Not if GM kneecaps it the way they did the Astra.

If you want more cargo capacity than the Fit, you’re looking either at a pickup truck, a small crossover, or an older Saab. The Civic is useless by comparison: a tiny trunk with an even smaller opening and a miniscule pass-through. Even the Accord, with it’s unsplit bench, is a waste.

And then there’s the back seat: it’s Fit’s is raised quite high and offers good thigh support and lots of headroom; the Civic’s stupid sloping roof and angled seat-bottom are awful for long trips. If the Fit came with a sixth gear, I’d be hard pressed to think of a reason why anyone should buy a Civic.

For America, though, a Civic SI wagon with those nifty Fit rear seats would be even better..

That descibes the European Civic: it has the Fit’s under-the-front-seats gas tank and torsion-beam suspension (our Civic has a full IRS), both which allow the use of Fit-like rear seats. The problem with the Euro Civic is it’s actually less commodious for the same reason: the low roof and raked rear window eat space.

My old Saturn (with a 4sp automatic) gets 33-34 mpg every tank. That’s what the Fit is rated at.

And your old Saturn is a deathtrap. A slow deathtrap, at that. And one that spewed more pollutants while sipping gas.

I call this “Geo Metro Syndrome”; people are forever comparing new cars to the Geo Metro and it’s amazing mileage, forgetting that it, and cars like it, were thin on safety and emissions regulations, not to mention features, power and packaging.

I did notice the inaccurate MPG meter — my numbers (37-40ish so far) were from hand calculating the MPG based on gas used and miles driven. I’d love to find the Honda engineer who designed that MPG meter and slap him/her — make it correct or don’t make it!

@sheepsimulator:

The current Mazda3 (2008 model) didn’t really knock my socks off. It was nice, but more cramped inside than I wanted, had lower MPG, and didn’t drive any better than the Fit (in my opinion, others may rightly disagree). A nice car, for sure, but I didn’t think it was worth the extra coin.

The Clubman does seem to show that sporty, practical and efficient can all exist in the same car. A Fit SI could beat the Clubman at its own game, for a lot less money.

Has anybody photochopped this idea yet?

It should be noted that the 2009 Fit’s trip computer inaccurately measures MPG and should not be relied upon when quoting fuel economy figures. I’ve firsthand seen a trip computer exaggeration of +5-8 MPG.

I’m going to second tony-e30’s comment about the Mazda 3, and perhaps even the Astra sport Coupe, and the Rabbit too. I imagine those hatches are far more exciting than the Fit to drive, but they were out of my price range at the time I looked, so I resisted the test drive. Of course, now that auto sales are down, you can probably get into a Mazda 3 or Astra for less than the MSRP that Honda will probably demand for the new Fits.

Just as an FYI the 2009 Fit (Auto) runs about 2500RPM’s at 65mph on the highway.

Myself I’ve got 45mpg on a trip where I was going 70mph on average. Around town i’ve been hitting about 37mpg. now that the temp is dropping in MN it’s dropped a couple of degrees.

I picked the Fit because of it’s awesome interior packaging. It’s frugal, fun to drive and nicely practical.

I plan on getting a new car in 2010 and I will go with the new Mazda3 wagon before the fit. Or perhaps a Diesel Golf if it is here. The fit probably won’t be high enough on my list to warrant a test drive.

I really hate the current fetish with high revving top gear, just because some people are too lazy to downshift.

I do long road trips. 10 hours at 4000rpms is enough to hate any car.

You can tell its on, but eh. But then I drive with the stereo on 30, so what do I know.

The Fit is a great utility vehicle; I have shipped lawnmowers and dishwashers in the back with room to spare; very fuel efficient. .

I needed a 4-door hatchback as I’m a bassist and it’s hard to fit an upright bass and a bunch of gear into a sedan, so that ruled out numerous things right off the bat. For my needs, the Fit was a clear winner. The interior packaging is very clever and useful, and I’m getting between 37-40 MPG on every tank (not much city, but plenty of mountain driving — I live in the Wasatch Mountains).

