New Yaris vs Honda Jazz

[ninanina]

I have a Mk 4 Prius at the moment but I’m considering a brand new car and to be honest I don’t need a big car anymore 

I’ve been with Toyota for many years and always been very happy 

Just wondering if anyone has compared the new Yaris against the Honda Jazz Hybrid and if so what were your impressions 

[Cyker]

I was looking at both when I was looking for something to replace my Most-Unreliable-Yaris-Mk2-In-The-World and had a play in both, although this was 3-4 years ago and the ol' memory isn't what it used to be!

Broadly, I'd say the Jazz has the better interior and is probably a bit more practical space-wise, while the Yaris is more fun and nicer to drive and has slightly better tech.

The economy and power are surprisingly similar between the two, despite the subtly different drivetrains (The Yaris uses an electric motor and the engine to move the car and switches between the two depending on power demand; The Jazz only uses the electric motor except at high speed, where there is a lockup clutch that lets the engine directly drive the wheels, otherwise most of the time it's just a glorified generator). The Jazz feels a bit stronger at lower speeds while the Yaris at higher speeds, but there's not much in it.

The main things I liked about the Jazz was the interior flexibility as is it had nicer seats and especially the 'magic' rear seats.

The Yaris looks better (Subjective!) and has much better handling and road feel, and I much preferred the digital dash, and what tipped it for me was the Head-Up Display option the Excel could get (Now only available as standard on the Premiere), as I've been spoilt by the collimated dash displays in the Mk1 and Mk2 Yaris and find normal dashboards give me eyestrain on mid/long journeys now.

They are both pretty solid cars, but the Jazz felt very much an evolution of the Jazz - If you liked the Jazz you'll like the new Jazz - but the Yaris is very different to any previous Yaris, and you can really feel the huge amount of work Toyota put into the new TNGA chassis compared to the previous models - The suspension and handling are very well judged and it's just a joy to drive.

The Yaris does seem to be doing better sales-wise as I see a lot more Mk4 Yaris hybrids around on the road than Honda Jazz hybrids...

 

[Paul john]

29 minutes ago, ninanina said:

I have a Mk 4 Prius at the moment but I’m considering a brand new car and to be honest I don’t need a big car anymore 

I’ve been with Toyota for many years and always been very happy 

Just wondering if anyone has compared the new Yaris against the Honda Jazz Hybrid and if so what were your impressions 

Anything you choose would be a downgrade of “something”  stay with your mk4.

what trim level/tyre size is it?
 

 

[ninanina]

4 minutes ago, Paul john said:

Anything you choose would be a downgrade of “something”  stay with your mk4.

what trim level/tyre size is it?
 

 

It’s Business Edition Plus 15” so has a lot of toys 

I just fancy something brand new and smaller 

[Paul john]

11 minutes ago, ninanina said:

It’s Business Edition Plus 15” so has a lot of toys 

I just fancy something brand new and smaller 

You will probably lose your auto anti glare rear mirror / spare tyre / jbl sound system / auto windsceen wipers for a start as the bus ed is well speced. 

good luck on your move though. 

[Mojo1010]

Not going to get too impartial comment on a Toyota forum, will try. The jazz never entered my mind when I bought the Yaris last year. Only looking into some details on it for personal info, competitor car to Yaris hybrid. 

It was no contest, yaris won it due to sporty looks (subjective) more power and better fuel economy than the jazz. The MK4 Yaris handles very well indeed, though I have not driven the jazz. 

[Cyker]

17 minutes ago, Paul john said:

You will probably lose your auto anti glare rear mirror / spare tyre / jbl sound system / auto windsceen wipers for a start as the bus ed is well speced. 

good luck on your move though. 

My Yaris Excel Techpack has all of those!  

[Paul john]

42 minutes ago, Cyker said:

My Yaris Excel Techpack has all of those!  

Yes , as it is a non UK 2021. 
you will be hard pressed to find any (some rav4 variants outstanding) 2023/2024 toyotas with spare tyre and a 10 speaker sound system (jbl)

specs have been downgraded in recent years. 

[Cyker]

Sorry what do you mean non-UK? You mean because it was made in France?

My Mk4 is a UK-spec car, not a Euro or JDM one...

[MikeSh]

3 hours ago, Cyker said:

Sorry what do you mean non-UK?

Your profile/signature says Other/Non-UK.

It is confusing. 

[Hadrian1]

When we bought our Yaris we never even considered a Honda.  As the Toyota

dealership is only a couple of hundred yards from our front door. The nearest

Honda dealer is about 15 miles away.   I do like Hondas though, having owned

two Accords and a Civic hybrid. 

[Paul john]

7 hours ago, Cyker said:

Sorry what do you mean non-UK? You mean because it was made in France?

