What_Car_UK_-_August_2020

16 August 2020 whatcar.com

Honda Jazz

THEREARETHREEcertaintiesinlife:death,

taxesandtheshapeoftheHondaJazz.Wejest,

buteversincethefirstiterationwasreleased

backin2001,eachsuccessivegenerationof

theJazzhasretainedthatcar’sunorthodoxbut

distinctiveMPV-like‘monobox’outline.And

thisfourth-generationmodelisnodifferent.

However,don’tgothinkingthattheJazzcan’t

learnnewtricks,becausethisall-newmodel

haspickeduptheabilitytojuggle.No,notwith

ballsorfiresticks;itjugglespetrolandelectric

powertoimproveefficiency.

Honda’sall-newpetrol-electrichybrid

system(callede:HEV)consistsofafrugal

1.5-litrefour-cylinderengineandtwoelectric

motorspoweredbyacompactbattery.Itbeing

aregularhybrid,there’snoneedtopluginand

chargeup,buttheflipsideisthatyoucan’tgo

veryfaronelectricpoweralone.However,in

itsdefaultHybridmode,theJazzdoesagood

jobofworkingoutwhenit’sbesttodeploythe

electricmotororpetrolengine.

Thisgenerallymeanspredominantly

electricpowerinurbanenvironmentsanda

combinationofbothpowersourcesonfaster

roads.Really,it’sonlyonmotorwaysthatyou

needtoworktheJazzhardtokeepupwith

traffic.That’sbecause,whenyou’redrivingat

thenationallimit,theenginespendsmostof

itstimerunningonpetrolalone,withoutany

electricalassistance.

Unfortunately,althoughtheJazznolonger

All-electricë-C4shares134bhpmotorand50kWhbatterywiththePeugeote-2008.Ofcialrangeis 217miles usesaCVTautomaticgearbox,itsnew

ToyotaYaris

Wellequipped

andcheaptorun

in hybridform,but

nowherenearas

practicalastheJazz.

VolkswagenPolo

Ourfavouritesmall

hatchbackhasa

smarterinteriorand

betterhandlingbut

isn’tasfrugal.

RIVALS

‘Electric power alone

is ne for keeping up

with urban trafc and

can be used for a few

minutes at a time’

blacksurfaces,whichareenlivenedbya

choiceofmattchromeorhigh-glossblack

insertsfortheairvents,centreconsole,

dashboardandsteeringwheel.Thenew

framelessdigitaldashboardlookssimpleand

uncluttered,asdoesthe10.0intouchscreen

fortheinfotainmentsystem.Tominimisedriver

distractionthere’sa large,colouredhead-up

display,aswellasphysicalbuttonsbelowthe

infotainmentscreentocontrolthedual-zone

airconditioningsystem.

Citroën’strademark

at-bottomedsteering

wheelis presentonce

again,butunlikethe

C3 Aircross, with its

quirky paddle-like

handbrake lever, the

C4 has an electronic

parking brake.

No fewer

than 16 storage

compartments are

dotted around the

C4’s interior with a

total of 39 litres of

space – roughly

theequivalentofa carry-onsuitcase.As

wellasmultiplecubbies,there’sa wireless

smartphonechargingareain thecentre

consoleanda doubletabletholderthatcan

befoldedoutofthedashboard.Bulkieritems

cangoin the380-litreboot,whichis similarin

sizetothoseofrivalssuchastheFocusand

Golfandbenetsfromanadjustableoor

anda lowloadinglip.

Safetyequipmentincludesautomatic

emergencybraking,blindspotmonitoring,

lane-keeping

assistance,adaptive

cruisecontroland

a driverfatigue

monitoring system.

Prices haven’t been

revealed yet, but

we’d expect there to

be a slight increase

over the C4 Cactus,

which currently starts

at £22,145 and can

be bought for as

little as £17,

through our New Car

Buying service.

FordFocus

One of the best

driver’s cars, in the

class with great

handling and quiet

cruising manners.

SkodaScala

Our favourite family

car offers a comfy

ride and a smart,

spacious interior

for a great price.

RIVALS

Latest iteration of Honda’s

practical small hatchback gets

new hybrid tech that might

be music to your ears On sale

Now Price from £18,98 5

FIRST LOOK

Neil Winn

[email protected]