I’ve had it on some windy roads too, and it was fun. Couldn’t care less if other cars would be faster, but it was entertaining in the twisties, while still being good for the daily thrash to work.

Everything I drove wound up being compared back to the Fit. I went into the process with an open mind, just needing adequate space for my needs and good value. A little fun-to-drive was a nice plus. The Fit did what I asked at a fair price, so I bought one.

On another level, it was the only one of the cars I tested that I really *wanted*, not just that would work. The last 5 years my daily driver was a Hyundai Accent, and I’ve had enough of boring-but-functional; go ahead and laugh, but the Hyundai never failed to do what I asked it to do, and it was cheap to own and run even with depreciation. Just not fun at all.

Is a Fit the answer to everyone’s vehicular needs? No. Does it show that a small, reasonably inexpensive car can still be fun and of good quality? Yes.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder
personally I think my 97 Saturn SC coupe is one of the best looking small cars on the road

and after 12 years and 135,000 miles still looks nearly showroom new due to the plastic panels

Our #1 car is an ‘07 Accord EX and the Fit made an excellent #2. It’s much more fuel efficient (even though the Accord isn’t bad at all) and it’s more flexible in terms of the sorts of cargo that it can haul. Also, the passenger space is pretty comfortable considering the small size of the car.

There are other good small cars but none feel as well built as the Fit does. It really is a great second car for people who can afford something good but don’t necessarily want to be drinking the gas that that normally requires.

We also have a Honda Odyssey which I plan on replacing with a Honda Fit when the time comes (we’ll keep the MINI indefinitely). I was disappointed to see our local Honda dealer had zero new Fits on the lot. The two used ones (about 25,000 miles) were both priced at about $3,000 over MSRP for the new ones.

Hopefully by the time I’m ready to buy a Fit they will have some more upscale options available; for now the option list is mostly glue-on trim pieces. Seriously, and I hope Honda is listening, I will happily run a $16,000 MSRP Fit up another 50% in price if you let me buy the right goodies: leather, high-end audio, suspension package, etc.

Also, when did the MINI become cheap to buy?

The EPA’s ever changing fuel economy standards make comparing personal experience to recent ratings hard to do. With our family cars I am consistently able to meet or beat the old 2005 style EPA ratings. Sabatini reported 32 mpg in mixed driving and 40 mpg for his highway runs.

“The Honda Civic is a much better vehicle than the Fit.”

Not if you want to carry anything with you. The hatchback/miniwagon format is much more useful and flexible than a sedan or coupe.

As for its mileage, it’s important to remember that, starting this model year, the EPA began including several additional cycles in their test regimen, including cold starts, more aggressive acceleration, higher speeds, and the use of air conditioning. Many vehicles are now rated lower than before, even though they’re unchanged.

The Fit probably won’t get as good freeway mileage as the Civic because of its taller profile and shorter gearing, which at steady highway speeds are a bigger factor than the Fit’s somewhat smaller engine and lighter weight. In real-world around-town driving, it’s very difficult for me to see a Fit not getting better mileage than an identically driven Civic; it weighs more than 300 pounds less, if nothing else.

I haven’t driven a new Fit yet. The old one isn’t an outstanding freeway cruiser (the engine is many things, but it ain’t quiet, and at 70 it’s spinning away), but it’s an agreeable, highly practical car that’s a lot more satisfying than any of its like-priced competitors.

It essentially reinvents the formula of the highly successful 1988-1992 Civic Si with new technologies and some really clever packaging ideas.

1) We were cheap and bought one without cruise – not really the car’s fault.
2) It would be nice to cruise at 80 without having to wind the motor to 4K RPM
3) I rarely get to drive it by myself, and my wife has this bizarre aversion to my more, spirited, driving.

A great car, but wouldn’t get one with the auto. Mazda 3 is also fun, if you want a bit room (cabin and cylinders).

Would these same people pretend to be homeowners with interest only mortgages and no money down?

Hmmmm.

I hope Ford survives long enough to bring the Fiesta to the US–from the little I’ve read, it just might be able to give the Fit a run for its money.

If the Corsa was sold in the states would anyone buy it?