I’ve long since lost count of all the people I’ve recommended the Honda Fit too. From when I first laid eyes on it, poked and prodded
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
it inside and played around with its innovative rear seating system at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, to when I first experienced that new 2007 version in the metal, and then tested much-improved updated versions in 2010 and 2011, to just last month when I got behind the wheel of the all-new 2015 model, the Honda Fit has always impressed me with class-leading functionality, good road manners and great fuel economy.
For 2015, Honda has remedied the only problem I’ve ever had with the Fit, styling. It’s not that I found the old car offensive, but more so that its design never really did much to excite the eyes. Fortunately Honda added many more interesting shapes, curves, angles, and details to the new 2015 Fit, so that it’s now
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
a much more dramatic statement, especially in its retina-searing Mystic Yellow Pearl launch colour.
The new Fit is not only a more intriguing design, but it’s also a more proportionally acceptable shape overall. Sure its bolder grille, more complex brightwork-infused headlamps, more aggressive F1 wing-inspired lower front fascia, tall and shapely rear taillight design, wind-cheating roof top spoiler, chrome swathed hatch and black mesh vent-enhanced rear bumper give the car loads of sporty appeal, but even without these extras its 40-mm (1.6-inch) shorter length, 8-mm (0.3-inch) added width, 30-mm (1.2-inch) longer wheelbase and larger five-spoke 16-inch wheels on 185/55R16 Bridgestone
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Turan tires combine with nicely sculpted sheet metal for a car that’s lost all of its early awkwardness.
Its dimensional changes have helped to add 139 litres (4.9 cubic feet) of additional interior volume including 122 mm (4.8 inches) more rear legroom, all the better to appreciate the Fit’s best feature, the innovative multi-configurable “Magic Seat” system I mentioned at the start of this review. Flip the bottom cushion upwards and the Fit’s rear seating area converts into a cavernous cargo hold, while folding the 60/40-split seatbacks flat increases rear trunk room from 470 litres (16.6 cubic feet) to a sizable 1,492 litres (52.7 cubic feet), while floor to ceiling height is by far the most accommodating in its class. None of the Fit’s subcompact
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
competitors are anywhere near as capable of hauling gear, so if you happen to be one of those “active lifestyle” consumers automakers are always targeting with their marketing material, you can’t be better served by any rival small car.
Of course, there’s more to a car than just functional livability, it has to perform well too. In the subcompact segment performance is measured differently than with large vehicles, however, fuel economy normally of topmost priority with straight-line acceleration and handling secondary. Therefore, while the newly developed Earth Dreams 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine’s performance is up significantly with 130 horsepower and 114 lb-ft of torque now on tap compared to 117 horsepower and 106 lb-ft of torque in the outgoing model, for more than ample
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
get-up-and-go, the new Fit has made big gains over its predecessor in fuel economy with a claimed rating of 8.1 L/100km in the city, 6.4 on the highway and 7.3 combined when mated up to the car’s standard six-speed manual gearbox, or an even more impressive 7.0 city, 5.7 highway and 6.4 combined with fitted with the all-new continuously variable transmission (CVT).
The infinitely geared CVT, which replaces a five-speed automatic that was the most advanced in the subcompact segment when it was introduced, felt so much like a regular automatic that I had to check the specifications to make sure that it was really continuously variable. On top of its smooth linear operation, Honda supplied an engaging set of paddle-shifters to CVT-endowed
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
EX models and above, allowing a little more hands-on fun while slinking the Fit through the curves.
Helping handling as much as fuel-efficiency, Honda’s engineers managed to chop 26 kilos (57 lbs) of excess fat from the previous model that was arguably already pretty skinny, while simultaneously improving structural rigidity by using more high-strength steel. The little Fit’s revised suspension geometry still uses MacPherson struts and a torsion beam setup in back, the latter to maximize interior space while minimizing cost, yet feels more agile when pushed hard through corners, yet its ride remains comfortable over most surfaces.
