Honda Jazz - thoughts and suggestions for alternates

Lartyconshayo

Lartyconshayo

Lartyconshayo

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AS thread title. I read that Honda was top of the list of 20 typical brand name cars from across the globe that required the least ad-hoc repairs. It seems to be a decent size. I'd be looking to get two adults and a small child in there and possibly another child in the near future

Anyone use one ? It would for us only be for smallish journeys maybe the odd motorway drive to get to another part of the country

Anyone have any other suggestions for similar car or perhaps abetter car.

Bearing in mind we'd be looking to pick one up next year hoping to spend no more than 3-4 grand on it
 
For a small car they have a fantastic people and stuff swallowing capability.

Do you care how it drives? They're pretty pathetic but its very much generic small car fare so if you're happy with the way most small cars are ( pedal and steeringf weight in particular) I'm sure you'll find it fine.
 
Have one along with the 5 and love it for its space and mpg. Took 4 and all our stuff to belgium gp a few years back, never missed a beat.

We had a gear box issue and it was covered under a recall so make sure you get one that has had it done(free from honda) Ours went just shy of 32k.

Not fast, not a great looker but everything else is win imo
 
My mums had a 2005 model since new. She throws it around country roads to stables and fills it with horse related stuff constantly. It swallows things you wouldn't expect, it's reliable even when shes not muchgood remembering to service or even wash it. She bashes it into alsorts, does many short journeys and thrashes it daily. It's one solid relaible workhorse. The only thing is its gutless. If you're happy trunding up to and around the speed limit then this is not really an issue. Especially with kids in the car, speed is maybe not the order of the day.
 
We've had two of them in a row; the first was on 53 plates with the belt drive auto gearbox and the second on 09 plates with manual gearbox. They were bought with exactly the intention of keeping costs down and reliability up!

They are not the most exciting of cars to drive, but they have a surprising amount of space (two adults + two children + stuff is a frequent load for us) and with a roofbox at the ready they've been able to meet almost all of our transport needs.

Reliability has been absolutely fine and service costs have been pretty low. I think that the more recent model range has been less well built than the earlier (feels more plasticky and less solid) but nothing has dropped off the later model yet!

We're probably going to get a bigger car next time around, but that's simply because the children have grown into teenagers!
 
Dup said:
My mums had a 2005 model since new. She throws it around country roads to stables and fills it with horse related stuff constantly. It swallows things you wouldn't expect, it's reliable even when shes not muchgood remembering to service or even wash it. She bashes it into alsorts, does many short journeys and thrashes it daily. It's one solid relaible workhorse. The only thing is its gutless. If you're happy trunding up to and around the speed limit then this is not really an issue. Especially with kids in the car, speed is maybe not the order of the day.
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A lady at work has one. She treats it largely the same (she lives probably half a mile from work, if that, and drives in every day) and yet it hasn't missed a beat.

If you can live with the styling and "image" then it's up there with the best of the small cars. Service it every year and it won't break. Ever.
 
Thanks for replies. Yeah not bothered about speed. Or looks although I think it looks ok. Reliability and space and fuel economy. So now to play the waiting game.
 
Say not a Jazz but I have an 1.4l EP Civic (2004) and it is brilliant. Constant 35mpg from school runs, short trips. 45mpg on long runs. The parts are silly cheap. The car is so simple and easy to work on.
 
Mum has a 2005 Jazz from new and it's been great apart from the chocolate bearings in the gearbox that have now been replaced.
 
My parents are on their second, they had an 06 and now a 13. No problems with either and on the couple of occasions I've gone out in it with them I have been impressed with the space in the back (I'm 6'2") and the nifty way the seats fold (tucked a Panasonic Plasma in it's box behind the front seats).

Great cars if you don't mind the slightly old person image.
 
ok So now apparently Suzuki Swift is better according to my brother in law in terms of handling. any thoughts swift vs jazz ?

Googling seems to be Jazz all the way. Damn bro in law muddying the waters
 
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Suzuki Swift is both a much better looking car and much more fun to drive, really like em. The Jazz on the other hand is better as an all round car, you'll get more for your money.
 
The swift knocks spots off it for driving pleasure, but I really can't think of anything that size that comes close to the jazz in terms of the kind of versatility you're likely to want from a small family car
 
Seems a lot of money for a not particularly special example of the car with incomplete history.

That's a £2k car for me (and I actually know someone who was struggling to get even that for a 5 door 54 1.6 recently)

Oh and you BIT the bullet :P

Also a 3k loan for a car sounds potentially disastrous, could you not put some cash to it or pick something up for a grand and pay cash?
 
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