Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

2013 Honda Fit Sport

Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2013-...photo-5845486/

The current Honda Fit has been around the block a few times. The subcompact hatch has soldiered on without significant revision since its first update for US customers in 2009, and while Honda is on the verge of launching a third generation, we thought we'd take the time to see how the runabout stacks up against the new wave of small, efficient and plucky five-doors now on the American market. Those include old standbys like the Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris, as well as relative newcomers like the Chevrolet Sonic and Ford Fiesta.

Those machines may have all covered ground on the Fit, but Honda's wee machine holds a pleasant surprise for those buyers still willing to give the car the time of day. While the rest of the Japanese automaker's lineup has succumbed to dreaded model bloat, the Fit has remained true to the spirit of Honda that we remember from our vagabond youths. This may very well still be the closest genetic ancestor to the Civic models of old.

Outside, the Fit Sport continues to wear its "I'm the meanest June Bug" looks with pride. The oversized, wedge-shaped headlamps and aggressive lower fascia help lend the design plenty of attitude up front, and our tester's 16-inch alloy wheels keep this Honda from looking like it was the cheapest thing on the lot. Still, with a massive windscreen, tall greenhouse and short wheelbase, the Fit Sport can't help but look over-inflated, but that's a criticism we could levy at nearly every other product in this segment as well.


The Sport body kit plays nicely with the Fit's attractive lines, which keep the aesthetics from turning too slab sided. Step around to the rear, and the subcompact serves up a surprising helping of angles, both in its number plate inset and with the hatch lines themselves. Sport guise also contributes a small rear diffuser and spoiler, and while the bits aren't fooling anyone into believing they actually deliver any major aerodynamic benefit, we appreciate the styling choice all the same.

Once you're indoors, the bulbous exterior starts to make more sense. The Fit Sport still delivers an impressive amount of headroom for passengers both front and rear. With 40.4 inches up front, the Fit bests the Sonic, Fiesta and Yaris. Only the Versa hatchback offers more space for your cranium, and only a smidge more at that with 40.6 inches (Nissan isn't offering a 2013 model year Versa hatchback; it's being replaced later this year by the 2014 Versa Note). Rear passengers, though, will find more headroom in the Honda than any of its competitors.


Some six years later, the plucky little five-door continues to be a packaging wonder. Its flat load floor helps deliver a surprising amount of cargo area with the rear bench folded – up to 57.3 cubic feet. That number is more than twice what the Fiesta delivers, bests the Sonic by 10 cubes and the Versa hatchback by nearly seven. In fact, it's more space than class-above competitors like the Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra GT and Mazda3 hatchbacks. And it's not just maximum cargo space where the Fit still wins, but also how those cubes are reconfigurable to accept objects of various shape and size. The trick second-row seat bottoms flip up to provide more vertical cubes of stowage space than a car this size should allow, and the front passenger seat tilts all the way back to help accommodate objects up to seven-foot, nine-inches in length. For people who want maximum utility in the smallest, least expensive package possible, the Fit is king.

The Fit also delivers a refreshingly unfussy dash bereft of the smattering of screens or jigsaw assembly Honda seems enamored with as of late. Instead, the driver gets treated to a logical instrument cluster with simple, easy-to-read gauges. Our Sport tester came with an attractive steering wheel with a stitched and perforated cover. Redundant controls and paddle shifters are part of the package as well, but don't expect those paddles to do anything beyond look good. Click the hardware and the delay between shifts is long enough to write, publish and distribute your own novella.


That's not to say we're in love with everything indoors. The infotainment system is showing its age in a big way, with pixelated graphics and slow response times between input and execution. We've seen gas station fuel pumps with more sophisticated interfaces. And while the seats are both supportive and comfy, the cloth material is nearly impossible to keep clean with thousands of little pockets to trap lint and other detritus of modern life. Still, those are small complaints for a car with this many years on its bones.

Under the hood, you'll find the same 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 117 horsepower and 106 pound-feet of torque, and our tester marries the mill with a five-speed automatic transmission. If the rest of the segment has made up ground on the Fit anywhere, it's here. Chevrolet will gladly sell you a Sonic with a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder good for 128 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque, and when paired with a six-speed automatic, the combination is good for 27 miles per gallon city and 37 mpg highway. Throw a manual six-speed in there and those figures climb to 29 and 40.


For comparison, the Fit can only manage 27 mpg city and 33 mpg highway regardless of the transmission choice, and while the Sonic weighs in a full 200 pounds more than the Fit, the Chevrolet feels markedly more confident on the road. Likewise, the Fiesta delivers an Environmental Protection Agency-rated 29 mpg city and 33 mpg combined with a few extra ponies over the Fit.

That said, the Fit is a shockingly enjoyable car to drive. Getting anywhere with any speed requires a certain familiarity with the engine's upper octaves, but like most Honda four-cylinders, the 1.5 loves to be wound out. Let the variable valve timing system do its magic and the engine does its best to come alive. But the real pleasure is in the vehicle's light weight and nimble feel, excellent suspension tuning and capable brakes. You can a have a plethora of fun in this machine before you get anywhere near the limits of the vehicle or the law. What's more, it doesn't take any work to hit those EPA figures, something we can't necessarily say for its competitors. We saw over 31 mpg even with a fair slice of hammering.

