SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


Fighting Fit: 2018 Honda Jazz Sport

 a.k.a. Honda Fit RS

Game on

Posted: 21 April 2018

The numbers
Price: R312 900
Engine: Honda L15B1, 1496 cc, DOHC, 16-valve inline four
Power: 97 kW at 6600 rpm
Torque: 155 Nm at 4600 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9.8 seconds
Maximum speed: 180 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.6 l/100 km
Tank: 40 litres
Ground clearance: 135 mm
Tyre size: 185/55R16
Spare: Spacesaver
Luggage: 359 – 889 litres
Warranty: 5 years / 200 000 km with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: 4 years / 60 000 km at 15 000 km intervals.

We could be really corny and say that Honda’s recently introduced Jazz Sport is Jazzed; meaning it has more power, greater youth appeal in the form of an aggressive body kit, better rear brakes, push-button starter and a slightly larger touch screen. Equally silly would be to say, “Granny’s Car’s Got Game”, referring to the fact that Fit RS, as it's known elsewhere, is the default virtual car used by the makers of video game Gran Turismo 6 to walk new players through the process.

Either way the bottom line is that Honda Jazz Sport puts out nine kilowatts of power and 10 Newton-metres more torque than the model it replaces, takes styling cues from the new Civic RS, upgrades to a 7” touch screen and swaps 239 mm discs for the old rear drum brakes. It also adds LED headlights and DRLs, red accents and stitching inside, an HDMI socket, backup camera and parking beepers, two more speakers and push-button starting. Like the basic “game” car, it's fitted with a stepped CVT gearbox offering seven virtual ratios.

It replaces the two-model Jazz Dynamic range, meaning “sorry, but no more five-speed manual shifter unless you buy down”. To ease any possible disappointment, all this kit comes at no extra charge. When last was anyone so nice to you?

The body kit consists of a new, triple-strake rear diffuser with red accent line, enlarged rear spoiler, side skirts, wicked black wheels and mirrors, a sleeker grille assembly with piano black and chrome accents, more prominent front bumper with black surrounds for the fog lamps, and a further red pin stripe on the redesigned splitter. All this adds 96 mm to the car’s length and, especially in black, accentuates its benignly evil face; very Darth Honda.

While the company could have followed the example of others it thankfully chose not to, meaning that most of what you really want is provided but other, needlessly expensive, toys are left out.

It does give you six airbags, front seatbelt pre-tensioning, ISOFix mountings, ABS brakes with EBD, VSC, hill start assist, automatic headlamp levelling, automatic air conditioning, cruise control, Bluetooth connectivity and Honda’s versatile back seats.

Stuff left out includes automatic stop-start (annoying and of little practical use), auto-on headlights, autonomous braking, lane control and the usual Eco-normal-sport selector. Sport, when you want it, is just aft of Drive on the gearshift slot while green and blue bands flanking the speedometer let you know whether you’re being good or naughty.

Getting down to brass tacks, the CVT box is a lot better than some previous generations have been. Provided you don’t get too aggressive, it kicks down nicely and provides a steady flow of power. Provoking it slightly will bring in the stepping process and behaviours like those of a normal automatic. It can be made to flare if you’re really rude, but it shouldn’t be necessary.

Final thoughts: It’s solid, handles well, has plenty of room for fully-grown passengers in the back, offers a decent boot and is not overloaded with gadgets. It has potential as a Super Sleeper so we’d love to add options as one can in the game.

The 127-kW motor out of the Civic sedan would be great, while 140-kW (from CR-V) could be even better. Honda might need to beef up brakes and suspension to tame such malignant darkness, mind you. A six-speed manual gearbox would naturally be a no-brainer, just to make it truly “Game On.” For a Fitter kind of RS.

Test unit from Honda Motor SA press fleet


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.