2008 Honda Fit - 10Best Cars

Entertainingly small.

The Fit belongs to a class—basic transportation—that we once acknowledged with a patronizing pat on the head but now take more seriously. There are two reasons for this. The first is obvious: Soaring fuel costs and environmental concerns are making small cars increasingly popular. The second is not so obvious: Basic transportation no longer means deprivation. Not only does the Fit deliver what you’d expect—high mpg numbers and low ownership costs—but it also delivers something you might not: high-quality interior appointments, a high level of usefulness, and a high fun-to-drive index.

The Fit scores well in those areas of unexpectedness. There seems to be more room inside this car than the tidy exterior could possibly contain, the seats flop and fold to yield great cargo versatility, and the interior appointments would do justice to an Accord.

But it’s the Fit’s agility and terrier spirit that win our hearts. With 109 horsepower, blazing acceleration isn’t part of the deal, but it’s worth noting that the Fit posted an astonishing speed in our lane-change test (71.4 mph), outhustling pedigreed athletes such as a Ferrari F430 Spider F1, and topped a seven-car comparison [“$15,000 Cheap Skates,” May 2006].

2007 Honda Fit Sport - Comparison Test

First Place: $15,000 Cheap Skates

The Fit is sold in more than 70 countries and is known in Europe as the Jazz. It debuts at C/D in typical Honda show-off fashion, winning by 25 points — a cakewalk.

Our little red Fit was the quickest to 60 mph (tied with the Reno) and the quickest in the quarter-mile yet offered the least engine NVH and the second-best observed fuel economy. It came equipped with the most supportive seats, the most expensive-looking interior, an Acura-grade gauge cluster, and the ergonomics of an Accord.

What truly set the Fit apart was its handling — not a pretense of handling but the real deal, with springs and struts that allowed one gentle rebound and no more, the only car here that felt happy storming the switchbacks. We later confirmed this when the Fit sailed through our lane-change test 6 mph faster than anything else here — faster, in fact, than a Corvette Z06.

Abetting the handling was linear, direct steering — you could pick out a pebble at an apex and reliably place the Fit's inside-front wheel directly atop it — a shifter that Hyundai and Suzuki would do well to copy, and pedals for real heel-and-toeing.

Despite its midget proportions — the least width and length, riding on the shortest wheelbase — the Fit will swallow an amazing 42 cubic feet of household miscellany when its rear seats are toppled. And they fold quite cleverly, without removing the headrests, into a deep well, making the cargo floor as flat as a trailer park.

We wish the Fit had a true dead pedal and that its rear-three-quarter visibility were better. Otherwise, we elect it president of the economobiles. Unlike Ohio's Presidents, this one is alive. Very alive.

Not only does the Fit deliver what you’d expect—high mpg numbers and low ownership costs—but it also delivers something you might not: high-quality interior appointments, a high level of usefulness, and a high fun-to-drive index.

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...and the interior appointments would do justice to an Accord.