2007 Honda Fit Review

Specifications

Small Wonder

If Christmas came last week, with Santa delivering a new Yaris three-door, then, this latest automobile must be the work of the Easter Bunny. As luck might have it, after his rounds on dropping colorful foil-wrapped chocolate eggs, and other egg-shaped confectionaries, the big, fluffy long-eared one brought us a brand new Honda Fit for a long term evaluation, which we received on Easter Monday.

OK, truth be told, the story doesnt go exactly like that - we did receive the car on Easter Monday - nevertheless, the prospect of having another long term car added to our fleet makes us deeply pleased. After all, around these parts, its a known fact that we much prefer cleverly engineered automobiles to sweets.

The newest member of our long-term family is a Milano Red Honda Fit LX, and like our Yaris, we will be running it for approximately three months. In laymans, rather than product developers terms, our car is smack in the middle of the Fit portfolio, residing above the minimalist DX, but below the top of the line, and delicious-looking Sport. While it may look the same as the DX, with the plastic-clad fourteen-inch wheels, and simple, unadorned body, it comes jam-packed with features like power windows, power door locks (but not keyless entry), air conditioning with filtration, four speakers for the 160-watt AM/FM/CD MP3-aux compatible stereo system, and an adjustable steering column. Compared to our other subcompact long-termer, the very basic Yaris, the mid-range Fit looks like a Rolls Royce.

Mind you, the amazingly clever Magic Seat (of which were already using),
is the best of all its standard goodies, opening up a ton of interior and cargo space; another class-exclusive feature.

The most basic Fits abide by Hondas “Safety for Everybody” policy, which means that all vehicles to leave the factory come jam-packed with standard ABS brakes and electronic brakeforce distribution, not to mention the standard front, side and side curtain airbags.

All Fits come with a single, compact, 1.5-liter inline-four wedged between gigantic headlamps, and with a horsepower rating of 109, and a torque figure of 106 lb-ft, the Fits four-cylinder mill nudges up against the 110 hp, 107 lb-ft of torque duo from Korea (Hyundai Accent/Kia Rio), putting it in close contention for most powerful engine in class status. Our tester came equipped with a five-speed automatic, an $800 option that replaces the slick five-speed manual, that former of which, interestingly enough, is a class exclusive, and an industry first to boot.

In total, prior to taxes, our Fit had a price tag of $14,650, although, beginners entry to the wonderful world of Fit starts at just $13,850. Thats a whole lot of car, for a surprisingly small amount of money.

To us, the Honda Fit is an atypical subcompact vehicle. While on the outside it may look like a typical, cutesy, gasoline-miser, it takes just a fraction of a second inside, or on the road, to appreciate how much more it has to offer. The Fit is proof that not all subcompacts are created equal, and is a solid message to other automobile manufacturers that when products in this end of the market are designed with thought processes that are truly outside of the box, wonderful things can happen.

And now, to the logbook:

Odometer: 778 miles

Justin: From the moment I heard that Hondas Fit would be going on sale in North America, I knew that at some point in time, Id just have to drive it. Ive followed the design from its initial stages and launch in the Japanese market. Ive read reviews, comparison tests and done a fair bit of research on its model genus and family tree. You might very well be justified in calling me a Fit-a-holic. It should be noted that this isnt the first time Ive been behind the wheel of a Fit; a few weeks prior, I drove it at a Ride & Drive event for half a day, on urban roads and an autocross circuit and I was hooked. Hooked on the quality of the interior, hooked on the versatility, hooked on the drive, and hooked on the driving dynamics.

At point of pickup, it must be said that the Fit is exactly how I recall it, and deep inside, Im very, very pleased.    

Odometer: 821 miles

Justin: Its a psychological fact that when youre out driving around in a car, you tend to become a little more wary of what else is on the road; suddenly, more people seem to be driving whatever vehicle youre in. This works in the case of subtly styled vehicles, and to an extent, rarities, as demonstrated by Jon (Yarkony). If theres an Audi S4 on the road, be it sedan, Avant or cabriolet, believe me, I hear about it. It works the same way with most new cars too; Ive seen tons of new Toyota Camrys and FJ Cruisers, but so far, this phenomenon hasnt happened with the Fit. Ive failed to spot any on the roads yet, which is a bit strange as its been on sale since early- to mid-April. I figure, however, that itll only be a matter of a few weeks before theyll be everywhere.

Odometer: 876 miles

Justin: So, I might not be seeing a great number of Fits, but a great many people are seeing - and ogling at -  ours. So, it might not be a Ferrari in terms of its looks or performance, but sure enough, its attracting attention, almost to an unwanted degree. Im not keeping track for scientific purposes, however, a good proportion of attention seems to be coming from SUV drivers, while the other half comes from drivers of subcompact cars. There are a couple of good reasons for it; aside from the fact that its brand spankin new, its shape is completely new to the segment. Sure, we have hatchbacks, but the Fit is more of a monobox (1-box) than anything else. I can only imagine how much more attention our Fit would be getting with skirts, alloy wheels and a spoiler, as with the Sport model. 

