Hi all,

I'm in the market for a new car, and I come to FitFreak to ask for some help.

Convince me to buy a Fit. That's your goal. And it's gonna be hard, cos it's up against some pretty difficult competitors.

Bear with me here, I know the list that I'm comparing it to isn't really fair. The Fit is at the bottom of my price range, the few other cars I've narrowed it down to include the Civic, Impreza 5dr, and Mini Cooper. The Rabbit used to be on the list, but after test driving it I'm not super estatic about it.

Here are the things I absolutely adore about the Fit. Out of all my choices, I find the exterior the most attractive. With the factory lip kit, the Sport looks as sporty as I want it to be with a mild drop.

There's the functionality of the hatch. A few days ago I helped my ladyfriend move out, and our family's SUV swallowed so much more stuff vs a sedan. Though not as large, I'm sure a Fit has impressive cargo hauling ability.

The lack of power I'm not concerned about. I drove a GD Fit for a day, and had so much fun.

The fuel economy puts a huge smile on my face. Sipping 5L/100KM highway would be wonderful, as I would love to take roadtrips often. I just came back from Quebec, QC .. my favourite city in the country.

There's, of course, the Honda reliability and resale. Whichever car I decide to choose, it will kept for a while. Though a new car, I expect the Honda to last 300k and beyond.

The biggest advantage of the Fit over the other cars I'm considering is the price. It's 5-10k cheaper, and that much money in the bank really helps out with student loans and such. However, I am a car enthusiast that loves to drive ... so a car that I love means a lot to me.

Lets get to the things I dislike about the Fit.

-Lack of moonroof, no real biggie. I love being under the stars, but I'm sure if it's not there I wont really miss it. I'm just so used to cars with it.

-Rear drum brakes. Hm. Archaic design isn't it? Reliable I'm sure, but stopping power? I care far more about stopping quickly than accelerating quickly. I almost always change out to performance pads, SS brake lines, and high temp brake fluids ... so this design bothers me.

-Torsion beam rear suspension. This is my biggest concern.

In terms of performance, I want a car that eat corners for breakfast. I want a car that'll dive into an apex faster, brake later, and exit at a higher speed than any other car. I want to be able to reel in muscle cars at the turns =) Handling is by far the most important out of all.

Granted, I'll only track my Fit for fun ... and not more then a handful of days per year ... I still want that precision handling for my everyday driver.

A brief look at the Track forum tells me the Fit is severely outclassed by the Mini Cooper. That's to be understood I suppose. The Cooper had racing heritage, and far superior suspension design. The Cooper is also the most expensive vehicle I'm looking at.

How does the Fit compare with the other vehicles? They are more powerful, so I'm sure they will be far faster on the straights, but in the corners? Civic Si with LSD? Impreza with the horizontally opposed H4 and symmetrical AWD?

Has anyone tracked these aggressively?

These two competitors both have superior suspension in theory (macPherson strut front and double wishbone rear)... however are pigs compared to the Fit. A substantial 500lb difference. The Cooper was the same weight with superior suspension, but in this comparison would the weight be enough to offset the inferior design?

Stock?
Modified? (let's say upgraded matched dampers/springs with a rear anti-sway and grippy tires)

I really want to love the Fit. I really do. The lack of power doesn't bother me. It's just the inferior suspension and brakes. Now theory doesn't always equal real world results. For example, I've seen a comparison where a Yaris Sedan pulled higher Gs on a modified suspension compared to many race cars g Masters Challenges - Lateral Acceleration Testing

I keep hearing the Fit is fun to drive, and handles real well. I'm sure it's true, but how about compared to the other vehicles in question?

Can I toss the Fit into a turn and not worry about it breaking traction and losing itself?

Start the convincing =)

 

Wow that was a book....

Anyways. I'm glad your thinking of a Fit but honestly nobody here is probably going to be able to persuade you any differently. You seem to have a basic understanding of each car and any advice you get here is obviously going to lean towards the Fit (since we are all owners and we too have more in likely looked into these cars I know I did) Each person has different needs and wants.
After all that... if you want my opinion on what I would choose obviously out of the cars listed the best for me was the Fit

Secondly I would probably choose the civic or the 5dr subie.
They are even in my book due to Civic gets good gas mileage but Subie being hatch and awd. Looks wise I like the civic better even though they are everywhere. Both are good reliability.

Thirdly I would have to choose the Rabbit. I'm not too excited about vw's reliability but the rabbit is a good all around car.

And finally would be the mini. Other than a fun track car I don't really car for the mini's just not practical for my applications.


To your suspension and brake questions...I am lowered on Tanable DF's and feel my car handles pretty darn well. With upgraded tires I feel the car could hang with alot more race inspired cars around the turns easily. As for the drum brakes I think they are substantial for the car rear rotors would be nice but I don't feel they are really needed. Its not a 300hp car so you don't really need heavy duty brakes. In the future if I feel I need more stopping power I am going to upgrade the brakes to slotted/cross drilled rotors with ebc green stuff pads.

