Honda has been quite slow in responding to market needs of late. The company was not quick to launch the Jazz and when it came, it was overpriced. It was not even the most powerful hatch on sale, something which does not go well with the Honda name in India. Then there was news about the Jazz getting the City’s 1.5L VTEC engine and after the launch of the Volkswagen Polo 1.6 and Skoda Fabia 1.6, Honda seems to have taken notice. We spotted the Honda Jazz 1.5L in Pune undergoing tests. The car looks the same as the current Jazz except the more powerful motor underneath.
The 1497cc Jazz uses a SOHC, 4 cylinder, 16 valve i-VTEC motor which produces 118PS of power at 6600Rpm and 146Nm of torque at 4800Rpm. This results in 0-100 kmph coming up in just 9 seconds with a top speed of over 180kmph. Mileage is expected to revolve around 12kmpl in the city and 15kmpl on the highway. Spotted in the Jazz X variant, the spotting of the Jazz 1.5L only confirms the launch to be quite near. The Jazz 1.5 will be priced around Rs. 80,000/- more than the Jazz 1.2 variant. An AT might feature on the Jazz 1.5 along with wider tyres helping in better grip for the faster Jazz.
