NAIAS 2014: Honda Fit All-New, Bigger Inside But Smaller (Well, Shorter) Outside

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

Face it: Honda’s been the best in the business at building cars in the Fit’s segment since it was really the Civic’s segment. The new-for-2015 model won’t exactly inspire confidence in Toyota Yaris salespeople across America, either.


The Fit now rolls on sixteens and sports LED tails in a nonchalant affirmation of B-Spec tuner culture. Though it is 1.6 inches shorter, unspecified increases in width and height lead to an additional 4.8 inches of rear legroom and nearly five extra cubic feet of cargo space. Total space with the rear seats folded is 52.7 cubic feet of space.

For the first time, you can get leather seats in a Fit. The arrival of Bluetooth and a significantly-sized infotainment screen will allow Honda to swipe back at the Fiesta.

The 1.5-liter four will twist out 130hp through a six-speed manual or CVT. Mileage is guesstimated at 41 highway, 33 city, 36 combined.

As long as ours don’t come from China, it will be hard to argue against the Fit in the mini-car market next year.

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • SCE to AUX All that lift makes for an easy rollover of your $70k truck.
  • SCE to AUX My son cross-shopped the RAV4 and Model Y, then bought the Y. To their surprise, they hated the RAV4.
  • SCE to AUX I'm already driving the cheap EV (19 Ioniq EV).$30k MSRP in late 2018, $23k after subsidy at lease (no tax hassle)$549/year insurance$40 in electricity to drive 1000 miles/month66k miles, no range lossAffordable 16" tiresVirtually no maintenance expensesHyundai (for example) has dramatically cut prices on their EVs, so you can get a 361-mile Ioniq 6 in the high 30s right now.But ask me if I'd go to the Subaru brand if one was affordable, and the answer is no.
  • David Murilee Martin, These Toyota Vans were absolute garbage. As the labor even basic service cost 400% as much as servicing a VW Vanagon or American minivan. A skilled Toyota tech would take about 2.5 hours just to change the air cleaner. Also they also broke often, as they overheated and warped the engine and boiled the automatic transmission...
  • Marcr My wife and I mostly work from home (or use public transit), the kid is grown, and we no longer do road trips of more than 150 miles or so. Our one car mostly gets used for local errands and the occasional airport pickup. The first non-Tesla, non-Mini, non-Fiat, non-Kia/Hyundai, non-GM (I do have my biases) small fun-to-drive hatchback EV with 200+ mile range, instrument display behind the wheel where it belongs and actual knobs for oft-used functions for under $35K will get our money. What we really want is a proper 21st century equivalent of the original Honda Civic. The Volvo EX30 is close and may end up being the compromise choice.
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