THE Honda Jazz is a familiar sight on our roads, a favourite model of many more senior drivers who have appreciated its generous interior space, driving position and practicality.

But the latest Jazz takes the game a step further. While, retaining its undoubted blue rinse magnetism, extends its appeal to a younger market with much more dynamic styling, longer wheelbase and a new chassis using Honda's Global Compact engineering.

The old Jazz was not exactly top of the list in ride and refinement in terms of driving, but these setbacks have been put to right with a new front suspension system which makes a big difference.

The Jazz is a difficult car to categorise. Being essentially a hatchback, it leans towards the mini-MPV school of thought and designers have utilized every bit of interior space. It is amazing that something so roomy isaround the size ofa Ford Fiesta.

Choice of power units is easy because Jazz only comes with a 1.3-litre petrol engine with the choice of manual or CVT gearbox.

This car, a top of the range1.3i-VTEC EX Navi CVT was not cheap at £17,885, but boasted a raft of features that make Honda a premium option in smaller cars.

The EX specification brings items such as 16-inch alloy wheels, Smart entry and start, rear view camera, six speakers, automatic air conditioning and all round one-touch power windows, to name but a few.

The Navi model adds GARMIN navigation to make this car a desirable and clever option.

On the road, the 1.3 engine is powerful enough but when coupled with the CVT transmission does have to work a little harder when overtaking.

The CVT system does bring something of an economy bonus as claimed combined mpg figure of 57.6 is better than the 55.4 of the manual and emissions of 114g/km outclass the 120g/km of the manual.

Honda's Magic Seat system offers a range of configurations for carrying cargo and passengers. The Magic Seat bases flip up to allow larger loads to be carried, or can be folded flat for a full load deck.

Of special note are the high quality, soft-touch materials and thoughtful interior design which give a premium ambiance to the Jazz.

This is certainly not the car you would buy for sporty motoring but its top speed of 118mph and 0-62mph sprint of 12.3 seconds are just about what you would expect from a modern 1.3 petrol engine car.