2007 Honda Fit Review

Specifications

All-In-One Swiss Army Automobile

If you wanted a word to describe whats been going on in our offices, and in the Fit for the past couple of weeks or so, it would have to be busy. Either that, or active. You see, as of late, every member of the office - including a special guest appearance from the West Coast - has been up to something, or going somewhere. While it is no surprise that the Fit has been put in duty for any urban runs that are needed, its also been out to the country side transporting people and equipment. This is all aside from the normal things weve been doing with the Fit: a photography gear car, a trail and lead automobile for comparison tests, and efficient transportation when going to meetings and local events.

So, just where have we all been going? Well, since the last update, Justin went to drive Audis brand-new Q7, their first-ever sport utility vehicle, Trevor came across the continent to experience the sheer awesomeness of two of Fords finest performance vehicles, the new Shelby GT500 and mid-engine GT supercar, and Jon immersed himself in GMs Powertrain Facility in Wixom, Michigan. Though we didnt take the Fit out of the country, it played an important role in helping us get to where we were going.

With so much activity in and about, were cutting the usual intro down a bit and fast-forwarding to the logbook:

Odometer: 2,051 miles

Justin: Decided to take the day off today - Im just yearning to get out of being enclosed by four walls, a window and a door, and into something a little bit more automotive. Besides, I havent seen a Friday as warm, and as beautiful as this in, well, almost a year. So, the big question - where does the car enthusiast go when he or she wants to let loose a little? A car show? Perhaps, but theres nothing happening today. A nice relaxing drive? Nah, not up for that. The correct answer, is the safe, but fun sport of go-karting! Earlier this year, I picked up a certificate for a thirty-lap session of go-karting in a neighboring town, so, in hopes of having a bit of fun before the certificate expired, this became my target destination.

Admittedly, the first choice in vehicles to take up was a California-esque lump of all-American metal called the Ford Mustang GT Convertible, but, with such high gas prices and, ultimately the deciding factor, a lack of SPF-type protection, I drove the Fit instead. The drive up wasnt particularly eventful. With A/C on and stereo playing tunes, the hour-long drive ticked by rather quickly as the Fit and I moseyed along various highways to get to go-kart land. As usual the Fit impressed, but there is one notable thing: at speed, while the extra gear in the automatic kept the engines voice subdued, there is some notable wind noise, particularly from the tops of the pillars.

Unfortunately, I failed to realize that thirty laps didnt exactly equate to an entire days worth of entertainment. It was a technical circuit with a plenty of gnarly hairpins and a few decreasing radius corners, and, combined with go-karts that peaked at nearly 45 mph, the whole ordeal lasted a very short eleven minutes. Two hours of driving for eleven minutes of thrill? While I would go farther to spend less time in a car in a mere weeks time (four hours for similar amounts of time behind the wheel of a Ford GT) the thrill of the moment was well worth the journey. Driving go-karts may seem a bit juvenile, particularly for someone whos been behind the wheel of many different high-performance cars, but its a great reminder of what the true basics are: manual steering, crude brakes and that sheer exhilaration of rounding corners at the very limit.

Of course, driving the two vehicles back to back, its almost worth doing a bit of a comparison (lacking all seriousness). About the only things that the Fit had in common with the go-kart was that theyre both powered by Honda (although, not the same engine, thankfully), they both have four wheels, and, er, theyve both got seats and a steering wheel. The Fit might not be quicker in the 0-20 mph dash, but, it trumps the kart in top speed, not to mention everywhere else except taking sharp corners. Parking the kart was a bit of a pain too, with no reverse gear and manual steering. The Fit also wins hands down in practicality, features and safety, although the Kart did have strong brakes and a three-point seatbelt. A near unanimous victory goes to the Fit. Im glad that its the one Im driving home.

