New Honda Fit Scheduled to Unveil In New York

Although Honda’s Fit has only been on sale in North America for two years now, it’s slated to be replaced shortly. You see, while the Fit is new to our markets, this design has been in production for global markets since 2001, and hasn’t received any major updates. In fact, Honda has already released a new generation of the popular hatchback, which was introduced last year, and is currently on sale in Japan and other Asian markets. However, it won’t be much longer before we here in North America get to see the new Fit.

Honda will be introducing the new Fit at April’s New York auto show alongside the Acura TSX. As of right now, no specifications for the North American cars have been announced, but if the Japanese-specification cars are anything to go by, the new Fit should be more powerful yet still provide good fuel economy and a spacious, roomy and versatile cabin. In Japan, the Fit is offered with a 1.5-liter engine that features the i-VTEC valve timing system, a step forward from the current car which features standard VTEC, which certainly accounts for the extra 9 horsepower the engine produces.

Honda’s approach to the new Fit is to make a good vehicle better. The general shape is the same, but it’s slightly bigger. Honda’s masterful engineers have stretched the car by 2.2 inches, 2.0 inches of which have been used to lengthen the wheelbase, extending rear legroom for back seat passengers.

Additionally, Honda may have a couple of surprises in store for the North American Fit. For example, the five-speed automatic, an option on all models, is a North American specific transmission. We’ll have to wait and see.