The Honda Jazz’s sporty, streamlined exterior is partnered with a 1.5L VTEC engine

All new for 2009, the third-generation Honda Jazz is a sparkler, with all the latest gadgets, plus a huge panorama roof.

The panorama roof is like an extension of the huge windscreen, so it seems you are sitting outside, but still enjoying the air conditioning.

On the outside the Jazz is short without looking stubby. It has a clipped tail and small spoiler like a rally car, but there is nothing off road about it. This is a city and highway fun car, with a sporty look.

The front grille is new and chrome-trimmed, as are the fog lights. It has side skirts, sporty front and rear bumpers, and 16-inch wheels with low profile 185/55 R16 tires. A chrome tail pipe adds to the look.

Inside, I found a kind of “happy spaceship” cockpit. It is colourful, with a steering wheel that looks like a cartoon character. But the wheel also holds the controls for the audio system, and its top half frames a brilliant array of gauges, dominated by the large speedometer, but also offers a tachometer.

Most notable on the steering wheel are the gear-shifting paddles, a big-car feature. Special note: the shifting paddles are on the steering wheel, not the steering column. It means you can easily shift gears while turning, with no need to look at the paddles – a safety factor.

When I heard that the horsepower was 100, I switched to the Sport mode of the transmission even before getting underway. But I left it in Automatic for the first couples of miles, through Hamish’s Curve and through the town of Sai Kung. “Sport” mode will delay the automatic up-shifts to create a feeling of power and sport.

Out on the country highway, I was soon enjoying the smooth ride and relatively positive steering. I decided to explore the transmission further, by using the paddles to shift.

The moment you tweak either the Up or Down paddle, the transmission switches to Manual mode. It will stay in Manual so long as you keep to Sport Mode. Note: If you are not in Sport Mode, and go into Manual, but do not shift for a while, you will suddenly find yourself back in the Drive range of Automatic. For me, once I was used to the Manual shifting, there was no going back.

We cruised at moderate speed toward Sai O, except when we came to my “test curves,” where we entered at 70 kmh and then accelerated sharply halfway around. The little Jazz acted like a big car, straightening up shooting out of the curves like a scalded cat.

Heading through Ma On Shan, I found myself in a relaxed and cheerful mood. The Jazz does this to you. It is a small car, yet with a bright and spacious cabin, good visibility with an extra window in the thick A-pillar.

At the Whitehead Club golf driving range, I felt the Honda Jazz fitted the sunny, seascape scene so well I stopped to take photos there.

Minutes later, in Sai Kung Country Park, I found that the Jazz is no slouch; on a long uphill stretch, I switched to Drive and put the pedal down. The Jazz leaped ahead, overtaking one large, black, German saloon car.

At the top, I braked sharply, just in time to take my “Swiss Alps” curves, alternating from heavy braking to automatic kick-down.

To test the large-diameter, all-wheel disc brakes, at 50 kmh I let go the steering wheel and hit the brakes as hard as possible. The Jazz pulled to a smart stop, with hardly a peep from the ABS and no pull to left or right. Full marks!

At Pak Tam Chung I put the Jazz through my convoluted handling test, forward and reverse, and found it will be great for people who hate parking. Later I learned the car’s turning radius is 4.7 meters and I was not surprised. My only complaint was the headrests impeded my view somewhat when reversing.

On the way back we listened to pop music from an MP3 plugged into the dash and played through the radio and four loudspeakers. I felt the all-new Honda Jazz would be an excellent daily commuter as well as a weekend fun machine.