My Mk4 is a UK-spec car, not a Euro or JDM one...

Because your profile says non-uk

[Sharnie70]

A couple of months ago I was in the same position of deciding between the Jazz and the Yaris. I had a test drive in both twice. The Jazz was a nice car and it was very similar in size to the Nissan Note I had so I thought that I would get that. When I drove the Yaris I fell in love with it. I went back and tried the Jazz again as I  had been sure that’s what I wanted. I had read all the reviews and comparisons to try to help me make up my mind. There wasn’t anything against it ( except it was £3000 more) but by then my heart had gone to the Yaris. I liked the different shape. It’s big enough for what I want. (The Jazz is longer). I think which ever one you go for you won’t suffer buyer’s remorse. I took delivery last week. It’s a 2024 Toyota Yaris Design with safety pack in white. Still finding my way around all the safety things on it but I’ll get there. I’m very pleased with the choice I made   I would suggest doing what I did and having 2 test drives in both to help you decide. 

[SinglePointSafety]

I haven't looked recently at the Jazz spec, but it was certainly on our test list and agree with all of the positive points about the Jazz above - Cyker's summary pretty much mirrors our feelings

But....unless the spec has changed (and it might have done, the on-line info at the time was somewhat spubik) the very big disadvantage of the Jazz was that the passenger seat was not height-adjustable and set quite low. That might not matter to you depending on passenger body shape etc but combined with local Honda dealer closing down, Yaris/Yaris Cross was favourite

[anchorman]

Firstly, unless you buy the entry level model of either Jazz or Yaris, you won’t lose any spec other than the JBL which is back on some models (it went during the chip shortage and so did the Jazz version but that’s back too).  I’ll go so far as to say, the Jazz Hybrid is much better build quality and far more sumptuous than the Cross.  It’s quieter inside and the four cylinder engine is like a sewing machine which is typically Honda.  It patches up the shortfalls of the Cross with things like sound deadening and interior lighting which let the Cross down (may be addressed on the forthcoming 24 model).  I can tell you that it suffers exactly the same 12v Battery issues, if you can call it that and is well documented on Honda forums.  That might be sortable and didn’t influence my decision so what did?  Well I’d already paid for four all season tyres that were sitting at ATS and a different size to the Jazz and I’d already sorted a lot of effort to change the security parking passes.  The only reason I looked at a Jazz was a row about the registration date that they promised December 22 and registered it in 22 when it didn’t arrive at the dealer until 23 after telling them I’d changed the passes (I park under a main line station which for some reason they are pretty tetchy about).  I had to go and park on a public car park over Christmas and New Year all because of the deception to make their figures look right.  There was one other thing and it may sound and it may be trivial but I intended keeping that car a long time and I had less confidence in the quite new Honda powertrain than the log established Toyota.  That may be unfounded and all I would say is, drive them both and choose the one you like best.  The Jazz is a very worthy alternative to the Cross.  In reality, it’s more like a Lexus LBX than a Cross. 

[Trewithy]

I was a Honda fan and have owned a Mk1 and a Mk2 Jazz.  I looked at the Mk4 Jazz and discounted it because with each new generation of the Jazz they have made the floor area of the boot smaller but made the boot taller to compensate by doing away with the spare wheel. The smaller boot floor area is a negative for me.  Also when I sat in the passenger seat I felt as if I was almost sat on the floor as there is no passenger seat height adjustment.  

Look at the Jazz forum, clubjazz.org.  The feeling there is that the quality and reliability of the Jazz (and maybe Honda as a whole) has gone downhill. Not only do they have problems with flat 12v batteries, a common theme with hybrids of all makes, they also report delaminating windscreens and problems with brake failure.  The brake issue is causing a lot of concern to Jazz owners as the cost to rectify is approaching £2k and Honda's warranty is only for 3 years.  Those who were  canny enough take out an extended warranty are covered.  

[Jimota]

Before buying his Yaris, my son looked at the Honda Jazz with me in tow.  I quite liked the shape of the car and was impressed with the quality of the interior and the practicality of the magic seats.  Not sure of the interior dimensions but my son walked away without a test drive as he found the driving position not to his liking.  He felt that there was less legroom compared to the Yaris and promptly went back to the Toyota dealership and made his purchase.  He’s 6’ 2”.

