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Comments
I've read some comments about the need to remove the side skirts from the sport model in a snowy environment so they don't drag in the snow. From the pictures I've seen, it looks like parts of the car (muffler, etc.) are actually lower than the skirts.
As for Fit's arrival date: salesman here in Florida told me they'll arrive by boat in Jacksonville and be delivered by truck from there. He was given a delivery date of April 20, maybe April 19. If it is possible that my car will be here any sooner, he probably won't tell me so I don't drive him nuts. I've already warned my car pool buddy to be prepared to leave work early!
http://www.collegehillshonda.com/honda_fit_accessories/index.htm
Interesting to note that it looks like the Fit Sport 15" alloy wheels will be available as an accessory purchase for the base model.
Also, there is a locking fuel cap available. I'm glad to see that since the fuel filler door is opened from the outside.
Well this sure looks like alott of work - hope I don't have the first one the newbie guy installs at the dealer.... :confuse:
This is my fit here
I unfortunately had to cur her loose last year after loosing my job. So I am obviously in dream car territory now, but I have it narrowed to the Scion Xb which just keeps growing on me every time i see it. though it needs a cruise, and an arm rest. the fit ,which is pretty good in pics, i am hoping it will compare well to xb in usable floor space, as i feel the xb has a bit of wasted volume, though not nearly as bad as the poorly thought out excrement. as well as what is looking to possibly be the most promising the nissan cube. it has dual bench seats (at least overseas, and the extremely desirable steering column shifter. My personal dream car is an automatic hatch 5 door, cruise bench seats ,with hand crank windows, I have experienced, and heard about too many accidents with power windows, besides, how often do you crank if you have ac?
the xb's drawbacks are the rear cargo room ,and no cruise.
I have owned 5 honda's, and really am sold on their ergonomic designs, but i seriously got fed up with their total complacency now that their sales are good, they had the worlds best hatches, but had to wait on everyone else to test the waters before being "daring" again. I To am a bit concerned with the full model change outside of the us this year, though if it does happen it will probably be to my advantage as the upgraded model should degrade the price on the "current" one to a level I will be able to afford, sooner, unless i luck into a really good job, or start playing the lotto. I like the edix, (with a redesigned exterior)
and as for fit pricing It is ok I wish honda offered cruise and ac on all models , as i feel being forced to buy the sport(ex) is annoying. 15 inch tires may look "cooler" but your wallet will like 14 inch much better (13's were great for me)
Thanks for the picture. That looks like a light silver. Is it Alabaster Silver?
I agree about the 14" alloys and I wish Honda would offer some 14" alloys as options in the US. I don't really want 15" and I am not going to pay $1200+ just for the Sport wheels.
Here are some of the alloy wheel accessories for the JDM Fit.
http://www.honda.co.jp/ACCESS/automobiles/fit/exterior01.html#alumi
I have to say I'm a little curious why the Fit does not have a locking fuel cap. Buying the accessory is a must but a pain since you have to have separate keys you need to hand to the gas attendant to fill up your tank. Did Honda miss this one?
and you thought the NA campaign was "duh"... :P
I understand other Asian models have the flip lever by the driver's seat, but I don't understand why the Fit would get so much attention compared to all the American models that don't have one.
Growing up in my old neighborhood in NY, you drive a Cavalier or a Malibu and no one will touch it. Drive an Integra, Maxima and even an old Toyota van, someone will pick on it by scratching it, stealing the headlights, side mirrors, wheels or just simply towing it away. I think a simple contraption like a locked gas tank gives the owner some sense of security and protects the car from vandalism. Does sugar in your gas tank really ruin an engine?
The Fit is an Asian car, no?
I think every Honda or Toyota I have ever driven has a fuel filler door release on the inside of the car. I may be obsessed about it, but I would prefer to be obsessed and have nothing happen to my car, rather than have something happen that could be prevented with a simple locking cap.
The chances are extremely slim, that anything would ever happen, but having gasoline siphoned out isn't my biggest fear. It would be some sort of vandalism.
Yes, that is why I said it is on OTHER Asian cars.
I have never heard of any vandalism against even Navigators' and Escalades' fuel tanks before in my area. Guess it never crossed my mind that anyone would target an economy car first.
