Honda Wants To Build More SUV-Styled Derivatives After Jazz Crosstar

From the Audi A1 Citycarver to the Active versions of the Ford Fiesta and Focus and the Kia XCeed, the market for jacked-up versions of regular hatchbacks has really taken off in recent years. Honda is moving with the flow with the new Jazz Crosstar, which will evidently inspire more similar models.

“The demand for compact, multi-purpose vehicles is a new trend, and in the future, we will have some derivatives in that direction”, the Jazz project manager, Takeki Tanaka, told Autocar. “Jazz customers are wide-ranging in age, and we particularly wanted to appeal to customers interested in advanced technology and an active lifestyle. That was our motivation for developing the Crosstar.”

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Such vehicles appeal to those who don’t want or necessarily need a crossover or an SUV for different reasons: size, fuel consumption, higher maintenance costs and so on, but cannot be bothered with vehicles from other segments either. And “it’s those customers for whom we believe the Crosstar is a perfect match”, added Tanaka. “These are the customers who don’t want a hatchback or saloon, but want to differentiate in order to showcase their lifestyle.”

Besides sitting higher from the ground, the 2020 Jazz Crosstar boasts a unique front grille design and comes with integrated roof rails and water-resistant upholstery. It’s equipped with a generous amount of features and packs the same hybridized 1.5-liter powertrain as the regular Jazz, with the ICE pumping out 98 HP (97 PS / 72 kW) and 97 lb-ft (131 Nm) of torque, and the electric motor adding 107 HP (109 PS / 80 kW) and 187 lb-ft (253 Nm). The 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) acceleration takes less than 10 seconds and top speed is 108 mph (174 km/h).

Pricing for the Jazz Crosstar EX in the UK starts at £22,635 ($27,814), while the entry-level SE can be had from £18,985 ($23,328). For the SR and EX grades, customers are looking at a minimum of £20,185 and £21,385 ($24,803-$26,278) respectively.