The European market also has two engines available. The European-only 1.2 i-DSI is offered as the base model in many countries, and can only be purchased with a 5-speed manual transmission. The 1.4 i-DSI is identical to the 1339 cc 1.3 i-DSI sold in Japan, but marketed as a 1.4 L to differentiate it from the smaller 1.2 L engine (ironically, at 1244 cc, it is closer to 1.3 L than the bigger one is to 1.4 L). 1.4 L models start out well-equipped with the 5-speed manual standard and the CVT-7 available as an option.

All European models have ABS with disc brakes on the front wheels and drum brakes or disc brakes on the rear ones. Side airbags are standard on some high end models. Most notably, the UK's biggest automotive survey, performed by the motoring show Top Gear, revealed that the Honda Jazz was the second best vehicle on UK roads, as voted by UK car owners in 2006.^[3] The enormous popularity of the Jazz has made it Honda's best-selling model in the region, comprising 30% of all European Honda sales.

Honda originally intended to name the car Fitta, but the word's meaning in some languages — in Swedish and Norwegian, "fitta" or "fitte" is a rather crude slang term for vagina — resulted in a last-minute change to Fit.