What's with this new trend to not have temp gauges in the smallest cars? I thought it was just Toyota and Chevy, but I see I was mistaken. I don't like it. You just KNOW that by the time the idiot light comes on, your engine has had it.
It seems a little incongruous to have a top of the line Sport with "luxury stuff" like cruise control, and yet no temp gauge (or remote fuel filler door release!).
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
http://macleans.auto123.com/en/info/news/roadtest,view,Honda.spy?artid=58280&pg=- 1
Good picture of the Sport going through it's paces.
There is a little blue LED that comes on when the engine is cold and goes off when it has reached proper operating temperature.
Supposedly (I have never seen it in action), there is a red LED that starts flashing when the engine starts to run hot, but is still within an acceptable level. At the point it reaches what would be the "H" on the temperature gauge, it stops flashing and stays on.
It should give some warning for you to pull over, but I agree with you and I also kind of wish they had a proper gauge on the instrument panel.
Maybe this is the new trend - one more thing that a computer-run car doesn't really need.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Need to lobby for 14" alloy. The tire budget will be much more bearable in the long term.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/ly/07fit.htm
Mentions a little bit of background to the fit coming to N/A
Interesting insight with other subcompact cars
I discovered I got only one when taking delivery of my car and a spare. need to pay 120 USD for making an extra and my dealer won't help me doing this. Hate this penny-pinching policy and hope it is not the same in N/A.
I saw in the Canadian first test that the mudguards are black. Mudguards are pretty useful, but I would suggest to order them painted in the same body color. See my earlier picture, no one notice them.
Check for A/C cooling power. I drove a Toyota Echo recently and noticed that the blown air was much cooler than the one I have with the FIT. US versions may be different, but HK/Shenzhen is not precisely a cold place and there is no reason the A/C would be weaker there
....after all, every one of the competitors is using continuously variable systems now...
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
As for a blinking light taking place of a temp gauge -- that I couldn't care less.
I like it that Honda is taking the same approach Volvo did with its 240 - keeping it simple and reliable as possible. Sure, Volvo made the 850, which was worlds better, but it also cost a lot more to buy and repair. The same could be said about something like an IS250 - better, but not half as frugal as the Fit.
Oh - if you want good power on the highway - just namually keep the automatic in 4th. Bit less MPG, but tons more power around town.
None of those even come close to becoming deal-breakers for me. Although temp gauge would be nice, the three functions of the LED lights are in reality what you need. I can live with that. Locking gas cap can be purchased as an aftermarket item if Honda didn't offer it. VTEC is a bit older, but like the Fit itself, the great majority of the kinks have been worked out.
While the Golf does offer some nice things, it can not match the reliability of the Fit in any way. After 5 years of production, improvements, and MMCs, this car is very solid.
It has also been proven that Honda has not messed too much with the well-known handling of the car for the US market.
If you consider the standard safety features, great handling, excellent reliability, smooth transmissions, and interior versatility, I would take the Fit over the Golf any day. Hey, I haven't waited for all these years for nothing!
Oh - also - the base Golf has a 115HP engine. The 150HP model is a LOT more expensive. I priced a base Golf with side airbags and A/C and it came out to $20,680(Can). The Fit? About $1500 less. The 150HP Golf? About $23K(Can) out the door.
This sounds so cheap.
Does Honda really do this, or was this a mistake??
Thanx
I don't think that would fly in the US...two keys with a new car is long-standing tradition.
Todd in Beerbratistan
The article does have false information like something about a 1.0-liter engine, which has never existed on a Fit/Jazz, so I'd take it with a pinch of salt.
The article also makes it sound like the 1.5 was designed not that long ago with the US market mainly in mind, when in fact it was introduced to Japan in 2002, many years before US arrival.
I'm sure you will get at least two keys with your Fit.
Eh? The RSX (Integra in other markets) has had i-VTEC for YEARS AND YEARS, as have other Acuras, other Hondas too, including the current Accord that has been around for three years.
There are absolutely no reports of "poor reliability" of the i-VTEC system, and I had an RSX for a couple of years without a single problem.
i-VTEC is where it's at, it is what creates the wide torque plateau in the current generation of Hondas, and if the Fit is still using the last-generation valve management system, that is a significant strike against it, I would say.
It will not stop me from test-driving it, but consider: (1) the Fit is the heaviest car in this class, (2) it has the same engine output as all its competitors, and (3) they will all have good low-rev torque due to the presence under their hoods of continuously variable valve timing.
