Should you buy one?

That depends what your requirements are. If you’re thinking about buying a Honda Jazz Crosstar to go greenlaning, we’d advise you against it as it doesn’t have any tangible off-roading ability over the standard Honda Jazz (apart from a little extra ground clearance).

However, the Crosstar is more than a mere styling upgrade. It’s more comfortable, it’s more desirable and, thanks to extras such as its waterproof seats, it’s a little more practical inside, too.

Just remember, this is most expensive Jazz in the range. Its boot is also a tiny bit smaller (thanks to the standard-fit fancy stereo), it’s slightly slower and it’s more expensive to run.

Thankfully, that additional suspension travel makes it comfortable on the road without undermining the standard car’s neat and tidy driving experience. And we continue to be big fans of Honda’s impressive petrol-electric hybrid drive system. So this is definitely a small car that deserves to be on your shortlist.

What we like

The styling changes make the standard Jazz’s slightly bland exterior far more interesting and, for reasons mentioned above, the Crosstar is a little more practical. The Magic Seats, the hybrid system and the driving experience remain great selling points, too.

What we don’t like

It’s a shame there’s no cheap and cheerful version of the Crosstar, and that performance is mildly reduced compared with the conventional hatchback. But these minor quibbles aside, there are few reasons not to consider this confident and competent little car.