2009 Honda Fit: MPGs In The Land Of SUVs

Lol. I love how out of the entire row, there are all GM SUV's, trailbalzer, tahoe, suburban, escalade. Obviously the full size SUV is still the ultimate family vehicle favorite. If only they got good gas mileage...

Ditto on what empowah said.

Also, the inexpensive / mpg argument works on most economy cars.

Em/Brn, that argument could be used on a number of vehicles regardless of size or configuration including the ones listed. In the end however, the purchased is based on the needs of the consumer.

You also have to consider that the Fit and all versions of the Civic have been proven to beat their EPA ratings and the fact that not everyone is looking for a midsize sedan to drive or own. The Fit (and others like it) make perfect sense for those WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A SMALL CAR that can offer class leading utility, great gas mileage, quality, reliability, low cost of ownership and a fun to drive character that's rare in this segment. That said, the Fit and its new competitors the Mazda2, Ford Fiesta should remain at the top of their game.

my eyes on that Escalade 5 cars down! Can't beat that! Puny Fit. Behold!!!

Great car, unless you are of the super-sized-so-I-need-a-bench-for-a-seat crowd, then the midsize sedan/SUV would be the better alternative. Otherwise, this, the Golf TDI, and Mazda2/Fiesta are on top of my list as the cars that make the most sense.

Other than a relatively low purchase price, a car that gets only 35 MPG and doesn't deliver better performance doesn't seem that impressive to me. I've seen cars that do better than that come and go over the last 30 years.
Some of today's more powerful cars can reach the low 30s and provide more balanced performance and better refinement for each gallon of fuel used, or other cars that are significantly more fuel efficient can provide better driveability with sometimes better performance (mostly with diesel). Their main drawback is that they do cost more, but I'd rather not have a minimalist car. There's more value in buying the better cars used.

@cwc1: the Fit's 35 mpg on the highway isn't impressive. But driven gently, it can get the same 35 mpg in town--and I'm surprised Brent didn't point that out.

Forget 35 mpg. We fit owners get DEEP into the 40s on the highway. I get 35 mpg in mixed driving in Los Angeles.

Then there's the sports car soul. What a blast to drive.

Then there's all that frickin' room inside. This thing is insane!

hondacura, gonna have to call you on this one:

"You also have to consider that the Fit and all versions of the Civic have been proven to beat their EPA ratings"

According to Honda fans! MOST cars from MOST manufacturers can easily beat their EPA ratings. Honda isn't special.

Btw: The 2007 Ford Focus station wagon was also rated at 33mpg on the highway (new ratings), just like the Fit. The Focus had 1.5x the cargo capacity, 20 more hp, and weight 200lbs more than the Fit. The Fit does win in city mpg though.

"According to Honda fans! MOST cars from MOST manufacturers can easily beat their EPA ratings."

..I disagree with you there. Every car is different. I've seen cars achieve below, at and above their respective EPA ratings, but this Fit gets absurdly above its ratings of 27/33.

You can search cars here, but this page shows the Fit. The 5MT is getting 35.4 average, which is right on target with what I'm getting:

http://fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=browseList2&make=Honda&model=Fit

As a one to two person suburban crawler the Fit is perfect but I can't see being much more than that.

@billit9 You can keep the Escalade if you ever need a tow my Excursion and I will gladly help for a minor price of course.

what you mean escalade breaks down? Escalade's da bomb!!!!!!!111

Sports car soul? People must have been driving crap if they consider this to have anything sports car character in it.

Fit = Apple of the car world. Works good. Way over hyped by rabied fans.

"The ('09) Fit communicates its eager responses in a way that’s reminiscent of a sports car." -Car and Driver... guess they drive nothing but crap cars at C&D

Not to mention the first gen Fit in their Cheap Skates comparison outran the Z06 Corvette through the slalom.

Hmmm... sounds like maybe a bit of sports car character to me. But what do I (or C&D, or the autocross cones) know.

I think C&D is crap.

I've driven it. This car drives like grabage. Same as any stock civic/corrolla matrix, etc. except its engine is worse, a loud dryer with loss nuts in it.

Like I said before, car should have been made by apple, its fan base is just as diluted.

Opfreakx, given that you drive a Sunfire, I'm not surprised to find that you have no comprehension of the concept of a car having the "soul of a sports car." The Fit doesn't quite do so, but it's a heck of a lot closer than that pile of ancient GM parts you drive.

Lol. opfreakx, you're credibility is no good here. "...a loud dryer with loss (sic) nuts in it"? Then tell us how your Sunfire sounds, lol. Are you sure you weren't just driving your Sunfire?

Car and Driver crap? They've only been around for oh, about 100 years.

The Fit continues to astound me. You can't fault it for all its greatness for its price

Oh, and yes, the Fit HAS sports car soul. In fact, turning it loose in the canyons, it's reminiscent of my late 2005 Acura RSX-S, having about 85% of its feel.