Honda Jazz hatchback - Reliability & safety

Honda has a reputation for making reliable cars, and the outgoing Jazz still performed well in our 2021 Driver Power survey, despite its advancing years. The latest Jazz is also fitted with an impressive haul of safety equipment.

Honda Jazz reliability

The outgoing Honda Jazz was rated highly for reliability and build quality, with just 8.6% of owners telling us their car had experienced a fault in the first year. It will be interesting to see how the e:HEV hybrid setup affects this, as hybrid models from rival brands like Toyota have a reputation for being almost bulletproof. The way hybrids work tends to take strain off the brakes and engine, while the Jazz doesn't even have a conventional gearbox. In our 2021 brand survey, Honda finished in 6th place from 29 manufacturers with 14.% of owners reporting a fault with their cars in the first year.  

Safety

Safety experts at Euro NCAP tested the Jazz last, where it received a full five-star rating for safety. The Jazz scored consistently across all four categories: it got 87% for adult protection, 83% for child protection, 80% for pedestrian safety and 76% for its safety systems.

It's fitted with Honda's 'Sensing' suite of safety systems, including autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warnings and technology that can flag up traffic signs on the dashboard. This can also be used to automatically set the speed limiter to the current speed limit, helping the driver avoid speeding in error. The Jazz is also available with blind-spot warnings, adaptive cruise control and a cross traffic monitor that automatically warns of traffic while reversing.