Kah Motor, Singapore’s authorised distributor for Honda, has recently launched the updated Honda Jazz. This popular hatchback now includes a hybrid drivetrain, where a 105bhp 1.5-litre engine will work in tandem with two electric motors.

Total output is now rated at 121bhp, and this would allow Honda to bring the fight closer to the Jazz’s main rival, which is the e-Power propelled Nissan Note that currently pumps out 114bhp.

Should you want to spring for an even higher spec, the Jazz also has a new e:HEV variant, with a total output of 130bhp. Honda claims the new powertrain is enough for the Jazz to clinch a claimed fuel economy of 22.7km/L.

The Jazz hasn’t received any radical new design cues, but it was given loads to make it look refreshed and updated for the 2023 market. Updates include a new grille design, darker headlight inserts and updated bumpers. Fjord Mist Blue, a colour which was originally found on the Honda Freed, is a new coat that will be available for Jazz customers too.

The cabin hasn’t received any new updates, and the Jazz continues to rock the same 9.0-inch infotainment display and the 7.0-inch TFT instrument cluster. The creatively designed LTRA seats are still ever-present too.

It was bound to happen at some point, and now it finally did. The new Honda Jazz will now be available as a crossover too, aptly dubbed the Crosstar. This jacked-up variant gets a new grille design, roof rails, and black body panels dotted with chrome inserts. All of this is  intended to give the car a more macho SUV-esque look. Even though it is marginally less efficient than the regular Jazz, the Crosstar can still achieve a respectable fuel economy of 22.2km/L.

The new Jazz will be equipped with Honda Sensing, a safety feature suite which includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keeping Assist, Collision Mitigation Braking System and Lane Keeping Assist.

Five vibrant exterior colours will be offered to customers, but the Jazz Crosstar takes an additional point for offering three dual-tone colour options as well. These paint schemes will see the car’s roof finished in Crystal Black.

Should you decide to pick one up, Kah Motor will offer the new Jazz with a five-year unlimited mileage warranty and a five-year battery warranty.

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The 66-year-old businessman is the grandson of Toyota’s founder, Kiichiro Toyoda. He made this sudden announcement following news that Toyoda will become the Japanese automaker’s new chairman of the board of directors. Koji Sato, who is also Toyota’s Chief Branding Officer, is set to take over the CEO reins.

This announcement did ruffle a few feathers. Enthusiasts were one such demographic who were disappointed, as Toyoda was the man who championed bringing back exciting cars to the mass market. This culminated in Gazoo Racing cars like the GR Yaris and fifth-generation Supra.

His time in office wasn’t the most smooth sailing. But, through it all, he managed to position Toyota in an advantageous spot come the turn of the new decade.

Motorsports for Toyota has never been greater too, and the Japanese firm had their work cut out for them participating in events like the Nürburgring 24 Hours race and FIA World Rally Championship. Toyoda even got into a race suit on occasion, racing under his racing pseudonym Morizo, with his most recent outing being a Toyota sustainable endurance race.

On the flip side, Toyoda’s reluctance towards investing in battery electric strategies was met with resistance from environmental shareholders. Some were critical of Toyota for being slow to innovate.

In a world where other manufacturers are pushing out EVs by the dozen, Toyoda lamented that selling EVs is not the only way forward in creating a carbon-neutral society, hence Toyota’s push and innovations for alternatives such as hydrogen and hybrid technologies. He wants to give customers the freedom to choose.

With Koji Sato now in the hot seat, the Toyota Motor Corporation may finally meet its yin-yang balance. Lexus has already begun to shift its priorities towards electrification with the Lexus Electrified strategy, which aims to create a full battery EV (BEV) lineup by 2030, and turn into manufacturing 100% EVs by 2035.

Don’t you worry enthusiasts, Sato is also a car enthusiast at heart, and he is the current chairperson of the Gazoo Racing sub-brand. Suffice to say, Toyota will be in good hands.

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