Odometer: 2,124 miles

Justin: Picked up the big boss (Trevor) from the airport today. The Fit might not be a stretch Lincoln Town Car, but it was more than suited to the occasion. His luggage, the contents of which included two medium-sized carry-on bags, a Dell desktop and computer monitor (now mine), plus enough computing and photography gear to please a swarm of graphic artists and a camera crew, all fit perfectly inside the Fits trunk; all without needing to fold the rear seat down, or impinging on the view out of the back windscreen. This miracle of spaciousness is due to the extra-low floor, made possible by having the fuel tank located underneath the front occupant areas. Maneuverability through light steering and a delicate throttle pedal is another Fit positive, especially helpful amid the crowd of taxis, limos and well-wishers at the airport. A switch over to a Dodge Caliber R/T found that my gear - a laptop bag and a soft, squishy computer bag - along with the Dell Computer gear, couldnt be crammed inside the hatch without reworking the seats. Not so good.

And while I dont think Ill be moving much by the way of heavy-duty gear, I wonder what Im going to be doing for the next few days without the Fit; the keys will pass out of my hands into Trevors.

Odometer: 2,278 miles

Trevor: MapQuest directions in hand Im now on my way out of Belleville, Ontario after getting to know what was probably once a thriving little Canadian town but is now, unfortunately, mostly boarded up along Front Street in the downtown core. What a shame. It seems that the only construction in the 10 block radius I wandered through last night when I needed to stop working and get some air was via government money, a new library. Such is life in small town Canada, and I suppose small town anywhere south of the border too. I was there to run a 500 horsepower muscle car and 550 horsepower supercar through its paces on Shannonville Motorsport Park, two cars that are the antitheses to the low priced, environmentally friendly, ultimately practical Fit.

Practical maybe, but in its own way the little Honda is plenty fun to drive. On the way out of town and then on the entrance ramp to the highway it managed corners with decent composure and its peaky little four-cylinder revved along happily as speed started to climb. I was impressed with how well it tracks on the highway, and thrilled more still after two hours of driving with no back pain to report. Its seats are surprisingly good, not as nice in base trim as with the Sport I enjoyed previously, but nevertheless well formed and capable of the majority of adjustments I normally make in order to get comfortable. The Fit is also quite quiet at highway speed, unusual for this class of car. It seems as though Honda has taken it up a notch or two above the competition, not in every respect necessarily, but definitely when it comes to interior fit and finish. Nice job!

Odometer: 2,405 miles

Trevor: OK, the first thing I want Honda to put into this car is a navigation system, because finding my way from Belleville to Frans Restaurant in Toronto (Im from the West Coast if you didnt already know) and then making my way to the right location using MapQuest (which took me to an entirely different street on the other side of town by the way) is a bit taxing on the nerves. Of course, that will never happen as most people who buy this car are either just entering the new vehicle market or in their later years, and on fixed incomes, therefore a $2,500 or so option for locating the closest Starbucks probably wont be too popular. And thats too bad. Not about the nav system, per se, but too bad because those who normally wouldnt even consider buying a subcompact will miss out on what is one of the most intriguing cars to come along in ages.

Odometer: 2,421 miles

Trevor: Im in Toronto now and just parked on College St. about a block away from Yonge - $16 CAD for four hours! I suppose thats not too bad, as Ive paid $2 per half hour in my town on a number of occasions. Anyway, the most intriguing aspects of this car are its rear seats, and before I delve into what makes them so innovative I just wanted to point out a feature that Honda doesnt include in its four “Magic” seat modes: Refresh, Tall, Long and Utility. Being that I didnt want to carry around my camera bag all day, and also being wary of a potential break and enter despite a caretaker looking over the lot all day, I was able to stow my camera bag and contents under the seat, just like in some minivans or pickup trucks. Thieves know to look under the rear seats of these vehicles, but are probably not aware that the tiny Honda has ample storage under its rear split bench. Looking through the windows once locked up, it was impossible to see anything, while I was able to leave the rear cargo area uncovered so that onlookers could see there was nothing of value there.

