How many gearboxes does one car need? Seems a straightforward question and most make do with one very nicely, thank you. Two seems something of an indulgence and three? That's just excessive. It's also the number that Honda are claiming for their Jazz CVT7 which as its name suggests also boasts seven speeds.

Before we start pondering how many gears per gearbox, a point of clarification. The Jazz CVT7 only has one physical gearbox. It can, however, operate in three completely separate modes, a fully automated continuously variable mode, an automated mode with seven stepped gears or a manual mode where you choose which gears the steering wheel mounted rocker selects. Just like Jenson Button on his day off.

Whilst CVT gearboxes aren't anything new, the sheer amount of choice available to the Jazz CVT7 driver certainly is. Rivals like the Fiat Punto Speedgear may offer the choice of manual or automatic modes, but the Honda aces that system by offering two distinct forms of automatic mode, thus negating one of the key problems with CVT boxes.

What many people disliked about these gearboxes was the so-called 'rubber band effect'. When you pressed the throttle pedal, the engine automatically revved to its maximum power output, the engine noise rising instantly with the car's actual acceleration slowly catching up. This gave a nasty 'slipping clutch' effect which proved very unpopular with most drivers who preferred to equate their road speed with the noise their engine was making. If you don't mind the noises emanating from beneath the Jazz's tiny bonnet the fully automatic CVT mode is the smoothest and most fuel efficient mode to be in. You can even select Sport or Normal modes depending on whether you want optimum fuel efficiency or engine response.

"You soon realise the computer's making a better fist of things than you are."

For many owners however, the stepped automatic mode will be infinitely preferable. This gearbox gets around the dreaded elastic band effect by having seven artificially mandated gears rather than one continuous ratio. Here the gearbox replicates the actions of a normal torque converter-equipped automatic quite well, zipping through the seven stepped 'gears' with real verve. If you want the ultimate control, switch to manual control and ping about the 'box using the wheel-mounted switches. It's great fun for a while, but such is the excellence of the Jazz's artificial intelligence that the fun soon palls when you realise the computer's making a better fist of things than you are.

Prices start at £12,620 in SE trim or £13,620 in Sport specification because the CVT7 is not offered with the entry-level 1.2-litre engine. Whilst the mechanics of the system are impressive, when it comes to justifying the CVT7 system on a costs basis we find ourselves struggling. Compared to an equivalent 1.4 i-DSi manual Sport model, top speed drops by 7mph to 99mph, the sprint to sixty will detain you fractionally longer at 12.1 seconds, fuel economy drops to 47.9mpg and carbon dioxide emissions are marginally worse. And they charge a £1,000 premium for this? In fairness to Honda, the Jazz CVT7 stacks up far more closely to a manual on these criteria than a bog-standard automatic would and offers more for the keen driver. The Jazz's customer profile has shown that it's primarily used as a metropolitan scoot and here the CVT7 gearbox more than comes into its own.

In many ways it makes a great product range better still. The Jazz has picked up numerous awards and is still the pick of the petrol superminis, the SEAT Ibiza possibly edging it if you need a diesel. The designers have thought long and hard regarding the packaging of the car and have utilised Honda's expertise in MPV manufacture to engineer in a number of fundamental advantages. Moving the fuel tank from beneath the rear seats to a position under the front pair liberates the floor of the cabin and allows the seats to be folded into all sorts of permutations. Granted, you don't get the option of removing the rear seats but they almost make up for this in their sheer versatility. An innovative retraction system means that you're able to collapse the rear seats into the footwell with the headrests in place. What's more impressive still is that this action doesn't involve scurrying around the car to manually slide the front seats forward, it can all be accomplished from the rear door thanks to a convenient set of levers.

The result is a perfectly flat load floor 1740mm in length. Sports fans will appreciate the fact that if you then recline the front passenger seats, there's enough room inside the diminutive Jazz for a pair of 240cm long downhill skis! Honda have focused on making this trick seating system as user friendly as possible. Think of how many MPVs claim to have removable seats, only for them to prove so heavy that any thought of shifting them brings on a latent hiatus hernia. Vauxhall showed that smart seating solutions should be the work of a couple of seconds with the Zafira and the Jazz brings this concept into the supermini class.

Although the external dimensions only read 3,830mm long by 1,675mm wide, the Jazz is a good 1,525 mm tall. The driving position is fairly upright as a result and even those well over six feet tall should be able to find a comfortable position behind the wheel.

Safety hasn't been ignored and Honda designed the car to achieve a four-star NCAP safety rating with ABS, brake assist, brakeforce distribution, ISOFIX child seat fixings, five three-point seat belts and twin front airbags on all variants plus side airbags available according to model chosen. In the latest version Jazz models, the SE and Sport derivatives feature revised headlamp and rear light cluster designs along with door mounted LED indicators and 15" alloy wheels. The 1.2-litre S models have original shape Jazz lighting front and rear.

Three gearboxes, seven gears, two driving programs and a whole bunch of fun, the Honda Jazz CVT7 doesn't need statistics to underline its charms. Just get in and drive one.