New Honda Jazz With CVT and Paddle Shifters Coming to India?

The next all-new product to come out of Honda's stables in India will be the new-generation Jazz, which will enter the highly competitive premium hatchback segment. To perform well in a segment with contenders like Hyundai i20, Maruti Swift and Volkswagen Polo, Honda will focus on two areas - high fuel efficiency and advanced features.

Powering the new-gen Honda Jazz will be the same engines that also power the Amaze i.e. the 1.2-litre i-VTEC and 1.5-litre i-DTEC. Both the engines are known for high fuel-efficiency and decent power. While the 1.2-litre i-VTEC engine churns out a maximum power output of 87bhp and 109Nm of torque, the 1.5-litre i-DTEC produces 99bhp and 200Nm.

While the regular models will be offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox, the line-up might also include a performance-oriented model that will house the 1.5-litre i-VTEC motor under the hood and come mated to a 5-speed CVT gearbox. The performance model might also feature first-in-segment paddle shifters. In fact, the company has already imported paddle shifters from Thailand for testing purpose in India. That said, there is no clarity if the company will launch the CVT model along with the regular models or later.

If launched, the model with the CVT and paddle shifters will cost around Rs 1 lakh more than the regular variant.