Honda Jazz review

With its boxy, MPV-like shape, the Honda Jazz is the most spacious car in the small car class. Even six-footers will have no trouble getting comfortable in the front, thanks to a huge amount of head room, seats that slide back a long way to accommodate long legs, and surprisingly generous shoulder room. 

Each front door has a pocket big enough to accept a 250ml water bottle, while just behind the gear selector is a cup holder, with a second and third positioned on the outer reaches of the dashboard.

There are also two small glove boxes (one below the dash and one above), plus a cubby underneath the centre armrest and a tray located below the air conditioning controls. We wish more of the trays and cubbies were lined with rubber, though, to prevent things sliding about.

The Jazz’s class-leading interior space extends to the rear. Two tall adults can sit in the outer rear seats without their heads touching the ceiling or their knees brushing against the front seatbacks. In fact, there’s enough leg room on offer for occupants to sprawl out quite relaxedly. And while things will become more of a squeeze if a third adult joins the party, the flat, unobstructed floor means the person in the middle won't struggle for somewhere to put their feet.

Both front seatbacks come with a map pocket and a separate pocket for your mobile phone, while each outer rear seat gets a generous armrest. Both rear doors get a small but useful pocket, for storing a 250ml water bottle.

It’s also worth noting that the Jazz feels particularly airy in the back compared with cars like the Peugeot 208, thanks to its tall rear windows.

The front passenger’s seat has a wide range of fore, aft and rake adjustment, although no height or lumbar adjustment. 

The 'Magic' rear seats, though, are truly clever. Like most of the cars in the class, the seatbacks split in a 60/40 configuration, but what makes the Jazz’s seats unique is that the seat backs can be pushed forward to lie completely flat, or the seat bases folded upwards to lie against the seat backs. The latter creates a huge amount of vertical space for tall items, like that plant you’ve just bought from the garden centre. It’s a brilliant piece of packaging.

The Jazz has nearly as big a boot as some cars from the class above. There’s a small lip to lift bags over, but that's nowhere near as tall as the Renault Clio's, and the boot floor isn’t too high off the ground.

The boot is a usefully square shape, too, helping you to make the most of the available space. There’s certainly enough room for a large pushchair or two large suitcases, and folding the rear seats flat essentially turns the Jazz into a small van. When the seats are folded there is a little hump in the extended floor, but a handy flap that runs the width of the boot ensures that long objects don’t get snagged as you slide them in.

There are also two hooks set into the floor that are handy if you want to secure loose items, while below the floor is a sizeable storage cubby for your muddy boots or wet clothes.