Long-Term Road Tests

Last week I called the Honda Fit the "no-brainer" winner among econoboxes, and nothing changed my mind in the spirited discussion that ensued. But what I'm stuck on today is the fact that the Fit is frankly the only no-brainer Honda has left. Back in the day, this company was an engineer's delight, pushing the envelope with thrilling VTEC engines, focused interior designs, distinctive low cowls and sophisticated driving dynamics. Now it makes the Pilot and the TSX and the overrated Accord. What happened? Where did the so-called Japanese BMW go wrong?

I'm prepared to accept the sales argument. You know how it goes. "Americans don't like that old kind of Honda. They don't care about how a Prelude VTEC sounds at 7,000 rpm, or an Integra GS-R at 8,000, or even a mid-'90s Accord EX at 6,500. They don't care about superior forward visibility or classically sporty gauges. They never noticed the instantaneous steering response of those old hydraulic-assist Hondas, the remarkable precision of their manual transmissions, the extraordinary athleticism they displayed in corners despite those ridiculously skinny OEM tires.

"What Americans want is size, broader powerbands and chunky styling, and maybe some randomly weird dashboard layouts. And that's what the new Honda provides."

Fair enough. But as an enthusiast who's intimately familiar with the old Honda, I can't help feeling like the company has lost its edge. It used to be the engaging Japanese option, the one with superior engineering that made you feel like you got what you paid for. Now, I'm searching for reasons why I shouldn't tell people to buy Fords or Hyundais instead.

Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor @ 14,458 miles 

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

I don't know how many nights I've driven our Honda Fit. Both this and the previous Fit we've owned. One thing has always stood out to me: the knobby shifter.

It kinda feels like a hot rod style pool ball shifter when palmed so I think giving it an Eight Ball shifter would "toughen up" its wimpy demeanor. Give it a fun attitude spark, even if in reality it's still the Chihuahua yapping at the big dogs.

Scott Jacobs, Senior Photographer

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

Below are the fuel economy numbers for October 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.

As usual, a couple of cars are out on the road or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments.

After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.

Continue reading Big List of Fuel Economy: October 2009 .

Categories: 2007 Honda Civic GX,2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR,2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2009 Audi A4 Avant,2009 Audi S5,2009 BMW 750i,2009 BMW M3,2009 Dodge Challenger R/T,2009 Dodge Ram 1500,2009 Ford Flex Limited,2009 Honda Fit Sport,2009 Hyundai Genesis V6,2009 Infiniti FX50 AWD,2009 Mazda 6 i Grand Touring,2009 Nissan 370Z Touring,2009 Nissan GT-R,2009 Suzuki SX4,2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS,2010 Honda Insight EX,2010 Mazdaspeed 3,2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD

One of the things that struck me most about the Fit this weekend was its sense of playfulness. It's not the kind of car that you could drive with a blindfold on and both hands tied behind your back. The frisky Fit forces you to engage -- piloting it requires some focus on the part of the driver. Its reflexes are sharp and road feel is good, but acceleration from the 117-horsepower mill ain't that brisk, so you have to keep your wits about you to finesse maneuvers calling for sudden bursts of speed. It all combines to make time spent behind the wheel an adventure. Wouldn't miss it for the world.  

Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor @ 14,710 miles

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

I was sitting in the back of the Fit recently and decided to rest my arm on the armrest on the door. It wouldn't let me. The slope of the rear-most part is pretty extremely raked, and my arm sort of kept slipping off. I jumped in the front seat to see if this was the case up there. Yup. The picture above is of the front passenger arm rest. Note the sloping rear section of the armrest. There's no place to keep your elbow anchored. Any other Fit drivers disagree?

Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

When people ask me for car-buying advice, I usually ask them a bunch of questions in return. "What kind of driver are you?" "What have you liked driving in the past?" "What are your priorities?" Etc. I can't just tell you what to buy right off the bat -- there are too many solid options these days.

