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Convince Me to Buy or not Buy a Honda Fit

QuidQuid 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.

Posts

  • durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
    I have a friend with a newer model Fit who's into it, mostly for the same reasons. Cheap as heck, needs little gas, easy to park, no significant complaints about driving it on the highway or anything. I'm not enough of a car person to know much about it but they seem very happy with it having come off of having another slightly larger hatchback.

    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.

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  • JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    Everything stated is experience with the 2010 model, not sure how things may have changed since then.

    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.

  • FiendishrabbitFiendishrabbit Registered User regular
    Kia Soul

    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).

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  • admanbadmanb unionize your workplace Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    I'm six feet and haven't felt cramped driving or as a passenger in my sister's Fit.

  • Lord PalingtonLord Palington he.him.his History-loving pal!Registered User regular
    Hi-five fellow mid-2000s Yaris owner!

    Is there a particular reason you're not wanting to stay with a newer model Yaris?

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  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Have you considered a Honda Civic? Not only are they great cars they have more function than the fit.

  • Mai-KeroMai-Kero Registered User regular
    Kia Soul

    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).

    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.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    I have a 2017 fit. No complaints so far!

  • TomantaTomanta Registered User regular
    I love my Fit. My only complaints are not much passenger room in the back seat - it's fine for short trips but if you regularly take a car full it can be uncomfortable - and it seems to lack a bit of power, making passing frustrating at times. I can fit a fair amount of stuff in the back (especially if I drop the rear seats, which is much more painless than other hatchbacks I tried). As a driver I don't think you would have any space problems.

  • DouglasDangerDouglasDanger PennsylvaniaRegistered User regular
    I had a 2008 Fit and loved it.

  • CauldCauld Registered User regular
    I believe there will be a new Corolla with a hatch back. I don't really know anything else beyond that, but I would look into it. Might be a little bigger than the other things you're looking at though

  • SwashbucklerXXSwashbucklerXX Swashbucklin' Canuck Registered User regular
    edited March 2018
    I love my Fit. It's a 2010 like Jragghen's wife's, and I can confirm that blind spot. Otherwise, it has impressive pickup for a vehicle with a hamster wheel for an engine (it does struggle a bit on steep hills, but I've crossed the Cascades without issue) and it's super maneuverable. I find it fun to drive!

    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.

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  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Tomanta wrote: »
    I love my Fit. My only complaints are not much passenger room in the back seat - it's fine for short trips but if you regularly take a car full it can be uncomfortable - and it seems to lack a bit of power, making passing frustrating at times. I can fit a fair amount of stuff in the back (especially if I drop the rear seats, which is much more painless than other hatchbacks I tried). As a driver I don't think you would have any space problems.

    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.

  • JusticeJustice Registered User regular
    My wife has a Fit. I'm six feet tall, 190 pounds. It's fine up to about a 40-minute ride. But it is murder for anything farther than that. If we do two 2-hour rides within a span of a few days, I end up in a bad way and have to stretch a couple times every day for the rest of the week to avoid serious problems.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Your miles may vary, I'm a bit larger than Justice and drive it daily without problems.

    But yeah, longer commutes (I had a 3 hour there, 4 hour back drive recently) wasn't the best by the end of it.

  • Fuzzy Cumulonimbus CloudFuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud Registered User regular
    I had zero problems with my Fit. First new car I ever bought. It was very very reliable. Had back up cameras at base model. No problems. Only two things happened: the handle on the hatchback is shitty and it cracked the Honda logo but didn’t do anything, and one time the guard plate popped off and dragged a bunch. The guard plate was easily fixed. Honda claims no responsibility for the handle snapping despite a number of Fit owners reporting the same thing.

    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.

  • DehumanizedDehumanized Registered User regular
    I drive a 2010 Fit, it's a basically great cheap car. The things that really drew me to it was the extremely friendly and intuitive dash controls (everything was placed to be easily recognizable and usable without looking) and the tiny footprint with a lot of capability to reconfigure the interior for hauling a pretty large amount of cargo.

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    I'm just going to chime in as another positive review though unlike practically everybody else mine is an 11.

    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.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    edited March 2018
    Kia Soul

    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).

    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.
    Hi-five fellow mid-2000s Yaris owner!

    Is there a particular reason you're not wanting to stay with a newer model Yaris?

    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.
    zepherin wrote: »
    Have you considered a Honda Civic? Not only are they great cars they have more function than the fit.

    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.

    ---

    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.

    Quid on
  • MortiousMortious The Nightmare Begins Move to New ZealandRegistered User regular
    Have you considered an EV like a Leaf, or hybrid like a Prius?

    Move to New Zealand
    It’s not a very important country most of the time
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  • QuidQuid Definitely not a banana Registered User regular
    Those both also easily push outside my price range or 20k or lower.

  • jothkijothki Registered User regular
    I had a 2008 Fit and loved it.

    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.

  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User regular
    The fit is great, I wish I'd bought one instead of my Nissan Versa.

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    Quid wrote: »
    I rarely have more than one passenger.

    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.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • dlinfinitidlinfiniti Registered User regular
    Quid wrote: »
    Those both also easily push outside my price range or 20k or lower.

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    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

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  • tinwhiskerstinwhiskers Registered User regular
    edited March 2018
    If 20k is a hard ceiling you may want to look at used.

    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

    tinwhiskers on
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  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    Part of the equation probably should be what you want out of the car, philosophically. My household wanted something that would be in our price range, could carry things and people when needed, and was very fuel efficient. Driving in suburbia is more of a chore than something to make me feel alive. Even when I had a sports car, rapid accelerations, high speeds, or other sporty things just didn't really matter since our speed limits are mostly 40 mph and there are too many people on our crowded roads to allow for using those features without driving dangerously.

    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.

  • Fuzzy Cumulonimbus CloudFuzzy Cumulonimbus Cloud Registered User regular
    Yeah. I could turn anywhere and park anywhere.

  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    So one thing the car is not great at, and worth knowing: At speeds over 70 it really gets tossed around like a kite on the interstate. It's a very lightweight car and, unlike something like the civic, has a taller profile. If you do a lot of very high speed highway driving it isn't the best car for comfort there. It gets the job done, but it really is a city car rather than a longer-distance travel car. You do have to fight the wind on most highways once you hit 75 or 80, and really struggle if you hit anything over that. It just isn't aerodynamic enough to accommodate that comfortably if your highways have a lot of truck traffic or large open fields with wind (which Florida Highways have in spades).

    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).

  • DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    I honestly don't find it a huge deal with highway driving and I do about 30 miles of that a day on my commute. It is a light car though. I haven't had an issue with semi's usually but unexpected gusty wind can push the car around. It is manageable but that first gust is a real wake up call if you're not paying attention.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
  • WassermeloneWassermelone Registered User regular
    I had the 2009 Fit

    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.

  • Anon the FelonAnon the Felon In bat country.Registered User regular
    2013, sport edition, Fit, in manual transmission.

    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.

  • JansonJanson Registered User regular
    @Moriveth has a 2008 Fit and it’s great. He’s been using it to commute to and from work (often a 90 lin journey) for two years solid. Most recently he drove it up the west coast in snow and heavy rain and it performed admirably.

    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.

  • T-boltT-bolt Registered User regular
    I like my 2010 VW Golf 2.5L. Bought it a few years back used for under $15k CAD.

    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)

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