Honda Jazz

It's always nice when you make the right decision, isn't it? Just over a year ago, Auto Express awarded Honda's Jazz the accolade of Car of the Year. There were, of course, doubters who pointed to Honda's non-existent track record in the super-mini field and the Jazz's limited model range.

But despite these concerns, Honda's versatile baby has paid us back with an ownership experience that has proved second to none. And if its performance in our annual Driver Power motoring satisfaction survey is anything to go by - seventh overall and a class winner in the reliability and practicality categories - it seems you love it, too.

But now, after 12 months with one of the first examples off the line, our love affair with the Jazz is over. RJ02 FPC has gone back to Honda, leaving a small but significant space in our car park.
So what's happened since our most recent report? When I last put pen to paper, London was in the grip of a sharp snap which left my street like an ice rink. One morning I woke up to find that the Torville and Dean formation ice driving team had ploughed down the road, scraping and denting four cars - including the Jazz. It suffered a long, expensive-looking dent in the passenger door.

With the 12,000-mile first service due, I booked the car into local Honda dealer, Alan Day in Hendon, north London, with a plan to get the bodywork done at the same time. Although the estimate looked on the high side - ΂£750 all in - it's about par for the course for a door reskin. Due to the amount of labour involved in stripping all the switchgear and trim out, door repairs tend to be costly. But while the bill was a big one - to-talling ΂£1,022 once the 12,000-mile service and VAT had been added - there was no faulting the performance of the dealer. From the initial visit to getting the estimate to the handing over of the keys, the service was faultless. Top marks.

Other aspects of Jazz ownership have been equally impressive. For a supermini, it has proved amazingly adaptable and not once did I find my-self yearning for extra legroom or luggage space. The Jazz has carried everything from wardrobes to Christmas trees and has always come through with flying colours. Key to its flexibility has been the brilliant seating system that allows it to turn from five-seater to van in a matter of seconds. And because you don't have to physically remove them as you would in a Renault Scenic or Citroen Picasso, the Jazz can be altered mid-journey.

The interior also stood up very well to its 12 months with us, with the trim needing little more than a wipe down before it went back, and the plastics losing none of their shine. And I'm not the only one to have fallen for the Honda's charms. The Auto Express office has been deluged with correspondence from fellow Jazz fans keen to spread the word. "It's practical, economical and nippy," enthused Colin Butler of Banstead, Surrey, while S Kinsella of Birmingham said: "I have one child and one on the way and find the Jazz great for carrying pushchairs and other baby gear."

So is there a happy ending to the Jazz story? Yes and no. Just 24 hours after getting it back from the bodyshop, some chancer tried to break in, damaging the lock on the freshly replaced passenger door. Fortunately the deadlocks did their job and foiled the intruder. On the plus side, road test editor Oliver Marriage was so impressed with our long-termer that he has just bought one for the imminent arrival of his first child. You can't get a better recommendation than that.