, rear drum

Performance: 0-62mph in 12 seconds; top speed 106mph

Economy: Urban 40.9mpg, extra urban 57.7mpg, combined 49.6mpg

CO2 emission: 134g/km

Insurance: Group 3

Updated: 09:34 Friday, September 06, 2002