2014 Honda Jazz launched in Malaysia

The 2014 Honda Jazz has been launched in the Malaysian market for RM 73,000 (Rs. 13.76 lakh). Bookings of the Honda Jazz had commenced in the country earlier this month and deliveries are expected to begin immediately. The Jazz will be available in three variants – S, E and V, powered by the 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine. 

The Jazz has been styled along the lines of Honda's new 'Exciting H Design!!!' philosophy. Unlike the Indian market, where diesel cars are quite popular, a major chunk of the cars sold in Malaysia are petrol-powered. Hence, the Jazz has been launched in the Malaysian market only with a 1.5-litre i-VTEC petrol engine, which produces 118bhp and 145Nm of torque. 

In India though, the Jazz will also be sold with the 1.5-litre i-DTEC diesel engine, which is also used in the Amaze and the City. Both the engines are mated to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a CVT unit. 

The previous generation Jazz wasn’t very popular among the Indian buyers, mostly due to the high price tag and the lack of a diesel engine as the i-DTEC unit hadn’t been launched when the previous car was in production. With the new Jazz, Honda has sorted out the issue of a diesel engine, though it will have to adopt a better pricing strategy to give it an edge over other premium hatchbacks like the Volkswagen Polo and the Hyundai i20.