Comfort in mind, Honda has improved almost every
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
aspect of the new Fit’s interior. It remains one of the best in its class, devoid of soft-touch surfaces except for a nice padded plastic inset with faux stitching ahead of the front passenger, but nevertheless attractive satin silver trim abounds, edging the primary gauges, accenting the steering wheel and paddle shifters, brightening the dash trim and air vents, highlighting the HVAC controls and panel, surrounding the shifter faceplate, enhancing the door panel trim and sprucing up the door handles. It all looks great and gives the tiny car an upscale high-tech look.
The black and blue faced, white numbered primary gauge package offers three round dials forming a motorcycle-style cluster for a sporty appearance, the centre speedometer
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
the largest, flanked by a tachometer on the left and a multi-information display on the right, the latter accessible via the steering wheel controls. Additional controls are for audio functions, cruise, and the wireless phone.
The Fit’s pièce de résistance is its large infotainment interface, an attractive design almost entirely devoid of buttons except for a small power button at top left plus CD eject and screen brightening/dimming switch at the top right. Instead, the touchscreen features a vertical row of touch-sensitive “buttons” on its left side, including a large home button at top, a slightly fidgety touch-sensitive “sliding” volume control just below, a menu button below that, and a back (return)
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
button at the very bottom. Each one opens up a secondary panel of bright and clear functions, the home button allowing access to phone, settings, info, audio and link connect, which take you through to additional panels of features such as fuel efficiency data within the info tab, the usual AM/FM/CD and USB functions under the audio tab, although iPod, Aha, and Bluetooth streaming audio capability can also be found, not to mention HDMI connectivity. It’s a cool system that’s fairly easy to get used to, and most importantly is an entire level above most anything else offered in the subcompact category.
The HVAC interface is not automatic like some in this class, but the dials are good and
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
large, ideal for using with gloves during winter, and there’s a nice quality feel to them. At first glance they look as if they’re encircled in a rubberized material yet that’s not the case. Still the plastic is grippy, attractive and seems well made, plus everything works as advertised.
My Fit’s seats were extremely comfortable and the upholstery was a nice woven material with a unique geometric pattern sewn in, adding a little style to a segment that can often-times seem too basic. Nothing about the new Fit fits the basic description, mind you, but as you can likely tell by
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
my description thus far, it’s a cut above average.
Even the base Fit DX, which starts at $14,575 plus $1,495 for freight and pre-delivery prep, features a five-inch colour LCD infotainment screen with an integrated multi-angle rearview camera, 160-watt AM/FM/CD/MP3/WMA display audio system with four speakers, Bluetooth and more, plus heated and powered side mirrors with an expanded-view driver’s mirror, remote entry with powered locks, powered windows, tilt and telescopic steering, a security system, LED brake lights, hill start assist, four-wheel ABS with electronic brake-force distribution and emergency brake assist, vehicle stability assist with traction control, Honda’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) II body structure and the usual assortment of airbags.
The
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
$17,375 LX makes the CVT available for a $1,300 charge yet comes standard with an upgraded display audio system featuring HondaLink Next Generation capability and two USB device connectors, an auto-up/down driver’s window, steering wheel-mounted cruise controls, air conditioning with air-filtration, heated front seats, a centre console with an armrest and an integrated storage compartment, body-coloured mirror caps, door handles and rear spoiler, plus the HondaLink Assist automatic emergency response system.
Upgrade to the $19,275 EX and added features include a leather-wrapped steering wheel, auto on/off headlights, a more powerful 180-watt, six-speaker audio system, the fabulous Honda LaneWatch blind spot display system I described earlier, a one-touch powered tilt and slide moonroof, a cargo cover, fog lights, more chrome detailing, and those sporty 16-inch alloys I mentioned earlier.
Lastly,
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
$21,375 EX-L Navi trim upgrade the Fit to include satellite-linked navigation with bilingual voice recognition, proximity-sensing remote entry with pushbutton ignition, automatic climate control, leather upholstery, satellite radio, and turn signals integrated into the side mirror caps.
As you can probably imagine I will continue recommending the Honda Fit to anybody looking for a small car, as I believe it’s the best in the subcompact class. It drives well, gets great fuel economy, delivers excellent interior quality and top-tier standard and available features, and accommodates everything you might want to put in it better than any of its competitors. On top of all this it’s the best-looking Fit yet.
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