Jazz Development Chief Engineer and Large Project Leader Kohei Hitomi

JM: Hitomi-san, as a global model, how differently is the Honda Jazz for Singapore market developed?

KH: The first generation Honda Jazz is based on the Honda Fit, which is a Japan Domestic Model. Hence for all global markets, the 1st generation Jazz adopted many of the engineering concepts meant for the Japan Domestic Market. For the second generation Jazz, Honda R&D is able to look more carefully at the needs of the global market and adopts separate development concepts more appropriate for each market.

JM: Hitomi-san, I see. For the Singapore model what is a major diference in the development concept of the Jazz and the JDM Fit?

KH: We checked the user characteristics of Singapore users very carefully through owner's focus group and surveys. We found that users in Singapore are more similar to users in country such as Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Thailand. They drive at speeds much higher than Japanese Fit users and prefer quick acceleration especially during overtaking. With this knowledge in mind, we have selected the 5-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shift for Singapore instead of the CVT used in the Japan Domestic Market.

JM: Hitomi-san, regarding performance of 5AT with paddle shifters, what would be main difference?

KH: The Fit 1.3 is configured mainly for low speed economy drive. The 5AT with paddle shifter provides better all round performance. If you like quick acceleration and find the acceleration performance of the current Jazz a bit laggy, you will find the new 5AT more matching to the new Jazz 100ps engine. The CVT is about 5% more efficient below 70km/h, above that the 5AT is better at transferring power onto the road. Hence I would say that for Singapore road conditions and driving preference, the 5AT is a better all round transmission for this market.

JM: Hitomi-san, is that the reason why all round disc brakes are recommended for the Jazz 1.3 even?

KH: Yes, we equip all 5AT models with 15" wheels and the brakes are also configured differently from the Fit 1.3. The main reason is average driving speed being much lower in Japan hence the 240mm front discs and the rear drums in the Fit 1.3 is good enough. For Singapore, bearing in mind the high average speed and preference for quick acceleration, front 262mm discs and rear 240mm discs is recommended. It will brake quicker and more effectively especially at speeds above 70km/h.

JM: Hitomi-san, so would you say that Fit 1.3 used in Singapore may not have enough braking performance.

KH: The Fit is never designed for use in Singapore. With the CVT now coupled to the torque converter, brake performance for the Japanese market is good enough. I cannot comment on the use of the Fit in Singapore as it was never intended for use in Singapore. For Singapore use, I will recommend customers to consider only the Jazz.

JM: Thank you very much, Hitomi-san.