15th Apr 2007, 06:57
Pros: Price, features, comfort, magic seats, paddle shifters, gas mileage, fog lights, huge space (folding the seats), enough power to run smooth, steering control, six airbags, ABS on four wheels.
Cons: Absence of armrest, gas-tank lock. Eats torque when you speed up (initially).
I had a '99 Ford Escort running on 96K miles and wanted to go for a new/used car. My first choice was Honda Civic. Suddenly, my eyes fell upon the Fit and the price at which I would get the Sport version, is almost similar or less than an used '05/'06 Civic EX!
The orange metallic Fit (Sport) immediately drew my attention, and in no time I was test driving it. To my utter disbelief this car performed so well in the city as well as freeway. Accepted the torque goes high if you want to speed up (initially from stop), but that can be solved by using the 'manual' mode and paddle shifters.
How many cars have this feature in sub-compact economy class? Forget economy, even Camrys and Accords don't have it.
In features they have provided MP3 player with 200W system + iPod connector (plug and play). Also, I very much love the automatic volume feature, the speedier you drive, the volume increases accordingly.
Inside it's awesome, with huge space (magic seats are awesome), nice dash board, easy maneuvering.
I dunno why people say it looks ugly, it looks quite nice and Honda has put every thing it can in such a small space. Six airbags, ABS on all four wheels, fog lights, halogen head lights, back wipers and the design (hatch back style) is worth the penny.
I drove 900 miles in 4 days on different terrains, in storm, you can't beat this FIT! I drove it in lanes between two huge semis, not a drag or jolt, quite surprising from a light weight vehicle. Even at higher speeds (80mph), the FIT runs smooth.
I would suggest people to drive it using peddle-shifters initially so that you can run it on low torques, especially when you're trying to speed up (entering freeways or start driving from stop).
0-30mph (Auto): 3200 revs
0-30mph (Auto-Paddle shifters: 3rd gear): 1900
At 70mph (Auto): 2800
At 70mph (Auto-Paddle shifters: 5th gear): 2600
At 80mph (Auto): 3100
At 80mph (Auto-Paddle shifters: 5th gear): 2900.
How much do you expect from a small sub-compact economy car? I am right now getting a gas mileage of 36.6 mpg, hope to get it better after 4K miles.
All in all, I am a proud owner of this vehicle and extremely happy about my decision.
I would highly rate it to anyone who's planning to buy a new car. To be honest, you don't drive a FIT, the FIT drives you, listens to your commands and makes you sit there and enjoy.
You might also be interested in this review (compares 7 different cars in the same segment):
My only complain though is, my vehicle is drawing unwarranted attention from strangers who are befriending me for free rides. LOL..
15th Apr 2007, 09:18
Yeah I have read a lot of issues of car and driver. That's how I've come to the conclusion that they're full of hot garbage. They contradict themselves every other issue. And no Chevy Cobalts or Dodge Calibers ever did beat a Ferrari at anything, but neither did any Honda or Toyota of similar vintage.
17th Apr 2007, 21:38
Actually the Cobalt SS and Calibre turbo will eat any Japanese import alive and do it while saving you money on the purchase.
Motor Trend referred to the Cobalt SS as "the fastest front-drive car we ever tested" and in a comparison of several economy pocket rockets, the lowly Neon turbo blew away all the competition with seconds to spare.
When Japan offers a small economy car that does 0-60 in under 5 seconds I might be impressed.
18th Apr 2007, 09:22
You domestic people just set yourself up for failure, don't you?
The Mazdaspeed 3 beats the Cobalt SS hands down, and it also offers a 155 mph top speed and QUALITY; something the Cobalt will never attain.
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=cobalt+SS+0+-+60&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=mazdaspeed+3+0+-+60&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
18th Apr 2007, 17:55
21:38 The difference is that you can rev the hell out of the Honda and race it like that for probably 200-400,000 miles before anything major breaks. Keep running your Chevy Cobalt like that and see how long it lasts. You'll be looking for a new engine and transmission by 50,000. The Cobalt might be fast, but it'll most definitely fall apart under abuse like that. Just another eye-candy GM that is mechanically inept.
25th May 2007, 11:50
"How do you have fun in a front drive econo box."
Well you can always take it off roading and destroy it. Or use it as a snowmobile which will once again destroy it. Or put a snorkel on it and drive it around in the shallow part of bay till it stops moving, shouldn't take long.
25th May 2007, 16:09
Huh? Easy to kill? Well look at youtube and you can see it is hard to kill a 20 year old Honda running with water instead of oil.
Fun to drive? Yes actually. When you have such as small car, plus! A Honda does not wallow on its chassis like most cars do, you have a formula that wins.
I think I know what I am talking about since I have followed many cars in development, and know how they're designed. Sorry that is just the way it is with Japanese cars... they are not over fed gas guzzling things like your Chevrolet Colbalt or Cavalier are.
28th May 2007, 21:40
In what way are Cavaliers or Cobalts gas guzzling??? You obviously don't know too much to make a statement like that.
29th May 2007, 11:48
They are gas guzzlers because they cannot match the Japanese cars or German cars in gas mileage. 35 miles per gallon is the bare minimum. Now get over 40 miles per gallon and you'll look back at everything else as a gas guzzler.
29th May 2007, 21:45
Most Civics and Corollas are equipped with a 1.8L engine, while a Cobalt is equipped with a 2.2l/2.4l, so of course they're going get better gas mileage, but the trade off is that the Cobalt is a bit more powerful, it all comes down to preference, and of course a Volkswagen diesel will beat even a Fit as far as mileage is concerned.
30th May 2007, 13:06
But the ecotec engine runs like crap and sounds harsh once you push it... that is like wanting to have a Chevrolet Malibu with the 3.1 over having a Honda with a 3.0. The 3.1 sounds like it is going to blow up and the 3.0 Honda will purr.
8th Feb 2008, 17:20
Are people really paying up to $3,000 over MSRP for this car?. I should have bought a Honda dealership if I had known there were this many people out there with money to throw away. No car is worth paying 25% over retail. You can get a 4cyl Accord or Camry for about the same and still get over 30mpg on the highway. Is the Fit a decent car?..most likely the majority will be better than average. Is it worth getting gouged at Honda for it.. absolutely not.
14th Apr 2007, 09:37
Wow, for a poster who claims Car and Driver is a horrible source of automotive information you sure read a lot of issues.
Please tell us all how many Chevy Cobalts or Dodge Calibers beat Ferraris at anything.