Redesigned Chinese Market Honda Jazz, ASEAN to receive this look too?
When the forth generation Honda Jazz was announced at the Tokyo Motor Show back in 2019, the media buzz around this Japanese hatchback was its styling.
Taking cues from the futuristic Honda E electric city car, the styling of the latest Jazz was a departure from previous generations. Most notably though was the lack of a conventional front grille. In its place instead is a body coloured panel that dominates the front end design. Only one of the 5 variants of the Honda Jazz offered in Japan has a conventional front grille, and that is on the mini SUV-like Jazz Crosstar.
For the Chinese market however, the locally assembled Jazz, known as the GAC-Honda Fit has received a front end redesign from its Japanese counterpart. The two trim levels available, Sport and the Axia Style-esque Crosstar, are set to receive design changes that include different headlights, bumpers and the notable addition of a front grille on both variants. To suit the local tastes perhaps?
Headline grabbing styling aside however, the latest iteration of Honda Jazz still retains its sensibilities everywhere else. It still maintains the perennial Jazz selling points, such as a large airy cabin with good visibility all round thanks to slim A pillars. It even retains Jazz party piece — its trick Ultra Seats in all models.
On the inside, the new Jazz continues to draw inspiration from the Honda E, with a funky thin-rimmed two spoke wheel, improved infotainment and a digital gauge cluster.
In terms of powertrain, Japanese and European versions launched with a range of petrol, diesel and hybrid options. The hybrid 1.5 four cylinder that pushes out 108 hp and 178 Nm of torque mated to a CVT transmission being the most popular among buyers in those markets.
The Chinese market Jazz on the other hand would most likely receive a revised version of the previous generation’s 1.5 litre naturally aspirated inline four that now makes 128 bhp and would mated to either a 5 speed manual or a CVT transmission.
Even as the Jazz was a steady seller locally, Honda Malaysia has yet to announce whether it would bring the latest generation Jazz to the Malaysian market. And even if it did, it’s up in the air on which version we would receive. Industry pundits put it down to the Chinese market car coming to our shores, but Honda Malaysia is still being tight lipped on their choice.
If it were your decision, which design of Jazz would you like to see on Malaysian roads; the Japan spec with its clean design or the Chinese spec with the conventional front grille?
Text by Joshua Chin
