Honda Jazz considered a big compact car
Primastuti Handayani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jazz has always been known as a type of music that unites people across the divides of race and nationality.
The origins of jazz music can be traced to the turn of the 20th century New Orleans, although this unique artistic medium occurred almost simultaneously in other North American areas like Saint Louis, Kansas City and Chicago, as mentioned on the www.apassion4jazz.net website.
But in Indonesia, jazz now has a new meaning. It is a five- door hatchback car from Japanese automaker Honda.
The Honda Jazz is targeting young people, which was made clear during the car's launch, jointly organized by the MTV group.
According to Jonfis Fandy, PT Honda Prospect Motor general manager of sales and marketing, the car, also known as Honda Fit, has everything the public wants from a car.
"From our surveys, we know that Indonesians prefer to have a car which is economical, safe, comfortable, affordable, has a modern and stylish design and is also spacious," he said.
The car has a 1.5-liter SOHC i-DSI (intelligent Dual and Sequential Ignition) engine under its hood, with maximum power of 87 horsepower at 5,500 revs per minute (rpm) and a maximum torque of 128 Newton meter at 2,700 rpm.
The Jazz comes in manual and automatic transmission. The automatic transmission is equipped with CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) and seven-speed auto shift mode and seven- speed manual shift mode. The driver can use this mode by pressing the master control button on the right side under the steering wheel. If the driver uses the manual shift mode, he or she can shift gears by pressing the + or - buttons on the steering wheel.
The president and chief executive officer of Asian Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Satoshi Toshida, called the Jazz a compact big car due to its spacious cabin.
The car's backseat can be folded down into the utility mode, which can accommodate two bicycles. The seats can also be folded in different ways for long-cargo and tall-cargo modes.
With price tags of Rp 114.7 million (US$13,655) off the road for manual transmission and Rp 123.8 million for auto transmission, Jonfis is optimistic the Jazz will be able to sell about 10,000 units this year.
"People have known Honda as an expensive car, at least Rp 200 million. But the Jazz is offered at a much lower price with our guarantee that we don't sacrifice the car's quality or technology," he said.