In this way, the Fit can't help but feel like a carbon copy of the Civics of old. This car is perhaps the last in the Honda stable that can follow its footsteps right back to the EF and EG generations, and it feels great for it. It also pulls at those heartstrings that are still tender for the Honda we've lost.


On the highway, the Fit is as quiet as any of its competitors and feels stable at speed. Though it may take some time to reach traveling speed, the driveline doesn't seem harried or out of breath at 70 miles per hour. As such, we could easily see covering four hours or so of roadway without wanting to feed our faces to a wood chipper. That's more than we can say for the Nissan Versa.

Make no mistake, the Chevrolet Sonic with the optional turbo engine is by far more entertaining to toss around, and it isn't as if opting for the more powerful engine will break the bank. Chevrolet asks just $700 to step up to the turbo in LT trim. Our Fit tester clicked up to just $20,580 with a $790 destination fee, complete with navigation, a six-speaker stereo and Bluetooth capability, which puts it neck and neck with its competitive set.

We have to tip our hat to the Fit for staying as sharp as it has for so long. While you can have more fun and get better EPA numbers out of some other players in this neck of the woods, the smallest of the Honda family still offers unbeatable interior space and an excellent drive. At the end of the day, this car is still far from the back of the pack and can hold its head high among much fresher metal.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/29/2...-sport-review/

mmarshall

LOL. Looks like they agree...I've said for years that the front end looks like an insect.


Ditto. I also noticed a cheapening of interior materials from the 1Gen to the 2Gen.

But the space efficiency is nothing short of outstanding. It's so roomy inside that one has to be careful not to overload it and weigh it down past its rated-capacity.

A little too noisy on the road for for my tastes, but I admit it is responsive.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Very competent little sub-compact. Friend of mine just picked up a new one. She's very happy with it

IS350jet

LOL! EPA highway is worse than the Accord V6! What is wrong with that picture?

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Tiny little 1.5L with 5-Auto struggles to keep speed vs those two extra cylinders and one extra cog

Blackraven

I love the Honda Fit/Jazz..........and to be honest, I personally prefer it over the Toyota Yaris.

Just saying

memasterac

With that mediocre fuel mileage, the Fit could use more horsepower as many of its competitor have gotten better mpg and more HP.

bagwell

I don't understand why they don't put the standard Civic 1.8L i-VTEC in-line 4 OHC w/variable valve timing in this thing!?!?!?! 140 hp @ 6500 rpm; 128 ft lb of torque @ 4300 rpm, 28 MPG city, 39 MPG highway, 32 MPG combined


2014 coming soon?

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Because it will eat up Civic sales...


Let's not forget that this car is targeted as an International car, rather than an American one.

For some countries, cars are taxed based on engine displacement.

And we don't even know the breath and depth of the variety of subcompact vehicles and engine choices that are available in Japan (and Asia in general). I believe the Fit has multiple personalities in Japan, with more engine choices and upgrades/amenities.


There is a reason why this car is cheap in the U.S. -- It's because we get the cheap version.

mmarshall

If last year's Civic (trust me) didn't eat up Civic sales, nothing will.

That car, by previous Civic standards, was an insult...and it still sold. Nevertheless, Honda still did an emergency one-year refresh on it for 2013, improving it in several ways.

doublehh03

It sold b/c of incentives/discounts on the hood. You don't want to sell a car that way, esp. a high volume core model like the Civic with Honda. That can really damage the overall branding of the civic, which already took a hit last year with the redesign.

Considering its competition, it's not that cheap. I think base MSRP of a Fit is priced higher than most, if not all, of its competition.

Furthermore, you can get a new Corolla or Sentra less than a new Fit right now, and that's the Civic's competition.

B/c of the yen and Fits are primarily made in Japan, you basically don't get any discounts on the Fit.

bagwell

hmmmmmmmmmm...Civic isn't available as a wagon.

they we will built in MEXICO for 2014

LexFather

Right Honda stated they lose money on every Fit sold. It is getting tougher and tougher for brands to make a decent profit on small cars, we are talking $500 here in some cases!

It always looked like a mini mini mini van to me but the cargo flexibility is nice.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Wagon or not, a subcompact should never cost more nor have the upgraded engine options than the make's bread-and-butter compact.

The Yaris/Versa/Fit/Accent should always be less than the Corolla/Sentra/Civic/Elantra.
Even the Prius c has a smaller engine than the regular Prius.

And at a certain pricepoint, consumers would rather move up in car size than engine size.

By offering the same engine as the compact, a subcompact has the potential to cannibalize sales from it's own brand. This is now more apparent with many makes, such as the Rav4 forgoing the V6 for the Highlander only.

I doubt none of the subcompacts listed above will get the larger engine found in their sibling compact's powertrain. And with CAFE regulations coming, automotive brands may think less about "going big" and rather choose "staying small."

doublehh03

Correct. So you should see an increase on Fit sales for next generation since they will be made in North America.