CTC Review: 2009 Honda Fit

[Cortina]

For the first time since before Christmas, James gets to test a car with a manual transmission

Doh. I wondering about the slushbox. Is it the same as the older fit/jazz. The old fit/jazz felt like the choke was left out. I guess I never know now. 

[dutch]

curious how the Fit would compare to the Hyundai Elantra touring. I'm 6'3 and fit quite well in it, really liked the drive - the shifter wasn't the greatest, but overall it was fun to drive. We are planning to drive the Fit this weekend, but walking past them in mall parking lots they look small!!

[Blueprint]

James, didn't you drive recently a Bimmer with a stick ?  I believe you made the same comment about being stick-deprived for awhile at the beginning of the story.  That would explain this feeling of déjà vu !

[wing]

Damn someone noticed!  I forgot last night

[Troy]

While I love the versatility & funk of the Fit, there is one reason I do not (cannot) buy one.  The front seats might be great if you're under 6 feet tall, otherwise your knees are at the dashboard and your thighs don't touch the seat.  During my 10-15 minute test drive I must have attempted to move the seat back 3 or 4 times as I couldn't believe this was as much room as I was going to get.  And with no height adjustments it was simply impossible to get remotely comfortable.  At its price point, the Fit lacks the little things that should be common sense on a compact car.  The Kia Soul may not be as refined as the Fit, but it took all of 2 seconds to be comfortable and the styling (inside & out) is top notch.

I am exactly 6' tall and don't find the Mk1 fit front seats a problem but I do have to have the drivers seat all the way back so I am sure anyone with longer legs or taller would not fit Fit.

What are these little things? Just for interest.

At a similar price point, the Kia Soul 4u comes with a power Sunroof, Traction Control, Stability Control, heated seats - none of which are even available on the Fit.  Plus the Soul has the 315 Watt sound system (with speakers that glow  !!).  I tested these two vehicles back to back (Versa is next on my list to see about) and I want to love the Fit, especially since it's drivetrain is easily the sweetest in the subcompact segment ... but the comfort and value issues just aren't even close to comparing to some others in the segment and are impossible for me to overlook. 

[tpl]

fair enough.  For me I'd want the traction/stability control and the heated seats ( my last 6 cars have had them but mrs tpl would never use them on the Fit as she dislikes them)

Everyone to their own.

[2hondas1BMW]

We are planning to drive the Fit this weekend, but walking past them in mall parking lots they look small!!

Compared to your F150...yes. 

[Rupert]

Yes, much easier and simpler for a hand brake with rear drums and rear drums last much longer too. Front brakes provide most of the breaking. The Mini is a different price point surely so that rear discs and the expense involved may be acceptable. I like the Soul and the engines seem to be different to that used in the Accent. The Fit is very nice though and has earned many favourable comments since it's introduction. This automotive sector is very interesting at the moment. You have to make some consessions in a small car with respect to comfort. There is not enough space to provide the seat padding that can come with larger cars.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

curious how the Fit would compare to the Hyundai Elantra touring. I'm 6'3 and fit quite well in it, really liked the drive - the shifter wasn't the greatest, but overall it was fun to drive. We are planning to drive the Fit this weekend, but walking past them in mall parking lots they look small!!

Just came back from looking (again) at the Elantra Touring, Fit, Matrix, and Venza. The Elantra Touring is a really nice piece, regardless of price but even moreso when considering it. Great quality, design, room, equipment, etc.

Fit feels lightweight in comparison (everything, right down to the cardboard for the floor of the cargo compartment) and doesn't offer as much space (yep, knees hit the dash), but the wide doors made it easy to get into and out of and should be super efficient. Don't even care to drive it, as I've driven the last gen and it didn't do much for me despite the many reports of the joy of driving it.

Matrix is a tad cramped feeling as well for me, especially with the shifter jutting out. Don't like the hard cargo floor either. Cheap looking overall. Real no reason to buy one over the Elantra Touring save for perhaps better fuel economy.

The Venza is a great concept. Feels upscale for the price, but not quite as good as I remember thinking. Super slim door sills. The seat fabric on the rear seatback of the base 4-AWD I looked at today was so stretchy over the foam it was laughable. Overall though, compared to a cute ute (like RAV4) it represents great value and nets even better fuel economy than most. It's stretching the budget, but great blending of virtues. If spending as much as a Venza, Forester and Tiguan would also be on the list but again offer less economy and substance even though I prefer both of those more.

My right knee hits the dash in the Versa as well, but it's a nice wide-seated and relaxed driving package otherwise. Don't like the hatch folding versa-tility, but it's cheap.

