The fourth-generation Honda Jazz has made
its debut in China, with pre-sales set to begin in July before arriving at
dealerships in August. The B-segment model was first revealed at last year’s
Tokyo Motor Show and has already gone on sale in its home country of Japan as
well as in Europe.
For the Chinese market, the Jazz will be
offered in two variants – Sport and Crosstar – both powered by a 1.5 litre
naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine said to provide around 131 PS, which is paired with a CVT driving the front wheels.
Styling-wise, the crossover-esque Crosstar
is identical to the one available in Japan and Europe, with highlights being an
increased ride height, wheel-arch cladding, integrated roof rails as well as a
model-specific front grille and 16-inch wheels.
The more interesting of the two is the
Sport, as it gets a different front end from the Basic, Home, Ness, Luxe
variants of the Jazz sold in other markets. The China-specific face features a
more pronounced front grille rather than a largely covered-off one, and is
complemented by a pointier and more aggressive bumper.
As you can see in these live photos from Autohome,
the grille is rather striking to look at and it also comes complete with a
honeycomb-pattern mesh insert. Compared to the optional Modulo grille available
for the JDM Jazz, this one certainly makes the Jazz stand out
more for better or worse. Another difference, albeit less subtle, is seen at
the rear, where the slightly tweaked bumper has protruding ends at its edges
that extend into housings for the repositioned reflectors.
Beyond these changes, the rest of the
China-market Sport appears pretty much unchanged from a regular Jazz. This
includes its left-hand drive cabin layout that mimics the European version,
although there is a regular handbrake instead of an electronic one. Customers
in the country will have benefit from a market-specific a touchscreen
infotainment system, a digital instrument cluster, Honda Sensing, a two-spoke
steering wheel and a two-tone colour scheme to jazz up the interior.
