Honda Jazz

Despite getting seriously long in the tooth now, a mild facelift has kept the excellent little Honda Jazz kicking. Brilliantly packaged and solidly built, it’s still much the most thoughtful and useful supermini on the market.

• Comfort

  The Jazz rides pretty firmly, and due to its short wheelbase and general absence of cosseting it can feel pretty raw on the motorway, but as the town car it's meant to be it's hard to fault.

  

• Performance

  There are only two rather modest petrol engines available in the Jazz, a 61kW 1.3-litre, and a marginally more impressive 81kW 1.5-litre. Both are seriously slow, but the 1.3-litre is slightly more economical.

  

• Cool

  The Jazz is cool in so much as it's cheap, utilitarian and leaves you to do the talking. If you don't want to make an impression with your motor, there's no better way of, er, not doing so.

  

• Quality

  Despite being Honda's entry-level car, it doesn't fall short in any respect of the company's exacting manufacturing standards. Expect excellent mechanical reliability and a bullet-proof cabin.

  

• Handling

  Despite Honda seeming to have very little interest in promoting the Jazz as a car to be driven - there are, after all, not hot ones in the line-up - it's actually a fun little car to ping about in. Light and lively with a positive gear change.

  

• Practicality

  Definitely the Jazz's strong suit, practicality is everywhere in this small but spacious supermini. And the rear seats fold completely flat with the single yank of a little lever, so it's like a little van when you need it to be.

  

• Running costs

  Very low insurance is an obvious incentive for young buyers here, and those tiny little engines ensure you'll go a long way on a tank. There are cheaper small cars to buy outright, but none offers the space of the Jazz.