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Convince Me to Buy or not Buy a Honda Fit
Quid
Definitely not a bananaRegistered User regular
Definitely not a bananaRegistered User regular
I’m planning to buy a new(ish) car in a month or so. I like my wife’s Fiesta hatchback a lot and when looking for top rated of those it seems like a Honda Fit is generally the top choice. However I know it’s possible to get locked in on a major purchase in my head despite there potentially being better options. So what I’d like to know is if there are any other options I ought to consider given:
I’m extremely price sensitive. Case in point, I’ve been driving a base model 2006 Yaris for the last decade. So anything over 20k is out.
Based on the above, part of the allure of the Yaris is I can afford a lot of creature comforts because of the Fit’s low price point. I’m concerned with this because I’ve been driving a rental around and have now discovered I’ve been missing out. A top model 2017 Fit would be within my price range.
I’m tall. Just at six feet but I know this can be an issue with some foreign models. I’ve been fine in my Yaris for what it’s worth.
Things I’m not interested in: A Fiesta. My wife has one. It feels silly but I feel weird having an identical car. A Mini Cooper. They irk me.
I won’t lie I’m heavily biased towards the Fit. But if there’s something better for my situation I’m optimistic I’d consider it.
I’m extremely price sensitive. Case in point, I’ve been driving a base model 2006 Yaris for the last decade. So anything over 20k is out.
Based on the above, part of the allure of the Yaris is I can afford a lot of creature comforts because of the Fit’s low price point. I’m concerned with this because I’ve been driving a rental around and have now discovered I’ve been missing out. A top model 2017 Fit would be within my price range.
I’m tall. Just at six feet but I know this can be an issue with some foreign models. I’ve been fine in my Yaris for what it’s worth.
Things I’m not interested in: A Fiesta. My wife has one. It feels silly but I feel weird having an identical car. A Mini Cooper. They irk me.
I won’t lie I’m heavily biased towards the Fit. But if there’s something better for my situation I’m optimistic I’d consider it.
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Having ridden in it, I'd say my only complaint is that it's a bit cramped if you're taller so I'd definitely take a drive around in one before a purchase.
My wife's car is a Fit. It works fine. Passenger side collision safety is a bit of a concern in the model we have, but that's about it.
Not a TON of trunk space, but it's not bad. Gas tank isn't big, but that's to be expected with the size.
Just asked the Mrs. and she says there's a blind spot on the front where the small triangle window and front windshield meet - it can cover people walking, so that's something to be mindful of (but may have been fixed in more recent models).
I'm 5'10.5-ish and the size of the car hasn't been an issue for me, although it can be snug in the back.
It's got a lot of room for a tall driver and it's a dream to park with. Also pretty darn roomy for passengers and cargo (although I hear the Honda fit is also pretty good in terms of cargo space. The variant I tried also had a fairly perky engine.
The downside is that it's not as fuel efficient and the engine noise is somewhat louder than other cars I've used (I haven't driven that many though).
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Is there a particular reason you're not wanting to stay with a newer model Yaris?
I've had two Kia Souls now and it's a fantastic car for tall people. I'm 6'4'' and the soul has spoiled me because anything that isn't a Soul or a SUV now feels uncomfortable. The fuel efficiency isn't fantastic, but I still get 30/32 on highway which isn't terrible. I assume most other manufacturers are similar now but the free roadside assistance is pretty swell and the warranty is good for 100k miles on almost anything which is great too. The car fitting into any parking spot and having a fantastic turning radius are huge plusses as well.
Both my 6'2 spouse and my 5'0 self can drive it comfortably, which is nice. The back seats fold completely over, and when you do that you really can fit a ton of stuff in there.
The biggest reason we got a Fit is that they have a strong lifespan. We expect our cars to last 10+ years, and Fits are in super-high demand by used car shoppers. We bought ours used and dealerships keep calling us and begging us to trade it back in because so many customers are looking for used Fits. Other than needing to replace the battery once, we haven't had a single issue with ours.
So, on this topic:
The 2017 and later fit come with an eco-mode that sort of throttles fuel consumption with your acceleration. While on, this makes accelerating very sluggish and the car feel like it lacks power- because that is what the eco boost does. It makes it so your acceleration is slower so that your engine performs at a more fuel efficient rate (or so it claims). When turned off, the car performs substantially (and extremely noticeably) better at acceleration. That said, its a small city-car and isn't going to win in a street race in either mode against something with a larger engine and comparable chassis.
I usually leave mine on unless I think I will need to make a lot of quick accelerations (like in stop and go traffic).
The blind spot on the front hasn't particularly bothered me in driving, but it definitely does exist.
