Sick of waiting for a Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid?
If so, or you’re a fan of the old Honda Jazz and wish it would return to Australia – and there seems to be many of you out there who do – then a lifeline of hope has been thrown our way at last.
While this is by no means a confirmation that the Japanese supermini will return to our shores any time soon, Honda Australia head of product planning, Ray Gani, revealed that the company is open to considering a smaller vehicle than the Civic hatchback, should the opportunity arise.
“We never say never,” he told CarsGuide at the launch of the Civic e:HEV hybrid in Melbourne.
“There are no plans to bring the Jazz back… but we would never rule anything out.
“But it is not currently in our plans.”
A 10-year veteran with Honda Australia, Mr Gani’s response is not the flat-out rejection of the Jazz that the company has previously responded with, suggesting that a lower-priced yet premium light car of that size is not out of the question.
Also known as the Fit and acclaimed for its high-quality engineering, class-leading fuel efficiency and unique interior packaging that remains unmatched in the light hatch segment, the Jazz was launched in Australia in late 2002.
However, while it gained a strong following over three successful iterations, several factors conspired to undermine the Jazz’s future here moving into the 2020s, leading to Honda Australia dropping the series altogether.
These included the cessation of production of the third-generation (2014-2019 GK) model in Thailand, meaning its new-from-the-ground-up GR replacement out of Japan would be considerably more expensive than the circa-$15,000 starting point of its predecessor, as well as the contraction of the light-car class as consumers moved to light SUVs.
With the brand’s shift upmarket, and the move to an agency model from mid-2021 seeing the cost of entry into new Honda ownership more than double today (the most affordable new Honda starts from $35,900 – albeit driveaway – for the HR-V Vi light SUV), there is a sizeable price gap below.
Coupled with double-digit percentage price rises for the Jazz’s main competitors like the Toyota Yaris (now from $23,490 before on-road costs) and Suzuki Swift (from $22,490 BOC) forced by specification increases, product improvements, the pandemic and related stock shortages, it appears Honda may yet contemplate reintroducing the Jazz back to Australia.
Honda Australia senior product planner, Arjun Nidigallu, admitted that the circumstances surrounding the decision to drop the Jazz back in 2020 have now changed enough to warrant a second look, though he too reiterated that no plans are currently in place to do so.
“Things are different now,” he agreed. “Before it would have been priced too high for the market… and the Yaris is now more expensive.”
Mr Nidigallu added that, with the success of the Yaris Cross hybrid and the availability of Honda’s sophisticated e:HEV hybrid system in the latest-gen Jazz, the higher-riding and more-crossover-like Jazz Crosstar might find an audience in Australia, even at a premium price point compared to the Toyota.
“We could consider something like the Jazz Crosstar,” he said.
“But there are no plans.”
It’s worth noting, too, that the Jazz and latest HR-V are much the same under their slick and smooth skin.
As previously reported, the Jazz Crosstar e:HEV combines a 72kW 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and 80kW/253Nm electric motor, capable of a 0-100km/h sprint time of less than 10 seconds and almost 900km between refills, while averaging around 4.8.L/100km.
Compared to the regular Jazz, it features a 16mm ride-height boost, extra body cladding and a unique grille, putting it squarely in the Yaris Cross category of supermini-based crossovers.
Honda Australia is notoriously secretive of its future model plans, so this sort of dialogue is a breath of fresh air and a chance to let the company know whether you’d like to see the Jazz Crosstar e:HEV launched in this country.
Let us and them know in the comments section below.