General Douglas MacArthur was probably the most influential self-styled American to land on Philippine shores.  Of course with the American liberation came American sentimentality, swagger and taste.  To this day, that American “big is beautiful” fills Manila’s congested roads with gargantuan SUVs, large sedans and not-so minivans.

What about the fate of the practical and sporty hatchback?  Remember the Mazda Astina and Lantis, the Toyota Echo and the Chevrolet Aveo?  Despite their cool names and funky designs, they were just as enticing as Ben and Jerry’s is in Alaska.  Sure, they are individualistic, but beyond that, they’re nothing more than poser cars—whose market is the twenty-something, looking for a good tuner project.  But if there’s a car that strives to erase this hatchback stigma, it’s the Honda Jazz.

On paper, it’s nothing more than a Honda City minus the odd-looking rear end plus a frond-end correction.  That’s not a bad thing at all.  In fact, because they share most of the bits inside and underneath, it has the same spacious interior, ergonomic cabin and preppy performance as Honda’s sub-compact sedan.  But what makes the Jazz a whole lot better is that it offers superior attention to detail.  The best example?  The Jazz features Bum Protecting Seats or BPS.  Just when you think the Japanese have invented every functional oddity imaginable, they come up with a cushioning material that’s supposed to make long-distance driving a pleasure.  And it works.  The Jazz is extremely comfortable even after spending three or four hours on the highway (no wonder it’s the choice for long distance fuel economy challenges).  It also gets an additional storage space just below the dashboard for storing small accoutrements like a bag of chips, a few Coke Lights and classic rock compilation CDs.

The Jazz is also a great companion for driving south (or north) with a couple of friends, in the search for the perfect beach.  Since it’s been designed as a five-door hatchback from scratch (there are no three-door models anywhere in the world), passengers don’t feel shortchanged whether seated in front or back.  In fact, it offers interior space comparable to bigger sedans such as Honda’s own Civic.  In addition, luggage space is not a problem since the Jazz has enough width and depth to accommodate three golf bags stacked on top of each other or a 32-inch television set.  The loading bay is so vast that it managed to fit a typical balik-bayan’s worth of luggage—something usually accomplished only with a Sport Utility Vehicle.  Likewise, the rear seats contort in various directions, allowing the Jazz to further increase cabin space to fit miscellaneous items such as house plants, small ladders, fishing rods—all at the same time!  The loading area features a convenience light too, something not even found in more expensive hatchbacks.  Honda has also added a means to adjust the front seat from the back, so moving back and forth between the five doors just to bring home a newly-bought fern is a thing of the past.

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