I'm also looking to see what Cube pricing is like. Figure it'll overlap the Versa plus a few bucks. Great height for getting in and out, but the hatch space is more like Soul than Elantra Touring. Right now think the Elantra Touring really has the competition at that price beat. A little bit more and I'd be into a Jetta Wagon TDI, but a few thousand is big money for compact car shoppers.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Disc brakes cycle faster in ABS applications and have better heat dissipation characteristics. They may have a weight advantage, but I've heard conflicting info on that. Those are the only advantages.

Braking power is a function of swept area regardless of design. Given that ~70% of a car's braking power is supplied by the front brakes, adequately sizing rear drums shouldn't be an issue. Heat dissipation isn't as much of an issue, because they don't do as much work as the fronts, so less heat to dispense with.

The big advantage of drums in the Canadian context is that all of the moving parts are contained within the drum, so are much, much less prone to corrosion problems. That's a big deal in areas that use a lot of road salt.

Most of the cars I've had with rear discs have had issues with rust at one point or another, either the discs themselves, the calipers, or the parking brake linkages (yes I do use the parking brake all the time).

Of the cars I've had with rear drums, I only ever replaced shoes, springs and clips as part of regular maintenance. Never any unexpected issues at all.

In an economy car, reliability and cost would normally be the priority.

/BTW Is this where I'm suppose to say that the Fit is nowhere near as quick as the Camaro? Tit for tat and all that!

[DKaz]

I forgot about those 'tall-boy' wagons....they were pretty cool.

This was an 88 Honda Civic Wagon 4WD I had... awesome little car. 1.6L 105 hp D16A engine (the same one that was in the Civic SI), 5 speed manual with a 6th "SL" super-low gear for hill climbing etc. I also had an 86 Civic Wagovan back in high school for about six months which was the first manual transmission car I had, and my absolute favourite an 85 Civic Wagon DX (with the cool fold down lounge style seats) for two years through college. They were awesome cars, which is why I went through three of them. lol.

The new Fit is a nice resurrection of the old Civic wagon...

[initial_D]

If I were to looking to buy a Fit, the concern wouldn't be disc brakes outperforms drum brake, rather, disc brakes & calipers look much better behind good looking aftermarket wheels.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

I forgot about those 'tall-boy' wagons....they were pretty cool.

This was an 88 Honda Civic Wagon 4WD I had... awesome little car. 1.6L 105 hp D16A engine (the same one that was in the Civic SI), 5 speed manual with a 6th "SL" super-low gear for hill climbing etc. I also had an 86 Civic Wagovan back in high school for about six months which was the first manual transmission car I had, and my absolute favourite an 85 Civic Wagon DX (with the cool fold down lounge style seats) for two years through college. They were awesome cars, which is why I went through three of them. lol.

The new Fit is a nice resurrection of the old Civic wagon...

Those Wagovans were awesome, especially with the Real-Time 4WD    I remember as a kid wanting one when I grew up. At least the concept is making a comeback.

[Greg B.]

If I were to looking to buy a Fit, the concern wouldn't be disc brakes outperforms drum brake, rather, disc brakes & calipers look much better behind good looking aftermarket wheels.

Which, as we all know, is an absolute requirement for owners, in order to be rid of the shamefully tiny standard wheels...

[Seafoam]

If I were to looking to buy a Fit, the concern wouldn't be disc brakes outperforms drum brake, rather, disc brakes & calipers look much better behind good looking aftermarket wheels.

Which, as we all know, is an absolute requirement for owners, in order to be rid of the shamefully tiny standard wheels...

Shamefully tiny? The Fit DX comes with  steel 15 inch wheels ,not big enough for you.

[carcrazy]

The long stopping distance as reported by car magazines still raises an eyebrow, regardless where it's coming from: breaking system or stock tires.

[tpl]

For sure the stock Dunlops are pretty bad. Trouble is, with the low milage our Fit does and the winter tires on 1/2 the year they'll be 10 years old before they show any visible wear...but I'm sure I'll find a way to get rid of them in a couple of years.

[PJungnitsch]

The crappy tires most vehicles come with OEM are a good argument for driving directly to a tireshop and trading them in on something decent.

At the office here they recently got 3 new Ford pickups. They got bids from different tireshops on trading in the original useless tires and ended up getting a great deal.

No doubt the tire shop is putting them on lease returns or selling them to cheapskates who just want something that will roll.

[Rupert]

Don't know what you guys do with your tires; the Kumho's that came with my Accent are very acceptable. Not a single problem in three years summer and winter 50,000km.

[Seafoam]

I believe paddle shifters  are NOT available on the 2009 Sport!  so i was told by the dealership back in Sept when i test drove the mid level model................

According to Honda .ca the paddle shifters are not available on this 2nd generation Fit Sport. The U.S Fit Sports however still have them when you go to Honda .com.