But the economy hatchback segment is an exception. At its base price of $15,610 including destination, there's nothing else like the Honda Fit. Editor Oldham has piqued my curiosity about the refreshed Suzuki SX4, but it's not available yet, and we already know it lacks the Fit's cargo space (57.3 cubic feet!) and trick rear seat. The Mazda3 hatchback and new Volkswagen Golf are the best small hatchbacks you can buy, but they're considerably pricier and less practical. Scion's got the xB and the xD, and I'd never recommend either one. The upcoming Ford Fiesta drives better than the Fit, yet it can't hold a candle to the Honda's versatility. And the two rivals depicted above? You can't be serious.

There's only one competitively priced Fit rival that gives me pause, and that's the Kia Soul. Similar maximum cargo capacity (53 cubes), funky styling, roomy rear seating, surprisingly entertaining to drive. The cabin materials are dime-store cheap, however, and Soul loses the fuel-economy fight too. Moreover, the Fit's "magic seat" gives it the edge in utility.

Best econobox for around $15k? Honda Fit. No-brainer.

Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor @ 14,449 miles

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

If Honda can put a gas cap holder on the the $14,750 Fit, shouldn't every car made have some similar accommodation? I think so. Keeping the thing off the paint is so nice.
Josh Jacquot, Senior road test editor

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

Sometimes it's a relief to get into a car that's not filled with fancy, overinvolved controls. Thank you, Fit, for your simple and easy-to-use climate controls. Three knobs, two buttons and one slidey lever. That's all you need.

I'll admit that the Fit's diminutive size doesn't really require dual zone or rear seat climate control, both of which usually conspire to turn the dashboards of vehicles so-equipped into an overcrowded landscape of crazy-making buttons. But sometimes you just have to be thankful for what you've got, and this weekend I had the uncomplicated Fit and its simple, straightforward climate control set-up.

Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com at 14,013 miles.

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

When Donna posted our last fuel economy list, I saw the 2009 Honda Fit's all-time best of 39.0 mpg and thought to myself: "Thirty nine mpg? No way that's right." Official EPA highway fuel economy is only 33 mpg. So I went to our fuel log to see who managed that 39 mpg number. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was, well, me. This was back in March, and I even wrote a post about it here.  

Continue reading 2009 Honda Fit: Driving Style And Fuel Economy.

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

"Nice car. What kind of mileage does it get?"

The guy directing people on where to park their vehicles at yesterday's Fresno Fair was asking me about the Fit as I shut off its engine and began unloading my family for a day of cows, corndogs, amusement rides and famers' tans.

"Oh, about 35 mpg on the highway."

"Thirty five?" he asked. "Dang, that's pretty good. What car is this? A Honda?"

I told him it was a Fit and that they cost about $16,000. "Huh," was all he said, but I took that to mean that he was at least a little impressed. I, however, was quite pleased to have the Fit. Its luggage area had enough space for our gear, its small footprint made it easy to park, and its orange paint made it easy to spot once we were leaving. The more I drive our Honda Fit, the more I truly like it.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @13,600 miles

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

If I had to name the 2009 Honda Fit's greatest weakness (and I do have to name it, otherwise this blog post would be about something else, like kittens, or that giant burrito editor MacKinnon ate for lunch last week), it'd be highway noise.

Sure enough, the Fit isn't an Audi S5 on a nighttime drive. Roadnoise is pervasive, and it's certainly louder in the Fit than it is in our other in-fleet economy car, the Suzuki SX4. And I still find myself pining for a sixth gear to lower the highway rpm some. But honestly, this isn't reason enough to skip over the Fit for a purchase. The rest of the car is an impressively solid package.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 13,503 miles

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

Floor mats? We're talking about floor mats?

Well, why not? After all, Toyota just issued a humungous recall of 3.8 million vehicles because of a link between floor mats and sticking throttles. And I received a lot of questions in the immediate aftermath of that announcement, such as: Is this a Toyota-specific issue?

Well, this recall is specific to Toyota and Lexus, but my mind flashes back to numerous times when my own floor mats got fowled with the pedals in several of my personal vehicles over the years, Toyota and non-Toyota alike. And I know of the fear and panic that can come with a stuck throttle experience, because it happened to me at top speed on a racetrack, though that incident wasn't quite floor mat related.

