Month: February 2016

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Why the new Mazda MX-5 isn’t the best car for disposing of the evidence…

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Oh dear. I’ve just discovered that I can’t fit my 33-inch trunk suitcase in the boot of the MX-5! I’m driving to Heathrow on Thursday for a trip to Oman but the case will be staying in England it seems.

That might suggest the Mazda only has a small boot. It does but the problem is the opening aperture, which is restricts access to a much deeper luggage area.

I spent yesterday evening on the driveway trying to solve the issue. It was dark and I was wearing a head torch. It must have looked like I was trying to dispose of a body in the trunk as I cursed and juggled the case in from every angle, without success.

All you really need to know is that the Mazda has adequate luggage room for a weekend away with a close friend. There’s no space in the cabin, so pack accordingly…

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The Mazda MX-5’s infotainment system sits like an unsightly erection on the dashboard

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So, here it is then. The new Mazda MX-5 – a car I’ve been itching to drive since the last time I saw the sun. Well, now it’s February in England, there’s still cloud and the little convertible is already splattered in mud but I couldn’t wait any longer.

The MX-5 still has novelty value for now at least. It’s turns heads – even in London when I collected it yesterday. Waspish front end and curvy lines, it looks every inch as good as I expected. Without doubt the most stylish MX-5 to date.

I’m looking forward to the next seven days but first there is one feature that isn’t a thing a beauty – the infotainment screen. It sits pert upright on the dash and simple spoils the lines of the interior.

It looks as if it should fold down into the dash but it doesn’t. It’s like an unsightly erection that won’t go away. Oh dear, what can be done about that?!

 

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It’s windy and the Honda Jazz is light – squeaky bottom time…

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I’m not exactly looking forward to my drive to London this morning. It’s windy, the Jazz is light and with relatively high sides, well it could be squeaky bottom time.

Quite often it’s the cars you look forward to most that prove the most disappointing.

Now, I knew the little Honda wasn’t going to be a pocket rocket but this EX Navi automatic is expensive, underpowered and jolly noisy when pushed hard.

Models further down the range will no doubt be snapped up by their zillions. But truly, you’d be quite bonkers to buy this £17.5k model.

It may have the most equipment in the Jazz range but it’s definitely not the best version.

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Space represents no frontier for the new Honda Jazz

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My old English teacher used to say that if you don’t have anything good to say about something, don’t say anything at all.

So, I’ve spent the morning pouring over the Jazz, making a (short) list of features that give me pleasure on a wet February day.

As explained, this EX Navi version has lots of gizmos as standard. But most people won’t buy this top spec car. So ignoring those luxuries, the best feature of the Jazz is the huge amount of interior space.

By placing the fuel tank forward and underneath the cabin, the back seats can be placed further back, freeing up tons of rear leg room.

There a surprisingly large boot too, masses of headroom, plus doorbins and a useful centre console for nicnacs.

Space then, is where the Jazz scores. So, just spend £13,500 on the entry level model and suddenly it makes great sense…

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There’s very little to like about the CVT gearbox in the Honda Jazz

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There’s very little to like about the CVT automatic transmission in the Honda Jazz.

It’s fine if you are pootling around town but anywhere other than that and the gearbox is woefully inadequate. Buy the cheaper manual and save some money.

Worst of all, any attempt to wind up the engine revs results in a noisy, none-jazz like whine. Yes, the CVT won’t be music to your ears.

In a bid to squeeze some performance from the drivetrain I’ve been driving in Sport mode. The revs pick up slightly but the results are just the same.

And quite what Honda was thinking by fitting a pair of steering wheel-mounted flappy paddles for the gearbox is beyond me. They are quite pointless and rather silly.