I am all for handling over raw power, but I am not into buying a DOG either - clearly the Fit will be the handler of the bunch. But it appears that a Fit owner may have to choose between keeping the revs lower for better fuel economy, thereby becoming the slowest car on the road, or revving it to the stratosphere in the fun tradition of mid-90s VTECs, and pulling mpg numbers below 30. :-/
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2. While i-VTEC is excellent, it is also a quite complicated technology to implement. Note that the only engine that has truly taken advantage of i-VTEC until recently was the K-series engine block, with the new R-series engine block on the 2006 Civic becoming the second engine to implement i-VTEC. Because the R-series engine block is quite a bit smaller than the K-series, I expect a lower-displacement version of the R-series engine to be the main engine on the next-generation Fit, especially for the critical North American market.
Thanks
Take a look at Car & Driver's most recent test.
The Honda Fit Sport, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio5, Nissan Versa, Suzuki Reno, Toyota Yaris, and Dodge Caliber.
The Fit was tied with the Suzuki Reno for the best 0-30 and 0-60 acceleration times. The Dodge Caliber had the best power-to-weight ratio in the test (20.3 lbs/hp) compared to the 22.8 for the Fit Sport, but the Caliber took an entire second longer to get to 60?
The Fit also got better than average 0-100 mph, and it had the best quarter mile time at 16.7@81.
Despite all of the great performance (not just great handling) the Fit displayed the second best average fuel economy at 35 mpg.
So, the Fit has the best overall performance and second best fuel economy even though it has the second lowest horsepower and torque ratings in the test. All this from a "primitive" VTEC engine. Come on! Either the L15A was way ahead of its time back in 2002 or the competition still sucks. Maybe both (?).
http://img114.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cd29ce.gif
You priced out an '07 Golf with side airbags and A/C for $23K out the door? Auto or manual? You mean in USD? If that's $23K in Canadian dollars, I'm signing up for one!
At worse, I can buy a used Fit in a couple of years (if I don’t like the redesign).
I am all for handling over raw power, but I am not into buying a DOG either - clearly the Fit will be the handler of the bunch. But it appears that a Fit owner may have to choose between keeping the revs lower for better fuel economy, thereby becoming the slowest car on the road, or revving it to the stratosphere in the fun tradition of mid-90s VTECs, and pulling mpg numbers below 30. :-/
***
Sheesh. VTec - um - this is exactly like GM. Yes, their 3800 isn't variable-valve and all the goodies, and doesn't put out quite as much power, but it's reliable and cheap to fix. Honda has been making decisions with the N. American Fit that make it as cheap to fix and run as possible, since they want to own as much of the small car segment as possible. So they go with an older, simpler engine. They go with a 5 speed automatic, which costs a lot less to fix than a CVT(esp since it's identical to the Civic's unit).
It out-accelerates a base Mini, and out-handles it, too. Get the 5-speed - you'll not be lacking for power, to be sure. Just calculate the power to weight ratio as you hit 4000rpm in 4th getting onto a freeway. It's no slouch. Honda's done everything they can to make it drive as close to a little rocket as possible, from tweaking the gearing, to the engine's output, to the suspension... One article that recently came out had their director of U.S. development/sales going on about how important it was. (Japanese Indirectness Translator reads: We were really really worried to death that American customers would find it to be anemic, so we pulled every arcane trick we know to favor power over economy)
So it gets a few mpg less. It also isn't a flimsy whining like it's going to explode while merging little Echo, either. I can so live with a "Honda Mini" for almost 2/3 of the price. (try to find a base mini for less than $20K out the door, after options and delivery and so on)
NOTE - this car equals or beats a base Mini in every way on the road other than panic stopping(few ft longer stops), and gets much much better mileage while doing it. Comparing the Fit to a Cobalt or Aveo is a joke - comparing it to the base Mini - and it's a whole other story.
Mini:
Automatic 26/34
Manual 28/36
Fit: SEE BELOW
**
Re: the Golf - yes, they are cheap, but you get what you pay for. Either you sufffer with a very heavy car with an underpowered 115HP engine or you suffer with their god-awful turbos. We're talking Chrysler levels of reliability. TMV price for a base Golf in the U.S.(Edmunds) is ~$16,200 plus 3.9% financing.