Honda Jazz or Amaze for my dad: Why the hatchback is costlier?

Based on our needs, we shortlisted these two cars but I can’t wrap my head around the fact that the Honda Amaze is cheaper than the Jazz.

BHPian maheshmenon recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi guys, a small disclaimer. This could be a long post for some. There is a TL; DR at the end of this post but please do provide your views.

I am in the market for a hatchback or compact sedan for my dad. The budget was 10 Lakh with some give or take some for flexibility. The car has to be a proper automatic (AMTs / IMTs not welcome, please). After some market research, we zeroed in on Honda Jazz and Honda Amaze both in the CVT avatar. We found them to be VFM and being a Honda, what could go wrong?

Now the deal is this, I cannot wrap my head around the fact that the Amaze is cheaper than the Jazz. I mean it just doesn’t make sense to me! I mean apart from the platform differences, everything looks identical. We test drove both cars back-to-back and I found that both cars have an “acceptable” build quality at the said price point, under city driving conditions both perform as expected and on the open road both are equally mediocre. On a small note, I did feel that the Jazz was better built (in terms of shut lines and interior quality) and the Jazz felt peppier than the Amaze (especially on the open roads) but my dad strongly disagrees and puts it down to the “Placebo Effect” and the fact that I am biased towards the Jazz (I do admit the bias).

Before we draw conclusions, I would like to state here that my dad is a car aficionado, in short, I have a nagging feeling that if he has to choose between his four-wheeler and me, he would choose the former with no hesitation whatsoever. Heck, his Chevy Aveo still looks like it just rolled off the assembly line, every ding or even a decal that has come off is promptly fixed in a CASS (no FNGs for him), this even includes the battery on the remote. Not to mention that the car sticks to the regimen prescribed in the Owner’s Manual, irrespective of the car having even run shot of a thousand kilometers. I just attribute it to the rigidity that comes with old age and the fact that he’s been an engineer all his life following maintenance manuals to a tee.

Sorry for the rant and now coming back to the topic, the only difference between the Jazz ZX and the VX trim is the sunroof (not required) and the LED headlamps (preferred, but not a necessity). But when it is compared to the Amaze VX, I get the LED headlamps (yay!) and avoid the sunroof all at a cheaper rate than the Jazz VX. So basically, I get to keep my cake and eat it too and get a cherry on top in the form of a discount over the Jazz. So logically it has to be an Amaze, right? I mean it’s a no-brainer. Here’s where my ever-suspicious brain had me thinking. Am I missing something? Why is there a price difference between the two?

Some of my observations

• Exterior design-wise, the Jazz looks much better than the Amaze. The Amaze looks like it’s been cut out using a cookie cutter.
• The MID looks better and more organized in the Amaze vis-à-vis the Jazz.
• The Interior Fit & Finish and the Driving Dynamics of the Jazz seemed better. This was contradicted by my dad, in whose opinion both were at par.
• The HVAC controls of the Amaze (control knobs) seem much more intuitive than the Jazz (touch control) and feel more powerful too.
• The Jazz seems to be a laggard in sales, so we may be able to get some additional discounts. OTH, it is nearing the end of its lifecycle and I may be pulled out anytime now.

I would appreciate inputs from fellow members who have done a similar comparison and also owners on the differences in the models. Also, if anyone had figured out, why does the Jazz cost more?

TD; LR: Jazz and the Amaze VX – CVT for the most part seem to be on par. Cannot understand why the Jazz is more expensive than the Amaze. Your inputs will be well appreciated to help me select one.

Here’s what BHPian SoumenD had to say about the matter:

Well, I already had a brio, so could relate to Amaze instantly while car shopping. Didn’t even feel like an upgrade except for the additional boot. However, as you mentioned, Jazz felt better built inside out for obvious reasons. I hear quite a few folks mentioning the same thing that how can a hatchback be costlier than a sedan? But the key aspect which everyone seems to ignore is the platform. Amaze is based on the Brio platform which was specific for developing countries. Whereas Jazz was always the global platform. Honda City is the relative sedan when you do a hatch:sedan comparison.

Anyways, to me Amaze or any such sub4m sedans never appealed in terms of looks. And Jazz was spacious with better interior quality. So it was sort of a no-brainer. Been 3 years and 13,000kms of fuss-free ownership. And the GNCAP rating further sealed my belief that it’s a solidly built car by Indian standards. Even Amaze should be 4* (going by SA version rating), but the Indian version isn’t tested yet. Only issue with my 2019 Jazz is the stupid 6 months service interval which is now removed from 2020 BS6 model onwards.

Please note my views are from 2019 March/April. I have no idea what changes have been done to both the cars post that.

Here’s what BHPian AYP had to say about the matter:

A thread for your main query already exists and many members including me have given their inputs in the thread and most are of the opinion that the premium for a premium hatch is justified over a compact sedan.

As far as the Jazz vs current gen Amaze is concerned, the Amaze is a bit more modern but with the Jazz, you are practically getting yourself a 4th gen City(without the boot) which we all know is a segment above the Amaze. You get a better build and a more premium-looking interior in the Jazz. Amaze IMO should be preferred only if someone specifically wants a sedan and/or isn’t too happy with the relative lack of sales of the Jazz w.r.t. the Amaze (IMO, it shouldn’t be a problem).

With the recent GNCAP rating of 4 stars for the Indian Jazz, the choice is quite clear IMO.

Here’s what BHPian Latheesh had to say about the matter:

Difference between Made for India vs Global product. They just localised Jazz and removed features in India. Amaze was designed for India (which means some cost-cutting in places we do not see).

Keyword: Honda Jazz or Amaze for my dad: Why the hatchback is costlier?