I have a soft spot for the Honda brand. Many years ago I bought a diamond-blue 1.3-litre Honda Ballade simply because it had those cute pop-up lights, a decision I was never to regret.
I drove that little Ballade for 18 years and more than 500 000km before passing it on to my sister.
Strangely enough, I never gave the Ballade a name, perhaps because it did not have a quirky nature. Instead it just did everything quietly and with a minimum of fuss, which is exactly what the new Jazz does.
And although it doesn't have the pop-up lights, I'm a bit older now and the Jazz's cute snub-nose bonnet can still bring a pleased smile to my face.
Our 1.5-litre long-term test vehicle is really a lot more than just a jazzy runabout for schlepping the kids to school and puttering to work and back.
A recent, week-long trip to Ebenezer dam near Tzaneen to do some sailing and fishing was the ideal opportunity to put the Jazz through its paces and load it to the brim with cooler boxes, food for a week, sailing and fishing gear and boxes of wine.
Versatility is the car's strong point, and the 60/40 split rear seats fold down flat providing a panelvan-type cargo area.
The beauty of the Honda is that raising and lowering the rear seats is a one-handed operation and you won't strain your back doing it either.
The bottom of the rear seats can also hinge upwards to create a floor-to-ceiling space behind the front seats, which is quite handy for things such as pot-pants or a mountain bike
Initially I found the driver's seating position a bit high and the lumbar support a bit more than I like, but my colleagues had no problem with it, and I soon no longer noticed.
And on the almost four-hour drive to the dam I was quite comfortable.
The 1.5-litre engine hauls the Jazz along comfortably at the legal speed limit and would go well over that before running out of steam.
The lack of a sixth gear was a bit disconcerting at first as it's quite a high-revving engine and it took a while to get used to the engine buzzing.
But it must have one of the slickest manual gearshifts I've used, and many so-called performance cars can't match it in preciseness.
The Honda was fairly miserly with its fuel consumption, sipping seven litres/100km driving at the speed limit, and a shade thirstier at about 7.4 litres/100km doing the urban cycle to work and back.
The cabin is fully kitted with nice-to-have features such as satellite controls on the steering wheel, auto aircon, cup holders and so forth.
The Jazz has a handy auxiliary MP3 socket in the dashboard, although at first it flummoxed us as nothing seemed to fit until we discovered a connection cable in the cubbyhole.
The top-of-the-range Jazz-EX-S which we have on test comes with a fixed panoramic sunroof with a shade that opens and closes at a touch of a button to create a feeling of space - although it can be a bit warm in the summer if left open.
At R212 551 the Jazz provides a lot of car despite its relatively small size and is sure to find favour with small families seeking space, practicality and a dash of comfort. - Star Motoring