Honda Jazz Celebration Drive
Honda Jazz completes one year in India and to explore its USPs, we visit Jaipur for some fun
Almost a year ago, we were in Goa to drive the third generation Honda Jazz. This was the first time the Jazz was going to be available with a diesel powertrain. Honda had added a lot of features which made it a very practical buy in the mid-size hatchback segment. That was a year ago, now to celebrate the first anniversary of the third generation premium hatchback in India, the Japanese automaker organised the ‘Honda Jazz Celebration Drive’ in Jaipur. Now this, by all means, was no regular drive. It was a fun filled event whose essence was to highlight the USPs of the Jazz. Here is how it panned out.
After reaching Jaipur, the event was flagged off in the customary way. Our destination was Samode Palace, a 498-year old heritage property. A palace turned hotel, Samode Palace was about 50 kms off the city of Jaipur. We were put behind the wheel of a Jazz CVT. Jaipur’s traffic scene is vastly different from what we encounter in metro cities. Firstly you have more two-wheelers on the road and then there are occasional animals and cattle who have become so immune to the traffic that they just don’t care to move out of the way. In this stop-go scenario, we were reaping the benefits of the CVT which made it quite easy and stress free to navigate through traffic.
Just as we were reaching Samode, Honda had set up camp just outside the perimeter of the palace. The Japanese company had organised a small fun competition to highlight the capabilities of the Jazz. There were a total of three challenges for us. First was to fit a full size bicycle, a couple of tall plants in the Jazz and to showcase the best position to sleep in the car. The magic seats were vastly useful to complete this challenge. While the bicycle fit easily in the boot (with the rear seats folded), the magic seats were folded up to fit the plants in the backseat. In many countries, the Jazz is the only hatchback which is frequently used to transport a Christmas tree. Once you remove the headrest of the front passenger seat, the seat folds flat like a bed, a very convenient feature.
The highly practical boot with flexible layout can accommodate a lot of stuff
Challenge number two was also about utilising the boot. It was about how many bags can fit in the boot without folding the seats. There were 5 points for small bags and 10 points for big bags. Out of the 6 teams participating, our team won both these challenges. The third was a slalom course. The purpose of this challenge was to highlight the drivability and turning radius of the Jazz. After competing the itinerary for the day, we retired into the comfort of Samode Palace for the night.
Honda had planned an ‘Amazing Race’ type treasure hunt on the next day. We left Samode Palace with a clue stating that our destination was situated on the ‘Cheel ka Teela’ and our task was to take a picture of the famous elephant ride which happened here. With a little help from Google, we knew that our destination was the famous ‘Amer Fort’. On reaching, we quickly found the elephant ride, took a picture and reported to the person who gave us our next clue. The journey took us to Hawa Mahal then to Jaipur’s famous Laxmi Mishtan Bhandar which is famous for its Kachori. Next stop was Shreenath Lassiwala who has been serving Lassi since 1944 in a clay glass. This glass was so filling that we ended up skipping lunch.
Honda Jazz CVT is fuel efficient yet convenient to drive in city traffic
Our final destination was a fuel pump close to the hotel (end point) and we were the first team to arrive at the final checkpoint thereby winning the treasure hunt. It was a fun filled two days where the Honda Jazz proved to be a good partner. What really is special about this car is the flexible storage capacity, abundant space for passengers and the option of an automatic (CVT in this case). The CVT on paper is more fuel efficient than its manual counterpart making a strong case for those who usually drive through peak hours.
The only downside of the CVT is the pronounced rubber band effect which renders it to be quite noisy. Moreover, if you are the one who’s running is on the higher side, the Jazz diesel is a good option which is not only powerful but extremely frugal too. Currently the Honda Jazz diesel is part of the MotorBeam garage and we have been loving it for its practicality and fuel efficiency.
The ‘Honda Jazz Celebration Drive’ was a fun filled event which highlighted the functionality and utility of the Honda Jazz. The biggest advantage of the Jazz over the competition is the interior space and flexibility in storage which makes it feel as good as a sedan. The Jazz is without doubt the most practical car in the premium hatchback segment.