We got ours after my Dodge Calibur finally died. Its a superior car in every possible way to the caliber and competes well with the other hatchbacks we looked at about a year ago. We settled on the Fit due to, as others have said, it having a very reliable history with affordable repairs and long-term durability.
The fit is a solid utility car for suburban or urban environments. Its small, can carry a good number of things or people over reasonable distances comfortably, and generally is very affordable and efficient.
But yeah, longer commutes (I had a 3 hour there, 4 hour back drive recently) wasn't the best by the end of it.
I got fantastic mileage with it and it was warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The Festival mode where you put down all the seats and lay in it is hilariously uncomfortable and unnatural but folding everything down to do a move or pick up big items is super easy. We traveled all across the country with it and never had problems.
Really the road noise is the one thing that might not be obvious but if you've been driving around in a Fiesta I can't imagine this is shocking to you.
Also as another right around 6' person the Fit is alright though if you've got even a bit more height you could have issues. As it is my sight line to a couple indicator lights, like the "your lights are on" are blocked by the top of the steering wheel. Not a huge thing and should be obvious on test drive but it is a thing. I haven't checked out the last redesign where they added in a billion cool tech things and redesigned the instrument cluster a bit.
I like the idea of more room but I'm not a fan of the Soul's exterior either. Depending on how things shake out in a few years this car will go to my wife too while I switch to something like a truck or SUV and I know she's not a fan of Kias at all.
This has been the biggest reservation for me. As absolutely basic as my Yaris has been it's the single most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. Getting an updated model is tempting but the Fit's seat configuration offers a bit more niceties for with the better models. If I was getting another base model I'd pick the Yaris again in a heartbeat.
I have! And if I had the money I'd love to buy a Civic coupe based on how they look. But I want to get something within the last year and even basic automatics are over my 20k budget. Meanwhile the cheaper ones are actually a bit bigger than I like. I enjoy how small my current car is.
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Regarding other posts:
I'm used to that dumb blind spot. Both my and my wife's car has it.
I rarely have more than one passenger.
I've done long road trips in both cars and haven't been bugged by either. I think a bunch of 14 hour flights in coach have conditioned me to accept anything better than that.
It’s not a very important country most of the time
http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
I have one as well, it's pretty great for what it is. The available storage space is particularly impressive once you fold down the back seats. I don't know how much the design has changed in the last decade, though.
If you don't often use the back seats you're going to have easy access to a massive amount of space. The seat folding thing is actually easy to do and takes like twenty seconds, maybe.
Used bmw i3's
Used ones are taking huge dumps in value, I just bought a fully optioned 2015 one for 19k that just came off a two year lease ( MSRP new was like 53k), it's super nice
If you like your wife's Fiesta, for 20k or less used you can make it slightly bigger and add a turbo.
A Focus ST. I have one, I've put about 100k miles on and I still love it.
Compared to a fit:
Worse at:
Fuel economy
Cargo space
Better at:
Going
Turning
Stoping
making you feel alive
I will protest turning. Compared to the Mini, the Calibur, and the Civic, all cars I've had in a similar size, the Honda Fit has the best turn radius of the three. I've never driven a Fiesta, so it may be even better! But the Fit is real solid at getting into and out of tight places like crowded parking lots, parallel parking, and tight streets when you need a 3 point turn.
As far as real MPG, it varies. I average in-city at about 32-35 mpg, with a total range of about 290-315 miles per tank. It has a tracker to help you with that, along with a bar showing your fuel efficiency as you drive (which is neat, but distracting if you fixate on it). It's pretty nice to only fuel up once or twice a month for my commute, and fueling up is usually under $20 right now for a full tank (at ~$2.45 a gallon in my area for regular gas).
Only sold it because I was moving internationally - really liked the car. I'm 6'4" and had no issues with my height in the car, although I was rarely seated in the back.
I would disagree and say the trunk actually has a remarkable amount of space, but maybe the body design lost some space in later models? I dunno, haven't really followed it. Especially with the transforming back seat if it still has that.
My only hang up with the car is that it doesn't have much acceleration if you have anything in the trunk. Zippy enough when light, but not much engine if you have the car loaded up.
Love it. Wouldn't trade it for another car if you paid me. Cheap to run, cheap to maintain. Drove it across the country twice without issue.
I think we paid 16.9k for it.
With the seats folded down it provides more space for IKEA runs than my inlaws’ SUV.
It’s zippy, too.
Personally I can’t get comfy in it, something about my long legs relative to my short arms, but that’s apparently just me. It’s why Mori drives it and not me, even though he has a longer commute and my car has better gas mileage. Otherwise it seems like a great car.
Pros:
More pep than an economy model Honda
Nice interior
Fairly roomy (I'm 6'2")
Cons:
Gas mileage is about average (though it's not a turbo so at least I don't have to buy premium)