 2007 Honda Fit LX. Click image to enlarge |
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2007 Honda Fit
The first car Honda sold here was the original Civic hatchback. It was one tiny car, but despite being far smaller than any of the subcompacts you could buy today, it was a surprisingly roomy car. I still remember being a kid and helping my dad load luggage into the back of his blue 1978 model for road trips (he was a brave man for driving that car on Ontario’s Highway 401): it seemed, as he said, that you could “fit anything in a Honda.”
In 2007, that slogan of my dad’s could have been adapted to the company’s then-newest small car, the Fit: a tiny car into which almost anything could be made to, er, fit. (The name, of course, lends itself to countless puns and silly plays on the word “fit.” I will attempt, with no promises, to spare you from the worst of these.)
Though it’s been on sale in Japan (where it’s known as the Jazz) since 2001, we didn’t get it here until 2007. It’s gained a lot of fans in a short time for many reasons, but mostly for its flexible cargo hold, which will fit – er, accommodate – items that logically shouldn’t fit (see what I mean?) into a subcompact. A fully-redesigned, second-generation Fit was introduced in late 2008 for the 2009 model year. For the moment, though, let’s see how the first-gen car has held up since its introduction in North America.
The Fit’s 1.5-litre, 109-horsepower engine is about average for the class. So is the standard five-speed manual transmission, but the optional five-speed automatic is a nice touch in a segment where four speeds is still de rigueur.
 2007 Honda Fit LX. Click image to enlarge |
Fuel consumption is low: Natural Resources Canada’s ratings for the 2007 Fit were 7.3 L/100 km (city) and 5.8 L/100 km (highway); these numbers improved slightly to 7.1/5.7 (city/highway) in 2008. The forums at FitFreak.net offer a fuel economy section for drivers who keep track of fuel consumption.
The Fit’s relatively long life cycle – by the end of its run in 2008, it was more than eight years old, despite only being sold here for the last two – means that any early model issues have apparently been worked out, but there are still a couple of minor things to look out for.
Some owners complain of paint peeling off the front and rear bumpers. Also, bug splatter on the front bumper can cause paint chips.
