2020 Honda Jazz – and Honda Jazz Crosstar – e:HEV Hybrid powertrain detailed

The new Honda Jazz, and it’s Crossover sibling the Jazz Crosstar, will come only with an e:HEV Hybrid powertrain when it arrives in the UK in the summer.

The 2020 Honda Jazz was actually revealed late last year as the Honda Fit, but it’s heading for Europe this summer, not just as the Honda Jazz but in Crossover ‘butch’ mode as the Honda Jazz Crosstar.

The 2020 Honda Jazz may be a new car, but it’s very much an evolution in design, with the same one-box MPV-like body but with chunkier-looking bumpers, new headlights and new horizontal tail lights, with the Jazz Crosstar getting roof rails, a different front grille, black plastic cladding, water-resistant upholstery and a raised ride height to deliver an SUV/Crossover-style Jazz.

All of which should be enough to convince current Jazz buyers that Honda isn’t moving away from the Jazz’s core appeal, but enough that’s new to tempt new buyers to the Jazz.

But the major ‘something new’ for the Jazz is that it will be only available with a new e:HEV Hybrid Powertrain in the UK.

The hybrid powertrain comprises a naturally aspirated 1.5 litre four-pot petrol engine, a pair of electric motors and a small lithium-ion battery to deliver 108bhp and 173lb/ft of torque, with power going through a fixed-gear transmission said to deliver smoother and more efficient performance.

There are three selectable drive modes – Hybrid Drive, EV Drive and Engine Drive, which do what they say on the tin – and the Jazz gets official economy of 62.8mph and 102g/km, with the Jazz Crosstar 58.9mpg and 110g/km.

The new Honda Jazz, and Jazz Crosstar, will arrive in the UK in the summer.