One of the advantages of electrified powertrains is that it’s not too difficult to achieve a power increase: simply upgrade the electric motor and you instantly have more grunt on tap across a wide performance range.
That’s exactly what Honda has done with its Jazz e:HEV update. The electric motor has been increased by 10kW, the generator motor is up 8kW – and actually, even the 1.5-litre petrol engine has gained 7kW. Overall, the Jazz e:HEV now has 78kW/127Nm from its petrol engine and 90kW/253Nm from its electric motors.
The e:HEV powertrain is essentially a range-extender. The petrol engine acts as a generator for the battery, which supplies power for the electrics that ultimately drive the wheels. The petrol engine can also drive the propulsion motor directly in certain circumstances, but it never drives the wheels.
The power upgrade applies to the flagship Jazz Luxe – which is now called Luxe Sport to mark its extra performance. But the star vehicle for the tweaked hybrid powertrain is a new RS model – only the second RS for the Jazz lineup since the 2014 original.
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The new RS is $300 cheaper than the Luxe Sport at $36,700, but is dressed up with unique grille and bumpers, gloss-black body kit, grey interior colour scheme and a pop of colour with yellow stitching. There’s also a new hero colour for the RS, Urban Gray (pictured).
The RS package is a bit more than skin deep. It gains a new drive-mode switch with Eco, Normal and Sport modes - the latter introducing “steps” to the e-CVT to make it feel a bit more like a conventional automatic transmission. The RS also has paddles on the steering column that allow the driver to choose between four levels of engine braking/regeneration. Finally, the RS gets its own suspension tune, which is a bit firmer than the Luxe Sport.
The Jazz upgrade is also another step in the road towards e:HEV dominance in Honda New Zealand’s model ranges. The entry Jazz Life model has been dropped, leaving the SUV-style $30,700 Crosstar as the only conventional ICE version in the lineup. Honda NZ expects to sell an impressive 2000 Jazz models this year, and expects over 90 per cent to be e:HEV.
The Jazz e:HEV was the top selling electrified vehicle in its class by a huge margin last year: 1606 registrations, ahead of the Toyota Yaris Hybrid (522), Peugeot e-208 (302), Mini Electric (209) and Suzuki Swift (145).
The company’s e:HEV technology will also power the all-new ZR-V SUV due for launch in May (it fits in between the HR-V and CR-V) – and a next-generation CR-V making its Kiwi debut late this year.
