2026 Honda Jazz facelift leaked in China – sharper, sportier look; upgraded tech; same 1.5L and CVT

It’s easy to forget, given that we’ve had the City Hatchback as its replacement for a while now, but the Honda Jazz does still exist in other parts of the world. It’s been six years since the fourth-generation model was revealed, but it’s still going strong, and in fact it appears that the car will soon be in for a second facelift in China, where it’s called the Fit.

Photos of the refreshed B-segment hatchback have cropped up on Autohome, and my word has it been in for a makeover. The doe-eyed original was perhaps a little too cutesy for buyers’ tastes, and Honda fixed that quite quickly with a sporty RS “face” in 2022, but this is the most aggressive the car has ever looked.

The new front fascia incorporates the in-vogue split headlight look, with the slim quad LED daytime running lights leading into the equally narrow grille. There’s also a large downturned air intake with twin “nacelles” in the corners, above which sits a strange four-rectangle cutout.

At the rear, the trapezoidal taillights remain, but there’s now a protruding bumper with a black diffuser-like valance sticking even further out, like a bad Brothers bodykit. This is at odds with the steel wheels and hubcaps on what looks like the base model, making the whole He-Man aesthetic look even more out of place.

Thankfully, the upgrades go at least slightly more than skin deep. According to Autohome, the Fit will be offered with a larger 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen with smartphone mirroring compatibility such as Apple CarPlay, Huawei HiCar and Baidu CarLife. While still small by the standards of the Chinese market, the new display would be quite a bit bigger than the old car’s outclassed eight-inch unit.

No changes to what’s under the bonnet, however, with the Chinese-market Fit set to soldier on on with the same 124 PS/145 Nm 1.5 litre DOHC i-VTEC four-cylinder engine mated to a CVT. What do you think – would you have preferred to see this car in Malaysia, or are you happy with the City Hatchback as is? Let us know in the comments.

GALLERY: 2022 Honda Jazz facelift

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