Honda jazz is going to make its debut at the Paris Motor Show. We are not sure, but in due course the car may make its way to the Indian shores as well. To Honda’s credit, the Japanese company has managed to add the IMA hybrid technology to the hatchback while still retaining the flexibility of its unique folding Seats. The integration of the hybrid system into the car has not diminished the interior space at all.
The IMA battery pack and power control unit have been integrated in the area under the boot floor, keeping the normal boot (above floor) area of 300 litres and allowing the seats to fold in the same manner as non-hybrid versions. The seats still fold entirely flat to provide a boot space of 831 litres or the seat bases can be folded to sit vertically to accommodate tall items within the car.
The IMA hybrid motor and control system are shared with the Insight and CR-Z hybrids. The technology has been almost two decades into development and has been selling for 10 years now. There are over half a million vehicles powered by the tech plying on the road.
The Jazz Hybrid come with a 1.3 litre i-VTEC engine which is also used on the Insight hybrid. The jazz even with its taller design, and interios space oriented design, will manage to match 104 g/km CO2 emissions of the Insight. Also, just like the Insight and Civic Hybrid models, the Jazz Hybrid will be capable of running only on electric motors under sedate driving conditions. Honda is claiming a combined fuel consumption figure of 22.72kmpl
The Jazz Hybrid goes on sale in some of the European markets in the early part of 2011. Prices and full specifications of the car will be announced soon.
Go down for a hi-res image Gallery of the newest Hybrid car from Honda