After a rather forgetful first outing, the Honda Jazz is about to make a comeback in India sometime in June 2015. While it is expected to be priced competitively this time around, what will also entice potential buyers is the option of a diesel motor. There’s another candy the Jazz will use to lure city slickers in it’s new avatar, and that happens to be a CVT gearbox which it will borrow from the Honda City.
The Jazz diesel will be powered by a 1.5-liter 100 bhp, 200 Nm motor that also does duty in the Amaze, Mobilio and the City. Powering the petrol variants will be a 1.2-liter, i-VTEC unit that will be mated to a 5-speed manual and an automatic CVT gearbox. While CVT technology used to be notorious for its rubber band effect, the folks at Honda have cleverly addressed and nullified that by introducing a compact torque converter, which keeps feeding the car with enough grunt even at lower revs. To be assembled in India with locally made engines, this spacious, modern and one of Honda’s best selling hatchbacks will compete against competitors like the Elite i20, the Fiat Punto, VW Polo and upcoming products from Maruti.
Source: Autocar