| Week at the Wheel | Honda Jazz 1.2 SE |

Inside & Out:

You probably know the spiel by now, but just in case, the previous Jazz sold by the shed load and had the highest customer retention numbers in the class. It was also highly favoured by the sexagenarian set, with an average buyer age of 64. This was largely down to its prodigious-ness in the fields of being spacious, well built and easy to live with. So, in an astonishingly sensible display of Japanese business planning, the new model builds on those strengths; it's now bigger and even more versatile. The one-box shape remains, though it's been given a vague makeover that will probably be neither here nor there to most eyes.

The cabin is refreshed similarly. It's very well built - albeit from hard plastics - and the view out is from a lofty perspective. The window line is low, giving good all-around visibility, though the blind spots at the A- and C-pillars are massive. That said, all the controls are chunky and placed within inches of hands placed exactly at the ten and two o'clock positions.

It's behind the driver where the magic happens, though. The leg and head space afforded to passengers is laudable, and the boot is bigger than a Ford Focus's. The rear 'Magic Seats' can be folded flat with one tug of a lever to liberate 883-litres of serious load-lugging capability, too. 'Tardis' is a terrible cliché for a motoring hack to use, but in this case there's no more appropriate word.

Engine & Transmission:

The 89bhp 1.2-litre i-VTEC engine our test car came with feels weak, and its distinct lack of torque (84lb.ft at 4,900rpm) makes the Jazz feel heavy around town. That bugbear is alleviated by two things: a well-weighted, mechanical-feeling gear change that's a pleasure to work; and a willingness to rev freely (albeit slowly) well past 6,000rpm. It's nowhere near quick, but it's economical (53.3mpg) and clean (125g/km CO₂).

The unit's real party piece, however, is enjoyed at idle: it's retirement home quiet. In fact, twice I got caught out trying to turn the engine over after waiting for a while with the car idling. In my defence, I'd just stepped out of our SEAT Leon TDI long termer - a considerably noisier affair at standstill.

Ride & Handling:

The tranquillity at idle is at odds with the racket the Jazz serves up on the motorway, however. Wind and engine noise at higher speeds are a constant reminder that the Jazz is, despite its gargantuan inner quarters, a city car. Din swirls around the cabin, and the high-sided Jazz tends to get battered by even slight motorway crosswinds. The ride too, though much improved over the last-car's jarring setup, still gets fidgety over bumps. It's mostly comfortable, just easily upset.

It's futile talking at too much length about the Jazz's steering - it is, after all, a car whose remit is space and versatility, not driving prowess. However, handling is as confidence inspiring as the average pre-election promise - the first two inches of travel at either side of the steering wheel don't turn the car so much as tilt the entire body in the opposite direction. The Jazz is, all in all, a pretty uninspiring car to drive. You'd never take it out just for the sake of it.

Equipment, Economy & Value for Money:

Value for money is relative, and although the Jazz has quite a high list price (our car came in at £11,131, even though its metallic 'blue rinse' paintjob was the only option), it enjoys class leading residuals. Honda dealers are unlikely to offer a significant discount on the Jazz either, though yours should comfortably last the duration of ownership without developing the irritating mechanical and trim foibles associated with some of its supermini rivals.

Economy is good (assuming you resist the urge to thrash it), and the equipment of the SE spec car we drove is satisfying enough - with alloys, air conditioning, an AUX socket for your iPod (yet nowhere to put it - why do makers do that?). There's also a plethora of airbags and electronic driving nannies to keep you feeling nice and safe.

Overall:

The new Honda Jazz smacks of a car made solely for the business of getting from point A to point B as effectively as possible, and it succeeds in doing so in a resounding fashion. For the 90 percent of car buyers who value the advantages of a spacious, well made, comfortable, reasonably priced and unpretentious car, the Jazz is brilliant. The last version's success is testament to that - and this one's better still. On that basis it's a four-star car, easily.

However, the Jazz is also clinically dull, and for the remaining hypothetical ten percent - the group that places greater emphasis on the slightly less tangible joys of driving enjoyment, there are several far more fun and probably cheaper options. The new Fiesta, for one.

You can't help but be impressed by the concept and the execution of the Jazz, but it's strangely difficult to love.