Japanese premium car maker Honda Motor recently launched its hatchback Jazz. The Honda Jazz might be Honda’s smallest offering in India, but by no means is it a small car.
With a 1.2 litre petrol engine, it is as an extremely tech savvy piece of machinery that is designed to offer enhanced mileage and excellent power delivery throughout the torque band. Jazz costs from Rs 6.98 lakh to 7.33 lakh for the top end model.
Honda recognises that a lot of potential customers for the Jazz might want more than a puny 1.2-litre engine under the hood. The Jazz shares its platform with the City. So Honda is considering to slot the 1.5-litre 110bhp engine from the City under the Jazz’s bonnet. This enhancement will be done not before 2010.
This new engine would transform the Jazz’s performance, but will add an estimated Rs 70,000 to the price. Honda is also considering offering an automatic transmission with the 1.5-litre powerplant. With the automatic transmission option, the Jazz could be dearer by over Rs 1 lakh. However, Honda feels there will be interested customers even at this price point.
Well, this is frankly up to them to decide on what is best for their company and product. Product pricing is always a sensitive issue. Right now it is a wait and watch game on what the Jazz’s transformed version will actually be priced at. How will the market take to it, and what is going to be the reaction of buyers who have this car on their wish list. Time is the best story teller, and time will reveal the facts.