After having single piston calipers that warped like crazy on my Acura CL-S I think the Fits stock brakes are pretty d*mn good.

Again this are only my opinion and everyone is different so good luck choosing.

 

Why would i try and convince you to buy a car? i'm not a salesman.

The fit is a good small family car with lots of cargo room and it is a very fun car to drive.

if you need to be convinced by people on the internet are you sure you really want the car?

Happy Canada Day by the way

 

yah really. if you have the time to write a book go out for a test drive and figure out for yourself if the car is right for you.

imho there is really no tough competitor for the Fit. Fit is by far a car enthusiast's car (well, a daily driver hahaha).

that's if you are a car type.

 

Haha! Thanks for all the replies, those are real quick. I apologize for the long post. When I start talking, I usually don't stop....

I am going to test drive each and every car at least once. I pretty much scratched the Rabbit off the list because on the test drive, I didn't really like it. And a bit put off by VW's reliability in the long run. The Mini was a dream, I fell in love with the interior and it handled like it was on rails. I still need to test drive the Impreza, Civic and Fit.

But with a test drive, opinions from people that have tracked each car would still be greatly appreciated.

I understand you're not salespeople, but as Fit enthusiasts I'm sure you'd want to defend your ride and I'm asking for help!

Fit's fun to drive, but how fun? Can it keep up with Imprezas (non-turbos) and Civics in the corners? If so, then I can save 5k and be happy with my purchase =)

 

well i kept up to an impreza in a canyon run near my place, i completely destroyed my friend's civic (and it has over 200hp) mind you, he doesn't know how to drive, and i blew past a few 1st gen supras and an s2k. the fit is a real apex carver, but i find on the long fast corners it doesn't have the power to accelerate as hard as i'd like

 

I'm sorry to flame but the s2k must not have been racing or the driver really sucked. An s2k can handle a lot better then a Fit (esp. a stock fit) now if you were lowered you might have a slight chance but coming out of a turn the s2k has the power to exit a lot faster. Plus the fact an s2K has better braking 0-60 ~114ft where as the Fit is ~130ft. The fit is a fun canyon run car but an s2k is way above its league (all depending on the driver of course)

 

The cars on your list is like a fruit salad, none of them are the same...if you don't believe us, why don't you read any car mag or any car site and see what they say about the Fit. It's always considered a great car for a great value, period. If you are looking for a gas saver that is fun to drive,has cargo space, but may not burn off the line, then this is your car...kind of a no brainer...please don't buy one then come in here and expect to be able to put a small ATV in it.....*wink*

 

Out of all those the Fit will cost you the least for fuel. It has four doors and better cargo capacity than any.

Don't be too concerned about the torsion beam, it works well enough. Get the Sport though for an added rear sway bar and better stability. I think the Civic also has one?

The drum rear brakes, I can't comment much on their effectiveness because our model has rear discs. I think the drums probably give you a far more effective parking brake, and really, the rear brakes on a light FWD car don't do a whole lot, because most are very nose heavy.

It all depends what you want it for:

Space and economy - the Fit
Outright performance, money no object - the Mini
Sedan styling and some light weight towing ability - the Civic or the Subaru

 

I'd say the mere fact you can compare the Fit to the other cars on your list is a testament to its versatility.

 

Btw don't get your panties in a bunch over the rear drums. The fronts are responsible for more than 75% of the stopping force. Besides, the drum assembly is likely lighter than an equivalent disc assembly. That's how it is on 2nd gen CRXs.

 

Cooper's mpg can go as low as 17. there was a guy (dennis something, I don't rememeber) on here a couple months ago comparing about 10 cars, and he felt the imprezas interior was cheap, and I personally would get the wrx or last years sti if I had the choice.

 

The impreza's interior is indeed cheap feeling. I felt like I could accidentally break off the inner door handle

 

the only thing for me is the lack of bluetooth

 

i'm sure he was a pretty bad driver, but based from my experience, my fit is faster in the canyon than his s2k

 

Would not want to convince you of anything, whatever rings your bell.

Torsion beam is light and I saw how much the center beam flexes when I put a jack under one T arm when I was changing springs. It actually is a lot like an independent rear suspension, huge bonus is amazing anti-dive under braking, the rear actually squats rather than lifts.

Rear drums.
Light car, like 61% front weight bias, rear brakes do not need to do all that much, drums are fine in this application.
Bonus is a little less rolling resistance. Disc pads need to drag a little on the rotors to stay clean and dry, drum brake shoes do not need to do that.

Civic or Civic Si? which one is your other choice????? You mention one in one post, then the other in another post......

Kenchan has both Gens of Fits and a Mini.....he would be my go to on that one.

 

I agree. My perspective on the car drastically changed.