Update: New Honda Jazz S and V launched in Malaysia!

The new second generation Honda Fit – known as the Honda Jazz in our local market – has been officially announced by Honda and here are the some initial details of the car.

The new Honda Fit is longer than the previous generation by 55mm at 3,900mm and has a longer wheelbase of 2,500mm which is 50mm longer, but it’s height remains the same at 1,525mm. However despite this, interior height has increased by 10mm to 1,290mm. The new Fit is also wider than the previous generation with wider front and rear tracks. This enhances stability and the increase in exterior width also improves cabin width by 30mm to 1,415mm. Driver visibility has also been improved – if you look closely you will notice the A-pillars are relatively thin – they’ve been made thinner by 20mm each compared to the outgoing model.

There are two engine options for the Honda Fit in Japan – one is a 1.3 litre i-VTEC engine putting out 100PS. This is mated to a CVT which now comes with a torque converter. The higher grade Fit called the Fit RS (apparently stands for Road Sailing) with a larger 120PS engine. You will be able to see torque curves for both these engines after the jump.

Like most hatchbacks these days, the rear uses a torsion beam setup to help reduce suspension intrusion into the cabin, while the front uses MacPherson struts.

A trademark Honda Fit/Honda Jazz offering are the Ultra Seats. The Ultra Seats are back with this version of the Fit and they have four modes: a utility mode that increases luggage space to a flat length of 1,720mm, a long mode which places the front passenger seat folded flat down for a further increased length of 2,400mm, a tall mode where you fold up the rear seat cushions to fit in a tall item (as mentioned before, interior height is 1,290mm), as well as a refresh mode where the front seat headrests can be removed and the front seats can be folded down to create a long stretched rest area within the car. This front passenger seat also hides a storage compartment.

The Ultra Seats tall mode has been achieved by moving the centrally mounted fuel tank which was previously under the rear passenger seat to below the front passenger seats.

Something new is the Ultra Luggage system which has a regular mode, a tall mode and an upper/lower mode which divides rear boot space into two levels of storage. You will be able to see diagrams explaining how this works after the jump. However because of the new Ultra Luggage tall mode, the car no longer has space for a spare tyre so it will be equipped with an emergency tyre repair kit instead.

Look at more photos and diagrams after the jump.