IT'S a busy year for Honda with almost its whole range being renewed or revised and the latest to get the treatment is its biggest seller, the Jazz supermini.

The Jazz accounts for 40 per cent of Honda's UK sales and has been snapped up by more than 300,000 customers, mainly private, since it was introduced in 2002, and worldwide sales have topped 5.5 million.

The third generation Jazz has a great following and around 80 per cent of sales for the newcomer are expected to be by existing Jazz owners.

They are mainly in the older bracket but Honda believes that the 2015 Jazz, on sale here in September, will attract younger buyers thanks to its sharper look, high equipment level and practicality.

It certainly looks much sportier with sharp panel creases, a high window line and what is now a front end which is common to the bigger Honda Civic and new HR-V.

It's also bigger inside with more leg and shoulder room in the back, plus additional knee space. Its wheelbase has been increased by 95mm giving the extra space for back seat passengers.

For a supermini its practicality is unbeatable in the sector, with Honda's Magic Seat system allowing several configurations.

The rear bench folds completely flat and is easy to operate and the seat bases can be folded upwards to allow large and taller items to be slid into the space through the wide-opening rear doors. Honda claims you can fit an 8ft surfboard into the little Jazz.

Boot space is great, with 354 litres of space, which is upped to 1,314 litres with the rear seas folded.

Up front the dash has been redesigned with all but the base S model getting a seven-inch touchscreen which includes Garmin sat nav on the higher specification models.

New jazz feels much bigger than a supermini when you are behind the wheel and I was impressed with the driving position and the all-round vision it provides. There's also plenty of cubbyholes for odds and ends and a decent glovebox.

What about what's under the bonnet? Well, the old Jazz had a 1.2 or 1.4 petrol engine which has been replace by a new 1.3-litre unit which is actually more powerful and frugal than them.

Honda claims the 101bhp i-VTEC will return around 56mpg and produce 116 g/km of CO2 emissions with the CVT automatic version returning marginally more.

I preferred the six-speed manual Jazz which gets going well and on a stretch of motorway on the test route bowled along feeling like a much larger motor, although under brisk acceleration I did find the engine note a little harsh.

Honda says there will be an almost even split between the manual and auto models but I would go for the manual. The CVT is a bit slow off the mark if you really stamp down for a quick getaway although once on the move it is a quiet runner and will probably suit those looking for a more leisurely drive, especially around town.

The new Jazz offers a lot of equipment as standard with even the entry level S getting, hill start assist, city-brake active system, CD tuner with DAB, Bluetooth, cruise control, air con, electric windows all round and automatic lights.

If you go for the SE, which will be the biggest seller, and it adds, amongst other useful kit, cross traffic monitor, forward collision warning, speed assist, lane departure warning and traffic sign recognition system.

Prices for the new Jazz start at £13,495 for the base S model and on up to £16,325 for the top range EX Navi.

Honda seems to have woken up recently, after a goodly while of not updating its range, but with the new Civic, HR-V, revised CR-V, a new NSX supercar stunner on the horizon, and now the new Jazz, it will have one of the youngest offerings on the market.