So I thought I'd write this up for people that are considering the Honda Fit like I was over a month ago. Once I had made the decision to go a little more minimal and economical for my daily driver I started narrowing my search down to a few cars and went from there.
First off a little background on myself....I was born a poor black child in Tennessee....J/K I come from a long line of gear heads, family is full of them, I am 39 and have owned somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-32 cars, I go through them, allot. I have been very involved in the BMWCCA and owned allot of German sports cars, I think 6-7 M3's and a few Porsches, but I had my fair share of Japanese sporting cars such as hopped up Civics and a couple of S2000's. I have also spent allot of time on track doing Porsche/AUDI/BMW/Mercedes track days around the country and working with a professional BMW race team from 2005-2009.
In 2009 I sold my last S2000 and bought a used Mini Cooper S, thought it would be more economical, able to carry a couple people with me when in a bind, and still be more economical than the M3's I had been driving for the previous decade. The Mini was my first modern "hot hatch" and opened me up more to the thought of smaller cars with good interior room for daily driving duties. After the new wore off the Mini I found myself not happy with the fact I was having to use premium fuel and only getting about 25 around town and maybe 28-29 on the highway, this was a supercharged model not as efficiant as the new turbo S Mini. I wanted something cheaper to operate that I could haul some gear in and still fit the wife and my 3 young kids in when we needed to use my car instead of the mini-van.
"...hope you got a big trunk, cause I'm going to put my bike in it." That was what I thought as I looked at some contenders for car number 31 or 32 and their ability to seat 4-5 adults or carry a mountain bike. I started looking strictly as the more expensive options like the 4 door GTi, a used A3, Mazda3 hatch, etc. but challenged myself to look deeper at the more economical options, I thought I'd lower the bar and see what I could find, go slumming so to speak. I narrowed it down to the Mazda2, the Fiesta, and the Fit. So I took a day off work and test drove all 3 within a couple of hours to make my decision, I drove them all in a similar fashion, and made notes to review later.
That night when reviewing the notes on the cars to make my decision they were all pretty close, all three had something they did better than the other, but the Fit just felt like a much more substantial and solidly built car then the other 2 and it was just plain more fun to drive like an idiot, which me and my racing buddies will do from time to time. I tried finding a new sport with manual tranny from a dealer that didn't put $2k worth of marked up dealer options on it and instead found a 9k mile 2010 at a local Honda dealer that met my criteria and was Honda certified with their warranty.
One month into ownership and I love the car, even with its shortcomings, and there are only a few minor ones, this car is brilliant as a daily driver. The 3 points I had to have in the new car was lower monthly operating cost, could fit 5 people when needed, and could carry my mountain bike inside. Check mark on all three points with the Fit in all categories. This car gobbles up things in the back hatch like a porn star, ridiculous how much I can put in it. The second week we had the car we took my kids to the grandparents to spend a couple weeks over the summer, all 3 are under 10 and were fairly comfortable in the back seat for the trip with their mix of pillows and games. On the return trip from Memphis to Dallas with no kids we hauled a 3 drawer dresser, a power washer, a weed eater, and several boxes of stuff my parents had us bring to our house and managed to get 36.4mpg on the highway with the AC on at about 70mph, crazy. Combining the difference in car payment, insurance, and gas mileage I am saving a little over $110 a month compared to the Mini Cooper it replaced.
Back in the early-mid 90's I was pretty into the early Honda scene, I had some Civics that were modded up, one of them was one of the first 7 cars in the states to get the old Jackson Racing SC kit on it, thats old school. To me, the Fit has been like a return to my old Honda roots, sure we have had a couple of other H-cars since then like a stately Accord and a couple of S2k's but none of them felt like the early Honda's like the Fit. At times it feels like an evolution of the CRX, as if Honda engineers skipped production after 92 and started making the CRX again with the Fit in 2006. The light feel as I throw it around turns and the nimbleness it conveys while working through highway traffic reminds me of the first Honda I drove which was a late 80's CRX a friend had in high school. In my opinion, the Fit is more of a spiritual successor of the original CRX than the hybrid CRZ with a personality conflict that Honda tries to pass off as one now.
What would I change, well not much honestly, as far as what I'd do aftermarket. I will swap out some suspension bits to improve the looks a little and get a little more out of the handling when I drive like a traffic hooligan. Maybe some nicer rims/tires, more for aesthetics than anything else. And maybe a different set of pipes to hear my gear selection a little better and so that I can close my eyes at the stoplight and imagine I'm 20 again and blipping the throttle just to hear the new exhaust of my Civic while driving to class.
My only request to Honda would be to bring us a an RS version for 2012, something with a few more hp/tq with some changes to the intake and exhaust, maybe some stiffer springs, and a 6 speed. Slap some sportier looking rims on it and I'll give mine to the wife and go buy a new one.

 

Hey I remember your 1st week report. Thought your story sounded familiar. Good write up (bit long though ). Looks like you really did your due diligence. Heheh, graphic porn star reference there...

BTW (off topic), I lived a few years in Memphis when I was in the Navy, stationed in Milington. I remember winter's black ice quite vividly as I made my share of loops (unintentionally) on 51 with my '71 Mach1.

 

Glad to know I'm not the only old guy here. I had a boosted S2K, 04 STi with every APS piece made, and EVO IX as the fun cars. Now, my kids come first. Just our nut on daycare is $335 a WEEK. That goes down 100 a week next week now that my daughter starts school.

The only thing I think I plan on doing is springs (as stiff as I can get with the least amount of drop) rear sway, and chassis bracing. I want to keep it as close to stock as possible so people just leave it alone. I just want to eliminate as much body role as possible, and lay some sound deadening down to make a quieter ride.

 

Nice early ownership review! I'm just under two months with my '11 sport and tend to agree. So far, my mod's have been for looks/lux features (clazzio leather seat covers, jdm tails, ceramic tint, cell mount/bluetooth, digital fusion mats, etc.). My sole performance mod has been swift springs. Really happy with them.

A friend could not believe it when I easily got a 42" plasma (in oem box) in the car standing upright.

I dig it more and more as I discover how fun, functional, and frugal it really is.

 

Great review! Welcome to the family of car nuts with Fits. There are quite a few folks on here who are happy with theirs who have a similar story to yours.

I fit a 50" plasma upright in the box in mine.

 

Great review, and nice to see another old dude in here. :-) I tell people the Fit is the nicest car I've ever owned and also the cheapest.

I agree on all points, especially the return to Honda's original roots.

 

Thanks for your great write-up madsedan. I am impressed with your savings...$110 a month will save you about $1,300 a year and over $10,000 in ten years

 

Monthly log is a great idea! I traded in an 2005 Acura TL which use to be our family car until we got an Odyssey. Miss the power on the TL but not the gas mileage or premium gas. L

 

Nice review. I also wrote a long review on my Fit as well, lol. Some spaces(enters) between lines would make it easier to read though.
I love the Fit and agree with the simple aftermarket changes youre looking at. Its a fun daily driver, not a track car.

 

I got a free mpg app on my iphone, I plug in the updated odometer reading, number of gallons, and price per gallon and it tracks everything.
Over the last couple weeks I have been averaging 32.6mpg in around town daily driving and commuting. I'll be doing some highway trips in the next couple weeks so that average will push up a bit but still very happy with the mpg in the Fit.