I LIKE the Honda Jazz. I like its style and I like the way it drives. And I also like its value. While not perfect, it is a good buy in a segment full of good buys.

The question for buyers though is which of the sharp-handling, sprightly and easy-to-own cars from a quality small car field, best meets their needs and personality.

The mention there of the ‘personality thing’ is quite deliberate. Buyers in this segment - the small car segment - will want a car that connects with them, reflects their lifestyle values and says something to the world.

Whereas family buyers will arguably be driven by more practical and utilitarian concerns, buyers trying the Jazz on for size will be looking for a car that is fun to own, easy on the pocket and light on the eye.

No surprise then that each of the better small cars (and we’re talking Fiesta, Mazda2, Jazz, Fiat 500, C2 and Yaris here) is loaded with personality and comes with its own appealing and quite individual charms.

In that short list in the sentence above, they are all very good cars. Each is fun to drive, easy to live with and sharp at the wheel.

And while each is different, none will disappoint. But one of them is best for you. Which is it, better still, which is you?

Perhaps it’s the Jazz. We’d better have a close look at it then.

Versatile, appealing style

The first thing you’ll notice is that the 2009 Jazz – released August last year - is bigger externally and internally than the model it replaces. And whereas the older model was funky and cheerful enough for its time, it now looks slightly bus-like compared to the sharp styling of the new.

The new shape works. The Jazz sits nicely on its wheels, has an individual style all of its own and manages to marry East and West in a superbly practical and appealing shape.

The steeply raked screen, rising from a pert nose, gives the front more ‘edge’ than the previous model. The curve of the roof, dropping slightly into a narrowed rear, softens the upright stance while adding appeal to the lines around the rear hatch.

Clever interior

Inside, that large screen adds to the sense of space in what is a brilliantly spacious interior.

Though standing on a small footprint, head and legroom is excellent, thanks to the upright stance. Also at the head of the class is access to the front and back. (Useful in getting small children in and out of car-seats or unloading the booty of shoes and designer clobber from the Saturday morning excursion to DFO.)

Inside, there is little to complain about in the way things work, though, arguably, it loses a bit of personality here.

The dash, doors, seats – shale grey and black throughout – are perhaps a little sombre and not quite in keeping with the Jazz’s fun-feel, but they are typical Honda quality.

Ergonomically, it works very well. Getting settled and comfortable behind the wheel is easy: slick little gearshift nicely at hand, controls and audio easily operated and understood, terrific all-round vision… it is easy to see why the Jazz has been a winner for Honda.

While the seats are a tad flat and lacking the thigh bolstering of, say, the Fiesta, they proved comfortable around town and on a couple of longer stints at the wheel heading up the Hume. And with good quality interior fabrics, you get a sense those seats will take an awful amount of punishment without discolouring or losing shape.

The dash? Hmm… not so sure about its lines. To these eyes, there are too many fussy parts to it. It’s as if Honda tried too hard to funkify things and ended up giving us something that is neither particularly funky nor especially stylish. (Perhaps that particular focus group hit the saki before getting down to business.)

But perhaps you like it. (And you probably disagree with my choice of dog as well.)

Speaking of pooches, you could put a St Bernard in the back seat and still have room for your third-favourite friend back there. The brilliance of the Jazz shape means that interior space is at the top of the class.