Honda Jazz automatic launch approacheth

After the launch of the Honda Jazz superhatch in India, now Honda plans to introduce its automatic transmission variant soon. This should happen quickly, and if automatic transmissions are what you like, it would be better to wait around for a little bit.

The Honda Jazz was never meant to rule its segment in India, priced the way it was. However, Honda can’t be blamed for wanting to increase its sales, and an automatic variant is felt to be a good option. Honda’s other car models in India – the Accord, CR-V, Civic and City – are all already available in AT versions.

Apart from the automatic transmission, nothing else is likely to change in the Jazz AT. Price might be somewhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000 higher for the AT – just our guess.

Sales have been good too (and not just for Honda). Last month or so, Economic Times reported that 51 per cent of the sales of the Honda Accord in India were for automatics. The current all-new Honda City sees 15 % sales as AT versions. We have no figures for the sales of Honda CR-V AT versions, but that seems to be good too. In fact, the higher you go up the price ladder, the more automatic transmission variant sales you see.

Not that many people who buy mid-size or hatchback cars realise this fact. They are still stuck in a 90’s mentality where automatics were considered fuel guzzlers and somewhat lethargic. I mean we have an automatic Mahindra Scorpio now, doesn’t that count somewhat as a vote of confidence in automatic cars?

I was trying to collate a list of automatic cars in India, and came across a question asked in Yahoo Answers – An Indian woman from US asked whether she can drive an automatic in India, and whether she would have to learn how to drive a stick shift car all over again.

The first answer unequivocally told the questioner that automatic transmissions are not good for Indian roads, and it is better to learn to drive a manual.

That, is a mind-bogglingly stupid answer.

Automatic transmissions may not be good for some people. Say, you want the most economical car possible and want to eke out every last kilometer from every liter of fuel. Then, maybe, stay away from automatic transmissions. But for convenience, there is nothing to beat an automatic car – ESPECIALLY IN INDIA.

And it seems car buyers realise the benefits of automatics already. Heavy traffic in our cities mean that driving in stop and go traffic is extremely tiring, and automatic reduces the amount of work you have to keep moving to almost nil. Small cars are increasingly coming out in AT versions. Just wait till our list is complete and then we can have a longish article on all the AT cars available in India.