2009 Honda Fit Sport: Life is What You Make It

Albert, help me out here. Fuel economy is the only real reason you prefer the Insight? At that point, it's a cost/benefit analysis.

If the Fit is a "First Car" then the Insight is a "I care more about the environment then myself" or "I have low self esteem."

Fuel economy is fine and all, but I like small cars because they're small and managable and I'm more comfortable with their size. I live in a 500 year old city and some of our streets literally used to be cow paths that got paved.

I guess I don't understand the fascination with big cars. My wife's 2008 Civic feels large to me. Anything bigger and I'd be a stressball getting it around.

85se I assume you dont live in America if you live in a 500 year old city?

bodyblue, I'm in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. The province was first settled shortly after "discovery" in 1497 and St. John's shortly thereafter. The earliest history is somewhat meagre as at first this area was essentially a migrant worker destination for fishermen. We don't have the insanely narrow roads like in parts of Europe, but they're narrow enough for me!

Even in Boston some trucks barely fit down these streets!

"My first car was a 1992 Dodge Colt - man I loved that car."

My first car was a 1989 Honda Accord LXi sedan that I purchased in 1993 when I was 16 of course. I loved that car too as it was pure Honda not the Americanized version!

"Yes, and quite nice for a first car or college kid vehicle"

Reality check here. Except for some rich kids, no one has a new car for a 1st car or while they are in college.

Most college parking lots are full of a raged selection of beaters and an interesting selection of well worn, crudely modified sporty cars of one type or another.

"Why not just get the next size up and suffer only a minor fuel economy penalty? "

Ah yes... bigger is better after all. Common sense dictates you should always buy the smallest car that will do the job but it will take a long time to get over the typical American attitude that you buy the biggest car you can afford.

The comment from Hubris is entertaining. In fact, one has to have high self esteem to buy a hybrid in the first place. For whatever reason, Hybrid drivers are fun to criticize, despite the fact that our early adoption of new technologies finances improvements in all cars across the spectrum. Perhaps its our recognition that a car is a means of transportation, and not a glamorous travel machine that makes one sexier, richer and smarter.

Smaller, more efficient cars are returning to the mainstream in the US, for a number of important reasons. Some of us have already accepted that, and are choosing to learn to live with them and to integrate them into our lives. In my case, I didn't buy a hybrid to make a statement about anything, or to alter my self-esteem. I was trying to solve a transportation need in the most cost-effective, efficient way, while retaining some level of comfort, convenience and utility. The Insight does that for me.

The Fit is another fine way to efficiently solve a transportation needs. We can disagree about which is the better solution. But both are good choices for like-minded people. Even in the US...

the fit looks like a first car? well looks can be deceiving, i guess. i rarely see anyone under 55 driving one.