After months of deliberation and negotiation my dad has taken delivery of his new Jazz ? a 1.4 SE ? as his retirement present. His almost 30 year love affair with the Fiesta is over ? my sister is buying his 1.4TDCi, just run in at 90,000 miles and my mum?s is sold. It was a 51 reg, but with only 24,000 miles and he could have sold it a dozen times.
I had a drive in the Jazz last night and it is a well sorted car. Equipment levels are up there with far more expensive cars, the only major items it doesn?t have are leather seats and satnav, other than that the list is very long and includes auto lights and wipers, heated seats, electric folding mirrors, cruise control etc etc etc
The interior is roomy and airy, the glass roof will make driving in usual UK weather more pleasant. On the occasional hot day it has an electrically powered cover, this coupled with the clever back seats means my dad could probably use the car as a greenhouse extension!
Car went very well, suspension is a little bouncy for my liking, but it rides rough surfaces well and doesn?t crash through potholes. Like all Japanese cars I?ve driven the clutch is light and the gearbox very slick, steering is also light but with enough feedback to know what is going on. The gear change indicator is annoying as it takes no account that you are driving up a 1 in 8 and changing to 3rd isn?t a good idea! Fortunately it?s quite discreet so it can be ignored easily.
The handbrake is a little deceiving as it provides a lot of resistance all the way through its travel , so when you think you?ve pulled it far enough you probably haven?t and it rolled back on a hill as I waited for a green light. I was used to it by the end of the short run.
The trick boot area with split level floor and part folding floor means no spare wheel and the gearknob wasn?t secured properly.
The other downside for me is the clutter of switches on and around the radio as all the aircon controls are in also in the same area. Makes things handy, but it is confusing when first trying to identify what all the buttons are and what they actually do. For a car which is generally chosen by the older generation it could appear very daunting. I?m sure over time you get used to it all.
Despite these minor issues there are many more pluses than minuses and I?m sure he?ll be happy with it for at least the next 5 years.
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After months of deliberation and negotiation my dad has taken delivery of his new Jazz ? a 1.4 SE ?
I just stumbled across this and in case of confusion there's no SE version on New Jazz - the model described above (with glass roof etc) is the EX version.
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Is the model one of the 1st from Swindon or is it one of the last from China?
Production was to switch in mod-summer.
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New model Jazz is made in Japan and is in the process of switching to Swindon.
There are only a few Jazz available for quick delivery and apparantly anything which is more than a couple of weeks away will be Swindon built.
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there's no SE version on New Jazz - the model described above (with glass roof etc) is the EX version.
Profuse apologies as I'm confusing things now. There *is* an SE version of new Jazz - but only with the 1.2 engine.
There's the basic 1.2S
Then 1.2SE which is the same but adds a/c and alloys
then there's the 1.4 models in ES and EX trim. EX being the one described in the original post.
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I have the EX but I have no heated seats. I don't think it was an option when I bought it in March. Are they standard now?
Mebo
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I have the EX but I have no heated seats. I don't think it was an option when I bought it in March. Are they standard now?
No, nor are they an option.
I just ordered an EX. Not sure I've done the right thing - ideally wanted an ES but it's Mrs BP's car and in the colour she wanted it would have taken 10 weeks.
Spec is a bit OTT for the use ours will get and I'm quite concerned about how it will ride on 55 section tyres and that alloys will be prone to damage.
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I can't see why you would need heated seats when you haven't got leather?
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I can't see why you would need heated seats when you haven't got leather?
A friend's 1990s Volvo had heated cloth seats, and it was lovely in winter until the car warmed up.
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..I'm quite concerned about how it will ride on 55 section tyres...
Can't imagine there will be that much difference in the ride between an EX and an ES.
As a parallel, the ride on all the various spec Focuses I have driven has been a bit too hard for my taste.
I don't think you will get a truly compliant ride unless you buy something French.
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Can't imagine there will be that much difference in the ride between an EX and an ES.
In reality I'm probably more concerned that the narrower sidewall offers less protection to the wheels from being kerbed. The 65 section tyres on the ES seemed to bulge out more too, which would be helpful in that respect.
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One of the premium tyre makers used to offer tyres with an optional extra of a raised rib running around the sidewall to guard against kerbing.
Obviously no good to you from new, but might be worth bearing in mind when the time comes to change the tyres.
Incidentally, kerbing for me is not quite the problem it used to be because I rarely 'parallel park' in on-street bays these days.
Most parking is either at the park and ride or the dreaded supermarket/retail park at the weekends.
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One of the premium tyre makers used to offer tyres with an optional extra of a raised rib running around the sidewall to guard against kerbing.
I have Michelin Primacy HPs on my other car and they're often noted on the web as having rim protection, but there's no rib on the tyre.
I did a bit of a search and Dunlop SP9000 was recommended on another forum for rim protection. Dunlop's website says that have "Maximum Flange shield rim protection" (ooh er missus!). Of course they're not avalable in the size the EX Jazz uses.
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Slightly off topic, but I seem to recall some Triumph 2000s had extended valves because it was difficult to get the air line on a standard length valve due to the design of the wheel.
Trouble was the extension meant the valve was clear of the surrounding wheel and tyre, so it was prone to be ripped off when the car was driven close to a kerb.
Instant deflation.
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