The current Honda Fit has been around the block a few times. The subcompact hatch has soldiered on without significant revision since its first update for US customers in 2009, and while Honda is on the verge of launching a third generation, we thought we’d take the time to see how the runabout stacks up against the new wave of small, efficient and plucky five-doors now on the American market. Those include old standbys like the Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris, as well as relative newcomers like the Chevrolet Sonic and Ford Fiesta.
Those machines may have all covered ground on the Fit, but Honda’s wee machine holds a pleasant surprise for those buyers still willing to give the car the time of day. While the rest of the Japanese automaker’s lineup has succumbed to dreaded model bloat, the Fit has remained true to the spirit of Honda that we remember from our vagabond youths. This may very well still be the closest genetic ancestor to the Civic models of old.
Outside, the Fit Sport continues to wear its “I’m the meanest June Bug” looks with pride. The oversized, wedge-shaped headlamps and aggressive lower fascia help lend the design plenty of attitude up front, and our tester’s 16-inch alloy wheels keep this Honda from looking like it was the cheapest thing on the lot. Still, with a massive windscreen, tall greenhouse and short wheelbase, the Fit Sport can’t help but look over-inflated, but that’s a criticism we could levy at nearly every other product in this segment as well.
The Sport body kit plays nicely with the Fit’s attractive lines, which keep the aesthetics from turning too slab sided. Step around to the rear, and the subcompact serves up a surprising helping of angles, both in its number plate inset and with the hatch lines themselves. Sport guise also contributes a small rear diffuser and spoiler, and while the bits aren’t fooling anyone into believing they actually deliver any major aerodynamic benefit, we appreciate the styling choice all the same.
Once you’re indoors, the bulbous exterior starts to make more sense. The Fit Sport still delivers an impressive amount of headroom for passengers both front and rear. With 40.4 inches up front, the Fit bests the Sonic, Fiesta and Yaris. Only the Versa hatchback offers more space for your cranium, and only a smidge more at that with 40.6 inches (Nissan isn’t offering a 2013 model year Versa hatchback; it’s being replaced later this year by the 2014 Versa Note). Rear passengers, though, will find more headroom in the Honda than any of its competitors.
Some six years later, the plucky little five-door continues to be a packaging wonder. Its flat load floor helps deliver a surprising amount of cargo area with the rear bench folded – up to 57.3 cubic feet. That number is more than twice what the Fiesta delivers, bests the Sonic by 10 cubes and the Versa hatchback by nearly seven. In fact, it’s more space than class-above competitors like the Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra GT and Mazda3 hatchbacks. And it’s not just maximum cargo space where the Fit still wins, but also how those cubes are reconfigurable to accept objects of various shape and size. The trick second-row seat bottoms flip up to provide more vertical cubes of stowage space than a car this size should allow, and the front passenger seat tilts all the way back to help accommodate objects up to seven-foot, nine-inches in length. For people who want maximum utility in the smallest, least expensive package possible, the Fit is king.
The Fit also delivers a refreshingly unfussy dash bereft of the smattering of screens or jigsaw assembly Honda seems enamored with as of late. Instead, the driver gets treated to a logical instrument cluster with simple, easy-to-read gauges. Our Sport tester came with an attractive steering wheel with a stitched and perforated cover. Redundant controls and paddle shifters are part of the package as well, but don’t expect those paddles to do anything beyond look good. Click the hardware and the delay between shifts is long enough to write, publish and distribute your own novella.
