All the Fit That News

Richard Chen
by Richard Chen

Now that the 2008 Honda Fit's scooped fourth place on TTAC's Ten Best list, it's time for the winner to get evicted. Buh-bye! The 2009 Honda Fit goes on sale in the U.S. next week; Honda's already introduced the model in other markets. The next gen is slightly larger and better packaged than its predecessor, with the Magic Seat able to drop into the floor without having to slide the front seats out of the headrests' way. Honda's boffins have bumped the 1.5-liter powertrain to 117bhp. The five-speed auto gets slightly better fuel economy (28/35), while the stick-shift Fit and Sport– with wider tires and spoiler– suffer a one mpg drop on the highway cycle (27/33.) The Sport gets a nifty USB audio interface for direct control of iPods. The Sport is also available with a touchscreen navigation system plus ESC, for an MSRP over $18,500. The Fit's rear torsion bar suspension and drum brakes remain, but the whimsical blue dot in "Fit" is gone. But not forgotten.

Richard Chen
Richard Chen

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  • Nemphre Nemphre on Aug 20, 2008

    I'm very angry that it dropped fuel economy on the manual. These jackoffs need to realize that people buying manual don't necessarily want all out performance. The gearing is godamn ridiculous. You want to use crazy low gearing? Fine. Put it on the sport version. Give me fuel economy on the base model. I was almost set on getting one of these but I don't know anymore. To drop fuel economy in the face of rising costs is pathetic. If you hadn't noticed, Hyundai is raising the fuel economy on a bunch of their 09s, and they aren't even redesigned models! "Can somebody Please explain to this dimwitted kid why you would buy the Fit over the Civic?" Base Fit - $14620 (looks like 15,100 for the new one). Analog speedo, better shifter placement, hatchback with tons of cargo room. 09 Civic Sedan has a DX Value package which would be closer in price, and is what I would be interested in (finally some AC on the DX), but for 09 they put a bunch of nasty chrome on the rear end. It looks terrible.

  • Hughie522 Hughie522 on Aug 20, 2008

    By 'ESC' do you mean 'Electronic Stability Control'? I was car shopping a couple of months ago, and I test drove the old model Honda Jazz (which, in Australia, is imported from Thailand). It didn't have ESC so I bought a Mazda2 instead. Now, twelve months after my current car was released to the Australian market, the new Honda Jazz has appeared. And guess what? No ESC for the Australian or Japanese markets. Not even as an option. Isn't that crazy?!

  • Steven Lang Steven Lang on Aug 20, 2008

    It's funny that everyone's dissing Honda for the short fifth gear. I remember driving around in a VX about a year ago that just seemed to have the best all around 'cruising' related gearing out of any Honda I've ever driven. Then again, the thing was lighter than angel food cake and had a front end that was designed with fuel economy in mind. The Fit is really a town vehicle for the wife, the bicyclist who wants something cool and sleek, and the young (or young at heart) who seek something that has 1 scoop of fun and 3 scoops of utility while getting 30+ mpg. I think the Fit is fine but yes, that 6th gear would make it the gold standard.

  • Richard Chen Richard Chen on Aug 21, 2008

    @hughie522: yes, that's electronic stability control. Same problem here - very few small & affordable cars Stateside offer ESC - the Scion xD (uglified Yaris) and xB, Mazda3 in higher trim levels come to mind.

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