Should you buy one?

We highly recommend the Honda Jazz if you’re after a practical, well-made, reliable small car. If a hybrid is a selling point – and the low running costs should be – it’s worth noting that the Jazz is one of the cheapest new hybrid cars you can buy too.

Rival superminis with more conventional petrol engines are lower priced, and some can even come close to the Jazz for running costs. None, however, offers the same combination of interior space in supermini dimensions – truly, if you want a car that has more room for people, you need to look at hatchbacks or SUVs from the class above.

The Jazz won’t set the world alight for keen drivers, and a Toyota Yaris remains a slightly more desirable hybrid choice. But as ever, the Jazz is incredibly fit for purpose – and we think there’s nothing out there quite like it.

What we like

It’s small enough to manoeuvre and park easily, especially if you go for SR trim and up, yet is surprisingly spacious inside. The boot is above average for the class and has a usefully low loading lip, the magic rear seats allow you to transport tall items and the fold flat passenger seat accommodates long ones.

Real-world efficiency impresses with more than 50mpg easily achieved during our testing and performance is good. It’s also comfortable with soft suspension and good seats.

What we don’t like

It’s not a bad car to drive by any stretch but clearly prioritises cosiness and ease of use over everything else. It’s also more expensive to buy than most cars in this class.

You’ll also find a few below-par plastics inside and the engine is rather noisy when pushed.