Odometer: 981 miles

Justin: Its crunch time at school - the last weeks of April, and the first week of May are officially the weeks of Armageddon for most university students. So, what does any of this have to do with the Honda Fit? Well, would you be surprised that Im actually using it as a temporary office? Thats right, on my breaks and between classes, I head to the back seat of the Fit to catch up on reading and practice on previous years exams. Previously, I never thought that working in a car, aside from a full-size limo could be comfortable, but the Fits really changed my mind. This of course all comes down to the Magic Seats, in Refresh Mode.

Getting the seats into Refresh Mode requires a simple conversion thats not a whole lot more taxing than, say, folding the rear seats in any other car. First, you remove the headrest of the front seat (for me, its the passengers), then you slide it forward as far as it can go with the clever side-mounted mechanism. Next comes a full-tilt recline, and, voila, your private lounge is ready. It takes a bit of mastering to be able to do this from the rear door, without moving about, but within a couple of tries, its second nature. The whole rear-seat environment is enhanced with integrated bottle holders in the door, and a good stereo system with aux-jack for MP3 players, which means that, unless I run out of drink, food or sheets of paper, theres no reason to leave.  

Now, whered that pencil go…

Odometer: 1,033 miles

Justin: With an extra gear in the automatic transmission and an equivalently-sized 1.5-liter engine under the hood, it would be easy to assume that the Honda Fit will out-perform our other long-term subcompact, the Toyota Yaris in terms of performance, and at the pump. While it might feel quicker off the line and edge out the Toyota on horsepower and torque, it just doesnt seem to be as efficient. With a one litre difference in fuel tank capacity (10.8 versus 11.1 gallons), the Fit isnt able to wring as much out of every last drop as the Yaris. Blame the bigger frame, heavier girth (roughly 220 pounds heavier) and less aerodynamic body. Nevertheless, the Fit is still pleasing, at least when it comes to being filled up. After 260.2 miles, it has averaged 30 mpg.

Around these parts, 30 mpg is a figure thats pretty good. Most cars that run through our hands end up with ratings that are much, much higher. However, after our Yaris first fill-up, there appears to be a suitably sized gap between it and the Fit. The Yaris average is almost 34 mpg, while Fits about 30. Mind you, so far, the Fit hasnt made any substantial trips out of the city.

Odometer: 1,133 miles

Jonathan: Excuse me if I ramble on a bit, but this is my first time in the Fit as I never got a chance to toss it around at the local media autocross event. Now that Ive driven it, I can truly say its a shame I missed it as the Fit is one fun little munchkin to toss around. The steering is crisp and light, the throttle is sharp right from takeoff and it bounces from corner to corner like an opposite-tilt bobsled; yes, it exhibits its due amount of body roll, but the grip is superb within city speed limits, and the listing just makes it a little more adventurous. Im also a fan of its microvan styling, by far one of the most functional shapes to maximize space for heads and fichus trees (as evidenced by other compact haulers such as MB B-Class and Mazda5). Ours is a screamingly extroverted shade of lipstick red, which suits its snappy, vibrant, wide-eyed personality. I also like the cannon-sized headlamps and, in my opinion, one of the best executions of a Honda snout youll see around town.

Moving in, I find the cabin suffers from cheap-seat syndrome, which forces an entirely too upright seating position because of fixed lumbar support and limited adjustability (seatbacks tilt, and base slide fore and aft), a symptom of most price-point designed cars. Kia, somehow, manages some terrific seats in the Rio5 with the sport package, which made that car a joy to spend time in, at least for me and my sensitive back. What makes the Fit a joy is a truly well executed interior design, which I would take over the second in a heartbeat; digital speed readout practically on the windscreen just isnt for me. Materials like dash plastics and steering wheel tactility are easily equal and perhaps superior in spots to a base Civic, while the neat circle and tab stereo layout is a great modern shape with easy to comprehend controls, clearly visible and simple to use.

One ergonomic issue that is starting to surface, aside from the seats, is the lack of a dead pedal and the evil, lumpy shape of the footwell in the location a dead pedal might normally occupy, and since the floor is rather high (or the seat too low), which puts ones knee up around the steering wheel, leaving it hard to get really relaxed and in a good, satisfying long-term driving position. I guess the hundreds of dollars it would have cost them to add a dead pedal would have put them outside the subcompact price bracket. Anyhow, since its hard to find a good, comfortable place to rest ones left leg, I suppose Ill have to take up left-foot braking for extreme, rally-worthy driving performance. Take that, Honda!