CTC Review: 2007 Honda Fit LX

[wing]

Day 1: Honda's official Fit launch party is today April 20th, 2006 perfect timing for me to get into a Fit for a week and rekindle those memories from a few weeks back when I attended the Honda Fit press event and first drive to get a feel for the car. This week I am driving a LX with a 5 speed automatic transmission.

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Day 2: I did a little shopping in the Fit today and came to a few conclusions about the car that I do not think I would have noticed in a 10 minute test drive.  I also used the Fit on my daily commute to and from work and had the chance to zip through some traffic while following a Ferrari 360 in bright yellow, I even passed it.  Of course it was stopped at a red light at the time and I was only moving 5 km/h as I inched passed with my jaw on the floor, but I still passed him.

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Day 3: Out of all the cars I have reviewed so far the Honda Fit has drawn the most attention from co-workers, neighbours and others passing by in parking lots and on the street.  The Fit is the least expensive vehicle I have had the pleasure to test; this really has brought me back to reality as a car enthusiast and reviewer.  For enthusiasts it is more exciting to see, drive and read about the hot new sports car or luxury vehicle, but the average Canadian consumer is interested in inexpensive, reliable A to B transportation.

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Day 4: The interior versatility of the Fit is extraordinary, for such a small vehicle there is a remarkable amount of space.  The combination of the magic seats and moving the fuel tank under the front seat rather than the more conventional behind the rear seats and parcel shelf creates an imaginable amount of space for a vehicle in this class. On the other hand there are a few things that slipped by the Honda Engineers as the Fit left Japan and headed for North America.

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Day 5: Last week when I visited the gas pumps I was crying as I left with a nice tab of $60 for a fill-up, this week I had a good laugh as I filled up the Fit after driving 337.5Km over the course of the week all city driving and the 97.2 cent a liter fuel pump stopped at only $24.  Although maybe not unbelievable I achieved the same fuel economy as the EPA rating which is an achievement in itself.

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[sirAQUAMAN64]

Excellent snag. I'm interested in seeing what you find over the days.

My aunt has an old 1990 Corolla that she gave to her son that's due to be replaced. She was looking at Yaris, but I told her this is the car to buy instead - seemingly higher quality interior, 5spd auto, double the trunk space, similar economy, and it has the SABs she wants. She's going to check it out - interested to see what she thinks.

Two Hondas in a row, eh? Not bad

[84im]

I'm also very interested in your findings, as this will probably be our next vehicle purchase.  We'd love a Mini Cooper S, but it's just too expensive (for a third vehicle).

[keithb]

I would agree with all the pluses but one that sir AQUAMAN64 gives the Fit over the Yaris. That one is the interior quality. From the thin sun visors to the thin cover for the spare tire well to less cabin storage, the FIT suffers , IMO, in interior finish comapred to the Yaris. 

[AVToller]

I haven't yet seen the Fit in person, but if the cover for the spare is anything like the one in the Escort, that would rule out the Fit for me. Daffi totally destroyed the Escort cover just jumping in and out of the cargo area for 2 years. In the Yaris, a small horse could jump all day and not make a dent. 

[G0dspd]

I also saw and inspected my first Fit today ... an LX.  I saw one at the Montreal Auto Show but it's kinda of annoying when you have 30-40 Quebecers buzzing around.  There's enough room and the interior is decent ... the overall styling could be better though.  I guess it's better than the Yaris when it comes to it's versatility ... magic seats/cargo area/etc.  To be honest I wasn't amazed by this vehicle ... its job is being practical sub compact and I'm sure it does it well.

[hondasalesguy]

The spare tire cover in the hatch is very flimsy I have to agree. I would think one could go to a hardware store or somewhere and get a thick piece of waferboard, cut it to size, if they were planning on putting a lot of weight back there. Hopefully Honda will make an adjustment and put a thicker piece of waferboard in some time soon.

[84im]

I was really annoyed that the cargo cover was an option on all three trim levels.  In this day-in-age it should be standard equipment.    Also, out on the 'Wet' coast a variable speed wiper is VERY  important. 

[AVToller]

I was really annoyed that the cargo cover was an option on all three trim levels.  In this day-in-age it should be standard equipment.    Also, out on the 'Wet' coast a variable speed wiper is VERY  important. 

  On the Yaris, the cargo cover is standard (but I took mine off as Daffi is always in the back), but while it has intermittant wipers, they are NOT variable.  Inexcusable for the Wet Coast - even the Escort had them. 

[philmcneal]

question, when you let your foot off the accel while in D, does revs drops and acts like its in N before you apply throttle to accelerate again?

[JoeY]

I've driven a FIT LX yesterday, here's what I thought (From my own point of view)

Pro.    Versatile with good room in the back with both seats complete folds down.
   Handling is fair, pretty much as the same as a civic.
   Goody panel layout and color scheme, will appeal to younger buyers.

Con.   Foot gas on floor with roaring engine but no feeling of acceleration. (Since we have 3 people on the car?)
   Very hard to find a good driving position, I found myself either has to stretch for the steering wheel or has to feel ankle pain.
   Can we at least have 2 litter engine in the *sports* model?
   
In general, this is a good A to B car. Nothing exciting even in top model.

[wing]

Phil, yes pretty much, not all the way down to 1k I don't believe but close.

JoeY, I agree with your comments except the acceleration I have yet to do my acceleration test but it feels plenty peppy, I believe 0-60 is in the high 9's, I've tried it with 3 people no problem and generally 2 people.  But I completely agree with your driving position feel, it is IDENTICAL to my problem as I stated in my review

For me the driving position is not perfect, I find my legs are too close or I am stretching to reach the steering wheel, this could be just me though.

[AVToller]

I'm wondering if that is a modern Japanese sub-compact thing, as I find that slightly true in the Yaris as well. That is why I thought a telescoping streeing column ala Shnak would be nice to have. 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

question, when you let your foot off the accel while in D, does revs drops and acts like its in N before you apply throttle to accelerate again?

That happens in my mom's Celica GT and it's annoying to get used to, but I found it very interesting while driving to see how it's programmed to behave.

[JoeY]

I've also driven Civic (DX?) in the same day with telescope steering wheel, it's better to find a driving position. But the performance is still not up to my expectation. It's not fair to compare these two cars with my current 99 Solara V6, but I'll have to learn to drive stick first before try Civic SI.

I also looked Golf GTI, very nice, but I'll still need to learn drive stick first

[airbalancer]

Looks like someone is slow with undating their drive.
Gee they start a thread to read these things then they leaves us hanging on for the rest of the story. ANd I do not care about the fit

[airbalancer]

Where the smiles LOL

[wing]

Where's the hanging?  Day 3 is Friday, Day 4 is Monday and Day 5 is Tuesday.  Very few read the site on the weekends and I deserve some time off as well. 

[philmcneal]

That happens in my mom's Celica GT and it's annoying to get used to, but I found it very interesting while driving to see how it's programmed to behave.

its programmed like that so when the user lifts his/her foot off the accel pedal. The car will coast as long as possible to minimize slowdown thus allowing you to travel farther without fuel. Smart move on Toyota's part and it shows that people who drive Toyotas get good gas mileage just because of that feature if one is smart enough not to use the accel if they DON"T need it.

[airbalancer]

Where's the hanging?  Day 3 is Friday, Day 4 is Monday and Day 5 is Tuesday.  Very few read the site on the weekends and I deserve some time off as well. 

since you are the man, you get no time off