Honda Jazz - Practicality, comfort and boot space

Practicality and ease of use are where the Jazz still really shines. Visibility for the driver is excellent, thanks to the slimmer A-pillars and high windscreen. This, along with an elevated driving position and a good view out of the rear windows, means that there shouldn’t be any major problems with parking manoeuvres or navigating out of tight junctions.

One slightly irritating quirk that we found during our own test was that, due to the shallow cowl design, the digital instrument display was sometimes affected by sunlight. The main screen was easier to see, but the information on either side can be harder to make out.

The famous Magic Seats in the second row are a brilliant piece of design. Not only do they split in 60/40 fashion, you’re also able to fold up the bases like a cinema seat to help you slide awkward larger items across the rear floor.

There’s lots of useful cubby holes and storage bins for assorted items, while all versions include a front centre armrest, cupholders and seat back pockets for extra convenience.

Size

The Jazz is 4,089mm long, 1,694mm wide (excluding door mirrors, which take it to 1,966mm) and 1,526mm in height, which makes it about the same length as a Ford Fiesta. The SUV-inspired Jazz Crosstar is 16mm longer and is also slightly wider (at 1,725mmm) and taller (by 30mm) than the standard hatchback.

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Leg room, head room & passenger space

The Jazz includes plenty of space for the driver, although Honda hasn’t forgotten about the needs of passengers – the cabin can easily accommodate four six-footers without any worries about knee or legroom. Despite a 10mm lower roofline, head room is still exceptional when compared to rivals.

We measured the rear seat area in the Honda Jazz ourselves when we pitted it against the Toyota Yaris Cross in our twin test. We found that the Jazz has the advantage when it comes to knee room, but the Yaris Cross offers slightly more headroom and its cabin is wider, too. Although, the Toyota doesn’t offer any charging sockets in the rear, while the Jazz has two handy USB-C ports.

Boot

The Jazz’s boot size is a decent 304 litres, although the Fiesta offers 311 litres and the Renault Clio a huge 391 litres of load space. However, with the rear seats folded, the Honda supermini trumps both of these competitors with a 1,205-litre capacity. While the Crosstar originally had a little less luggage space than the standard car, that’s no longer the case, making it just as practical to go along with its SUV-style looks.

When we opened up the boot of the Jazz in our twin test against the Yaris Cross, we found that while the Honda has a lower lip, which helps when loading in heavier items, the Toyota has a much longer boot area with the rear seats in place. The load space in both cars is about the same width though.