[Tommy X]

2 hours ago, anchorman said:

Firstly, unless you buy the entry level model of either Jazz or Yaris, you won’t lose any spec other than the JBL which is back on some models (it went during the chip shortage and so did the Jazz version but that’s back too).  I’ll go so far as to say, the Jazz Hybrid is much better build quality and far more sumptuous than the Cross.  It’s quieter inside and the four cylinder engine is like a sewing machine which is typically Honda.  It patches up the shortfalls of the Cross with things like sound deadening and interior lighting which let the Cross down (may be addressed on the forthcoming 24 model).  I can tell you that it suffers exactly the same 12v battery issues, if you can call it that and is well documented on Honda forums.  That might be sortable and didn’t influence my decision so what did?  Well I’d already paid for four all season tyres that were sitting at ATS and a different size to the Jazz and I’d already sorted a lot of effort to change the security parking passes.  The only reason I looked at a Jazz was a row about the registration date that they promised December 22 and registered it in 22 when it didn’t arrive at the dealer until 23 after telling them I’d changed the passes (I park under a main line station which for some reason they are pretty tetchy about).  I had to go and park on a public car park over Christmas and New Year all because of the deception to make their figures look right.  There was one other thing and it may sound and it may be trivial but I intended keeping that car a long time and I had less confidence in the quite new Honda powertrain than the log established Toyota.  That may be unfounded and all I would say is, drive them both and choose the one you like best.  The Jazz is a very worthy alternative to the Cross.  In reality, it’s more like a Lexus LBX than a Cross. 

Thanks Don you saved me a lot of typing, I test drove a Jazz Cross star after buying my Yaris Cross and have to say your post sums it up, I came away regretting my decision to buy a YC the Jazz is a cut above the YC, one thing let the Jazz down, lack of passenger seat height adjustment, the boss wasn't happy

[SinglePointSafety]

5 hours ago, Tommy X said:

one thing let the Jazz down, lack of passenger seat height adjustment,

And for us that was, unfortunately, a total show-stopper. High(ish) dash and low seat = miserable view out and overall experience for passenger (unless they have a very long body....). Other factor (which might not affect others, obviously) is that at the time I wanted a towbar fitted (for a bike rack) and although it was shown on the accessories list, the dealership staff we dealt with were adamant that it didn't exist or couldn't be fitted and thus wouldn't commit to specifying it on any order (sigh....)

[Cyker]

15 hours ago, MikeSh said:

Your profile/signature says Other/Non-UK.

It is confusing. 

 

10 hours ago, Paul john said:

Because your profile says non-uk

Ahh apologies, I keep forgetting about that - There's no option for "None of your business!" and I figured selecting Other would be less confusing than, picking some random county.

Most of the regulars are well aware I'm in the UK and even which part as I've mentioned it in passing on numerous occasions.

Still, this is a good object lesson about why nobody should take anything they read on the internet as gospel without checking, especially on forums!  

For extra clarification, my name is also not Mynamesnotactuallymoo  

[ninanina]

I will definitely drive both the Yaris (non Cross) and the Jazz

The thing that tempted me with the Jazz was the perceived build quality and the amount of space inside 

The only time I’ve experienced a Yaris is having one as a courtesy car when mines been in for a service & MOT.  Always thought it was great fun to drive 

Is the latest Yaris a completely different car compared to a MY23?  If so when was it updated 

Thanks for all your support and comments, I really appreciate it 

[Cyker]

The current Yaris is the 'Mk4', or XP210. It originally came out the end of 2021 (And referred to as the MY21) and had some more significant upgrades to the current one which just came out (The MY24).

There were some minor facelifts and changes with the MY21 - e.g. some options were lost like the HUD, but it had upgraded infotainment and more online connectivity that my earlier one doesn't have, but the MY24's most easily distinguished because it has a completely different dashboard, updated infotainment and the 130HP drivetrain (Albeit only on the GR Sport and Premiere specs).

I will say the fit and finish was better on the Jazz (Some of the panel gaps and fitment/alignment on my Mk4 are... well lets just say it's not doing the french manufacturing stereotype any favours...!), but I felt the mechanical robustness was stronger in the Yaris and it gave me more confidence it'll keep working longer.

 

[Rhymes with Paris]

16 hours ago, MikeSh said:

Your profile/signature says Other/Non-UK.

It is confusing. 

It's clear from his many posts he was born within the sound of bow bells, and as I understand it he eats jellied eels,pie, mash and liquor every day for breakfast.

 

[TonyHSD]

Top spec Yaris excel or premier otherwise there will be loss of useful extras, push button start to begin with. Auto dim mirror, and more. 
It’s a smaller car but it is the best in class imo. Honda not bad, jazz is the favourite car of the more mature generations. I live  next to Honda dealer and I have a good view on that matter. 
Both cars are good. 
Good luck 

[ninanina]

I would go with Excel specification as the brochure lists all the toys (apart from HUD) that I’m used to 

In the Jazz it would be Advance spec

I am tempted by the Toyota 10 year warranty as the maximum with the Honda is only 5.  My local Toyota dealer is also excellent; dealt with them for years 

Once I’ve driven both I’ll check back here with my thoughts