The Fits rear seating system makes almost anyone who sees it ask the question, “Why didnt someone come up with this idea before?” I dont doubt that many of its competitors will copy the system or come up with their own proprietary variations, but for now the Fit offers more seating/storage flexibility than any car in its class, or for that matter both segments above. As I mentioned earlier and you probably already know by now anyway, Honda has given a name to each of its Magic Seats four modes, and while a cool marketing ploy, each position really lives up to its designation.

At first, when opening the rear doors, nothing looks out of the ordinary. But then the differences become apparent when you grab the 60/40 split bench by one of its cushions and pull it upward, a process that automatically folds the seats metal leg-hoops flush against its backside before butting the entire lower portion of the seat up to the backrest, opening up a large cargo hold where the seat used to be. Back home, when testing a Sport trimmed model, I used it for transporting a propane tank to and from the refueling station, easier to plop in place when full due to the low lift-over height of the door sill, and posing less of a hazard along the way (I was able to prop it up better in the smaller enclosure and, if accidentally hit by another car it would be less likely to fly forward and knock me in the head due to its low positioning). In and of itself, this would be a fabulous feature, but added to this is the ability to drop seat cushion and seatback into the extremely low floor, granting mini-minivan-like storage capacity when one or both sides are folded flat. Honda achieves such a low loading floor thanks to its torsion beam rear suspension and innovative center tank layout, which repositions the fuel tank from under the rear seat, the norm, to below the front seat. Theres also a lounge mode, ideal for kicking back during lunch hour after hitting the drive-through.

Odometer: 2,445 miles

Trevor: After starting out this morning with only light cloud cover and then enjoying a day in the sunshine in Toronto, I didnt expect the thunderstorms and torrential rain that came as I left the city and made my way out of town and then finally, to the airport. Im happy to report that besides sounding like the inside of a bass drum as it got pelted with mallet-sized raindrops and, hard to believe in May, hail, the Fit tracked through small lakes of standing water and crisscrossing rivulets of the wet stuff extremely well.

Odometer: 2,468 miles

Trevor: Finally at the airport and having made my flight on time (miracles never cease) I find myself waiting for the airline to fix the plane… 6PM leads to an announcement at 6:30 that the aircraft would be ready by 7, which was followed by another announcement at 7:15 that it would be boarding at 7:45PM - not enough time to go back to the lounge and wait in comfort. I fell asleep a short while after that and woke up sometime after 8PM before boarding the plane. It finally left at 8:30 (3 and a half hours late) and, now well rested, Im able to organize my log entries from the days drive. Funny thing though, these business class seats are hardly as comfortable as the Fits. The audio system isnt anywhere near as good either. All the seat buttons are wiggly while the Fits are near perfect. How much did this flight cost? Economy plus an upgrade ticket… oh well, cant be too fussy then, can I? Still, when an economy car offers a better travel experience than going first class on a premiere airline, somethings wrong. Fortunately for Honda, theyve got nothing to be worried about. The airline? Its long-term prospects are less certain.

Odometer: 2,502 miles

Justin: Isnt it nice when things just fall into place? After landing and getting off my flight, the Fit is ready for pickup, right away. Of course, such precision and timeliness required a bit of work on my part - calling up park and fly airport parking service after landing, and walking to the shuttle, but other than that it was a breeze. Such things dont come cheap though - the Valet service which Trevor left the car at charged an astronomical sum for a day and a half worth of parking.

Nevertheless, its great to be back in the Fit. I love the fact that its interior is one-hundred percent versatile; instead of opening the trunk to drop in my carry-on luggage (Im a light traveler) I just put the rear seat into Tall Mode, and dropped it into the Fits rear passenger well. Its not laziness, its thinking. Although Id been driving about in Audis new Q7 for the past couple of days, which in itself is a very nimble-feeling automobile, its got nothing on the physical nimbleness of truly compact dimensions. Like I said, its great to be back in the Fit.