So I grabbed a dozen random keys to some of our long-term test cars to see what I could see. No Toyota keys were handy, though. I'll catch the Prius later.

Before we make the jump, take a gander at the photo above. This is a typical Toyota/Lexus floor mat installation: An top-hinged "pendulum-style" gas pedal is paired with a generous cut-out in the mat to produce a large clearance. The floor mat is kept from creeping forward by two plastic hooks just in front of the seat. As long as it remains hooked and the floor mat is the right size and shape, things should be fine.

Moving on, in alphabetical order...

Continue reading Floor Mat Walkaround.

Categories: 2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2009 BMW 750i,2009 BMW M3,2009 Dodge Challenger R/T,2009 Ford Flex Limited,2009 Honda Fit Sport,2009 Hyundai Genesis V6,2009 Infiniti FX50 AWD,2009 Nissan 370Z Touring,2009 Suzuki SX4,2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS,2010 Honda Insight EX

Below are the fuel economy numbers for September 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.

As always, a couple of cars are out on the road or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments.

After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.

Continue reading Big List of Fuel Economy: September 2009.

Categories: 2007 Honda Civic GX,2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR,2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2009 Audi A4 Avant,2009 Audi S5,2009 BMW 750i,2009 BMW M3,2009 Dodge Challenger R/T,2009 Dodge Ram 1500,2009 Ford Flex Limited,2009 Honda Fit Sport,2009 Hyundai Genesis V6,2009 Infiniti FX50 AWD,2009 Mazda 6 i Grand Touring,2009 Nissan 370Z Touring,2009 Nissan GT-R,2009 Suzuki SX4,2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS,2010 Honda Insight EX

There's really no point in complaining that the 2009 Honda Fit is noisier than it should be or could be. Among the current population of smaller-displacement four-cylinder engines in the U.S., you won't find one that sounds better than this 117-horsepower 1.5-liter. It develops a rather satisfying growl at higher rpm and it never acts displeased to be worked past 5,000.

But you're always going to hear the engine, so you'd better learn to love its scrappy demeanor. It's not that the Fit's gearing is so terribly short (0.552 5th gear, 4.56 final drive) -- at 70 mph, it's closing in on 3,500 rpm. It's that there simply isn't a lot of sound deadening material in this car. It's not serene. But that's a big reason why the Fit is lightweight (about 2,500 lbs), at least by modern small-car standards. Lack of weight is what makes it feel as quick and nimble as it does for its modest price tag. And it's an easy (and cheap) way to keep fuel consumption low.

So it has never once occurred to me that the Fit should be quieter. On the contrary, a quieter Fit would be a heavier, less direct-handling Fit, and I'll have none of that.

Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 13,249 miles

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport

The 2009 Honda Fit Sport with Mount Whitney looming behind. Photo by Andrew Reed.

We were at about 8,000 feet, climbing into the Sierra north of Bishop, California, when I looked in my rearview mirror. Two giant SUVs and a pickup truck were slowly closing in on me.

I downshifted, punched it and gradually put distance between the 2009 Honda Fit Sport and these hulking behemoths. When I came to the next set of tight mountain curves, the distance grew until these vehicles were small dots in my mirror.

Later that day I stopped for gas and ran the numbers on my Blackberry calculator. Despite the steep climb, three guys and all our gear, we got 37.4 mpg. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of mileage the SUVs and pickup truck logged over the same road.

It's quite likely that the drivers of those vehicles didn't check their mileage and wouldn't have cared about the result if they had. But I'm kind of fixated on this subject so I was pleased to find it had performed so well.

One minor reservation though, while we were getting 37.4 mpg the onboard gauge was telling us we were getting 40 mpg. Not a huge difference but it's nice to be accurate.

Philip Reed, Edmunds Senior Consumer Advice Editor @ 12,870 miles

Categories: 2009 Honda Fit Sport