So Frank calls me yesterday and tells me that he's thinking about getting a Honda Fit. I ask if he is nuts.
Apparently the expense of commuting back and forth to the Valley in his Dodge Ram pickup is getting a little pricey, and he really admires the practicality of the Fit's interior packaging. You see, he wants to be able to carry an engine block when he has to.
That's because Ed Pink Racing Engines builds the Toyota inline-4 racing engine for USAC midgets, and the last time I was at the shop Frank also showed me a Toyota V8 NASCAR-spec engine, a turbocharged Ford-Cosworth V8 Indy-car engine (27 of them, in fact), a flat-12 for a Ferrari 512BB endurance racer, a V12 for the Jaguar XJR-5 IMSA GTP car, and the straight-8 from the first-ever Duesenberg passenger car of 1920. Hence the whole thing about carrying around engine pieces.
But I tell him that he doesn't want a Honda Fit.
The Fit is a brilliant car, but like me Frank has trouble with a driving position that's meant for Japan, a place where you don't often see an American-size guy with feet so smashed up from a couple of race car crashes (plus an unintended leap into a service station grease pit), that he's comfortable only in either cowboy boots or Simpson racing booties. If you like to drive with your legs outstretched as if you were in a racing cockpit, the Honda Fit is not for you.
When Frank suggests the Toyota Matrix as a possibility, I warn him off for the same reason.
Instead I suggest the Suzuki SX4. The same basic money buys you a far more comfortable people package, and the driving position is meant for those of the American-size persuasion. Plus you could carry not just one engine block, but maybe two.
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor @ 13,166 miles
adavis2493 says:
03:14 PM, 08/26/09
How about a new Chevrolet Equinox. According to Chevy, they get 30MPG, it's American, and it still requires you to lift a leg to get in it.
texases says:
03:25 PM, 08/26/09
Your buddy's nuts to want to carry big heavy stuff in a Fit! I second that Equinox, or the SX4.
bankerdanny says:
03:34 PM, 08/26/09
I gotta believe that the engine block from a straight 8 Duesy exceeds the load rating for an SX4 (or Fit for that matter).
clarkma5 says:
03:34 PM, 08/26/09
That picture makes that cargo bay look very ample. My impression of the SX4's trunk was that it's actually quite small when I first saw it in person.
hybris says:
08:05 PM, 08/26/09
If he loads one big block (heaven forbid a V12 anything) I'd watch your rear axle weight rating.
If He needs a more efficient way of carrying such things then a Ford Ranger with the small I4 as gutless as it maybe would do the trick (or use one of those engines and put it in the Ranger LOL!)
Besides the Ranger a small SUV or mid size crossover would better for the intended purpose.
firstwagon says:
08:09 PM, 08/26/09
So by American sized, are you meaning over 6 feet tall or over 300 lbs?
hybris says:
08:19 PM, 08/26/09
Ok after poking around I quote from carseverything.com since they had the numbers needed.
"Weights: gross vehicle weight rating (lbs) 3,748, curb weight (lbs) 2,932, gross trailer weight braked (lbs) 2,646 and max payload (lbs) 816"
So with out getting a trailer hauling some of the engines described are just asking for trouble.
http://www.carseverything.com/259/2009-suzuki-sx4_crossover-performance-specs.html
If anyone wants to check my source.
mikeolan says:
08:24 PM, 08/26/09
@firstwagon: I believe Canada has the U.S. cornered on the lard factor, but American Sized = over 6 feet tall, which is where a lot of Japanese cars fail.
aznraptor says:
11:23 PM, 08/26/09
finally it pays off to not be tall
ahightower says:
05:43 AM, 08/27/09
Exactly why I didn't buy a 2008 Fit a couple years ago.
dougtheeng says:
06:21 AM, 08/27/09
I have an awful time in most Honda vehicles, simply because of my height - and at 6'2", I'm not even really THAT tall. I find my buddy's Civic a nightmare to fit in, whereas my MINI was great, my VW Golf was great and my gf's new Accent is great. I guess I'm just not Honda demographic.
someguyposting says:
07:05 AM, 08/27/09
I guess these things are somewhat subjective - I too am 6' 2" and drive a Honda Civic. I fit fine, as I did in the Honda S2000 I used to own, and the Honda Del Sol I borrowed the other day. I may have a different definition of fitting "fine," though, particularly for the S2000 for which I was willing to sacrifice some comfort from the get-go. YMMV
I will admit that some makes are better than others for us tall guys. A 6' 6" friend owns a Mini in which he fits just fairly well.
aznraptor - yes, it does sometimes pay off not to be tall - fitting in airplanes and small cars come to mind. I know from trying that I'm not at all comfortable in an Lotus Elise, Mazda Miata, or a Lotus Super 7, which is a shame since they are all really fun rides.
firstwagon says:
08:50 AM, 08/27/09
mikeolan
Reason I asked is I spent a bunch of time driving a 1st gen Fit last summer and even though I'm 6'2", I found it very roomy. Don't remember ever thinking it was made for smaller people.
However since I only weigh 190 lbs, I was wondering if the fitting in the Fit problems were more related to the wider types.
audisport says:
09:02 AM, 08/27/09
Those white rims are extremely fugly. Ill take all black all day.
compliance says:
09:18 AM, 08/27/09
He needs that new Ford micro-van thing.
misterfusion says:
09:29 AM, 08/27/09
@Compliance, you beat me to it. A Ford Transit Connect may be the answer here. Mileage should be OK, because it has a smaller engine than the SX4!
ff1825 says:
04:36 PM, 08/27/09
OMG! I am crushed! Now I am told Honda's AREN'T perfect after all.