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Officially on today, Honda Malaysia introduced the world popular and practical 5-door compact hatchback – Honda Jazz S variant. Make it clear, the ‘S’ stands for Standard and not ‘Sport’. Yet, it is good enough and the previous Jazz V variant has discontinued for Malaysian market. Therefore, only Jazz Hybrid and Jazz S variant are available.

The Jazz S is a Completely Build-Up (CBU) unit from Thailand. With the original concept of “Man Maximum, Machine Minimum”, the Jazz S continues the legacy of maximizing the space available for humans and minimizing the space occupied by mechanical components. This is aimed at creating an ideal compact car that combines spaciousness, utility, fuel efficiency, refinement, comfort and safety all into one attractive package.

Honda Malaysia Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yoichiro Ueno said, “We are pleased to offer the S variant of the Honda Jazz to Malaysians. The Jazz has always been well received in Malaysia and we are delighted to introduce another version of the stylish compact car to Malaysians. We believe the Jazz S will appeal to young professionals who are interested in a compact yet practical vehicle that caters to their fun driving and active lifestyle. It is also targeted at young urban families who demand a spacious interior for their daily lifestyle needs.”

On the outside, the Honda Jazz S comes with a 15” alloy wheel and a new dynamic front and rear bumper with 3-tier tail lights. The black mesh grille maintains the stylishness while the fog lights ensure better visibility during misty conditions. The Jazz S is also equipped with front and rear mudguards for additional protection.

The Jazz S is powered by the 1.5L i-VTEC engine and mated with 5-speed Auto Transmission. According to Honda Malaysia, the Drive-By-Wire (DBW) technology controls the engine with the 5-speed automatic transmission to give smoother shifting and reliable acceleration and linear driving performance at regular speed range.

The key features of the Jazz such as the Ultra Seat and a large boot space retained for great practicality and space. Similar to the new Civic Euro, the ever-dynamic Ultra Seats, which is now in blue-black, can be folded in one swift action. It can be transformed, flipped and adjusted easily to different modes for different purposes. Additionally, the unique central fuel tank layout, which is located underneath the rear seats, creates a larger legroom for both front and rear seat passengers.

In the safety aspect, the Jazz S retained all standard features. The G-force Control Technology (G-CON) which helps to disperse crash impact, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) that controls unexpected situation and stabilises the vehicle. Additionally, the Dual SRS Airbags, 3-point Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) safety belts, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electrical Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA) are featured in the Jazz S.

The Jazz S is available in Brilliant White Pearl, Polished Metal Metallic and Crystal Black Pearl. It is now available in all Honda Malaysia showrooms. Last but not least, the new Honda Jazz S now comes with an affordable on-the-road price tag of RM 99,800.00.

The highly anticipated all-new Honda Jazz Hybrid is here! However, we are disheartened at beginning with now the official price of RM94,800 instead of RM85k OTR with insurance after the full exemption of import duty and excise duty for hybrid models. Yet, it is still the most affordable hybrid vehicle in Malaysia. So, it is still a good option to consider over Honda Insight and Toyota Prius C.

On 15 March 2012, Honda Malaysia added the all-new Honda Jazz Hybrid into Honda’s family of hybrid cars in Malaysia. The Jazz Hybrid comes with a 1.3L i-VTEC engine + IMA hybrid system while retaining the key features of the standard Jazz such as Ultra Seat, Paddle Shift and a large boot space that emphasizes great practicality and space. It is a car that is small on the outside and big on the inside that maximises the joy of driving for the owners.

Speaking at the launch of the All-New Jazz Hybrid, Mr. Yoichiro Ueno, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia said, “The All-New Honda Jazz Hybrid was developed with the concept of ‘Enhancing the fundamental qualities of the vehicle’. With its unique driving characteristics and practical features, the All-New Jazz Hybrid is targeted at eco-conscious individuals who are interested in a compact hybrid that caters to their fun driving and active lifestyle. It is also targeted at independent young professionals who recognize the value of advanced technologies packaged in a clean design. It allows them to strike a balance between fuel efficiency and an enjoyable driving experience.” 

Practically, the new Jazz Hybrid is having the shell of Jazz and heart of the Insight. The IMA battery pack and Intelligent Power Unit (IPU) have been integrated under the boot floor area, keeping the normal boot (above floor) area of 300 litres and allowing the Ultra Seat to fold in the same manner as the non-hybrid versions.

According to Honda Malaysia, the Honda IMA system has proven itself to be a flexible and dependable system with almost 20 years of development and 10 years of sales. Till date, close to 800,000 Honda hybrid cars are on the road all over the world.

Safety aspect, the all-new Jazz Hybrid comes with 6 airbags and intelligent Hill-Start Assist function. The Hill-Start Assist function is a confidence-enhancing feature that helps prevent roll back when starting from a stop on a hill.

Because it is a hybrid vehicle, the Jazz Hybrid got a ‘green’ makeover. The car comes with a glove box cooler, chrome grille with blue reflector, chrome rear garnish, rear LED lights with blue highlight, 15-inch Alloy Wheels, Multi Information Display (MID) and Charge Assist Indicator.

Honda Malaysia offers this model with 5 colour choices – Fresh Lime Metallic, Alabaster Silver, Milano Red, Crystal Black Pearl and Taffeta White. The All-New Jazz Hybrid comes with a 5-year or 140,000km warranty for IMA battery which is the same with the Insight and CR-Z. Plus, standard 3 years or 100,000km warranty apart from the IMA battery.

Lastly, Honda Malaysia targets to sell 3,000 units of the All-New Jazz Hybrid by the end of this year and will continue to introduce more new hybrid models to excite Malaysians. The target for the total hybrid series is 10,000 units for year 2012.

Price List for Honda Jazz Hybrid for Peninsular Malaysia

Photo Gallery: Honda Jazz Hybrid Malaysia Launch

Photo Gallery: 2011 Honda Jazz/Fit Hybrid

Honda Jazz Hybrid will be launching here in Malaysia on next month. According to our insider, it will be in March 2012 and will be priced around RM85,000. Last year we test drove the Honda Jazz 1.5 i-Vtec, our review article ended with a note suggesting Honda Malaysia should bring in the hybrid version of the Honda Jazz and Honda Malaysia listened to the market. The outlook of the Honda Jazz hybrid differs from the normal petrol version of Jazz. The Jazz Hybrid features a transparent like grille and a more unique design on the rear head lights.

Honda claims the Jazz Hybrid is the first B-segment petrol car fitted with along with and electric motor. The plus point to this is actually, Honda does it without sacrificing the cabin and luggage space. The electronic components are mounted below the boot floor. 

The engine used in the Jazz Hybrid is the same engine that can be found in the Honda Insight, which is 1.3-litre engine with IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) technology that produces 102HP with the help of the electric motor. Same as the Insight it is mated with a CVT gearbox to provide better fuel efficiency and smoother drive. 0-100km/h sprint in 12.6 second and a max speed of 177km/h. Fuel economy wise, it is only consuming 4.5 litre of unleaded fuel per 100 km.

Coincidently we are looking to purchase another hybrid vehicle within this price range. Hopefully the specification for the pricing won’t disappoint us to purchase the Honda Jazz Hybrid.