You’d be Amazed at What You Can Fit in There…

The Honda Fit

Have you ever been to the circus and seen the bit where 50 or so clowns pile out of a tiny car? That’s the Honda Fit (minus the ubiquitous banana cream pies and balloon animals).

The Fit was first introduced in Japan in 2001 and has been slowly introduced in every market since. It finally became available in the US in April 2006, being introduced as a 2007 model.

The Fit is Honda’s lowest-priced car, supplanting the ever-popular Civic for that distinction. In fact, if you’re thinking about a Civic, you may want to look at the Fit.

Thanks to a taller profile than the Civic, the Fit's passenger room - a total of 90.1 cubic feet - is surprisingly close to the 90.9 cubic feet in a Honda Civic sedan.

Passengers in the Fit's front and back seats sit more upright than expected, which aids legroom. Legroom in the back seat measures 33.7 inches, which is just an inch shy of the back of a Civic sedan.

Headroom is greater than that in the Civic, and cargo room in the Fit behind the rear seats is a surprising 21.3 cubic feet. This is way more than the 12 cubic feet in a Civic sedan trunk.

In brief, the Fit is an inexpensive car that gets great mileage, is small and easy to park, but you can still fit all your homeys in it.

Things People Like About The Fit (May not apply to all model years):

- Little to no blind spots

- Small on the outside, big on the inside

- Great mileage

- Good acceleration

Things People Don't Like About The Fit (May not apply to all model years):

- Lacks readouts like thermometer and MPG reading

- No central armrest in front or back seat

- Some of the interior materials are a bit on the cheap side

- No mirror on passenger side visor (this is pretty minimal, we know, but we’ve had a hard time finding many things people don’t like about this car)

MSRP:

$13,950 - $16,070

Fuel Economy Stats:

Estimated New EPA MPG: 28 (City), 34 (Hwy), 31 (Combined)

Cost to Drive 25 Miles: $2.50

Fuel to Drive 25 Miles: 0.81 gal

Annual Fuel Cost*: $1502

Annual Petroleum Consumption (1 barrel=42 gallons): 11 barrels per year

[*Based on 45% highway, 55% city driving, 15000 annual miles and a fuel price of $3.10 per gallon]

Technical Specs:

Standard Engine: 1.5L I4

Standard Transmission: Manual 5 Speed

Cylinders: 4

Horsepower @ RPM: 109@5800

Fuel Economy Cty/Hwy: 28 / 34

Combined Fuel Economy: 31

EPA Class: Sub-Compact

Number of Valves: 16

Fuel Type: Gas Engine

Overdrive Transmission: Yes

Cruising Range: 334.8

Cargo Volume: 21

Fuel Capacity: 10.8

Brakes (Front): Disc

Brakes (Rear): Drum

Driveline: Front Wheel Drive

Steering: Rack & Pinion

Suspension (Front): Independent

Suspension (Rear): Semi-Independent

Tire Wheel Diameter: 14

Seating: 5

Headroom (Front): 40.6

Headroom (Back): 38.6

Curb Weight: 2432

Height: 60.0

Length: 157.4

Wheelbase: 96.5

Width: 66.2

Doors: 4

Warranty Info:

The Basic warranty covers defects in material and workmanship under normal use.

Basic Miles: 36,000

Basic Months: 36

Adjustments: Does not cover such items as wheel balancing/alignment or air conditioning refrigerant after one year unless required by a warranty repair.

Rust Perforation Limited Warranty: Covers repair/replacement of any body panel that rusts from inside out. Rust that does not perforate, but is caused by defect in material or workmanship is covered under Basic Warranty.

Rust Miles: Unlimited

Rust Months: 60

Replacement Battery Limited Warranty: 100% coverage for the first 12 months, prorated thereafter for the remaining two years. Credit is given towards purchase of new battery.

Original Battery Miles: Unlimited

Original Battery Months: 36

Replacement Parts Limited Warranty: Covers defects in materials and workmanship. Parts purchased from but not installed by Honda dealer are covered for 12 months. Parts purchased from and installed by Honda dealer are covered for 12 months or 12,000 miles, which ever comes first.

Replacement Parts Miles: 12,000

Replacement Parts Months: 12

The powertrain warranty extends beyond the basic warranty and covers the engine, transmission, and drive axles against defect in material or workmanship.

Powertrain Miles: 60,000

Powertrain Months: 60

Tires: Covered by tire manufacturer.

Safety Restraint: Will repair or replace seatbelt component during useful life of the vehicle. Includes parts and labor charges.

Safety Restraint Miles: Limited

Safety Restraint Months: Lifetime

Transferability: Vehicle must be sold by a Honda dealer.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Frontal Crash, Side Crash, And Rollover Tests:

NHTSA rates crash-tested vehicles by assigning them one to five stars. A five-star rating indicates the most injury protection, while one star indicates the least protection.

Driver Front: 5 Stars

Passenger Front: 5 Stars

Front Side: 5 Stars

Rear Side: 3 Stars

Rollover: 4 Stars

Recalls:

The Fit has only been available in the US for two model years, so it’s not surprising that there is only one recall for this model so far. What’s interesting is that the recall is for a misprint in the owner’s manual, not for a component of the car itself. This bodes well for the quality of the car’s engineering.

Make / Model /Build Year:

Honda / Fit / 2007

Recall Date: JUL 25, 2006

Component: Owner’s Manual

Consequence: THE LANGUAGE IN THE OWNER'S MANUALS IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CURRENT MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS.

Remedy: HONDA WILL SEND A POSTCARD TO DEALERS AND OWNERS WITH THE CORRECT NHTSA VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE INFORMATION AND WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO INSERT THE CARD INTO THE "REPORTING SAFETY DEFECTS" SECTION OF THE OWNER'S MANUAL. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1009, ACURA AT 1-800-382-2238 OR HONDA MOTORCYCLES AT 1-866-784-1870.