Hi,

This forum has been very useful to me since I bought my 2012 Fit Sport, and I thought I'd share my thoughts about choosing and buying a Fit.

I needed a replacement for a 2000 Civic EX. It was a great car, but at over 140K it was starting to show it's age. We needed a good run around town car, that got good mileage and was a little sporty. The contenders:

Toyota Corolla S - Nice car, and actually a little cheaper after discounts, but a total bore to drive.

VW Jetta - Not bad, but the bottom line one with the 4 cyl seemed gutless. The interior was MUCH cheaper looking the older Jettas too. VW quality can be dodgy too. The TDI was awesome to drive, but at $25K over budget.

Civic EX - Surprisingly, this car would only have been around $500 more than the Fit after negotiations and incentives. It was very sharp looking, and had better EPA ratings than the Fit with more power at the same time. Honestly, the Civic is MUCH more car than the Fit, especially for the price. If I only had one car, I probably would have bought the Civic over the Fit. It drove very well, and was awesome and quiet on the highway. So why didn't I buy the Civic?

• The Civic's handling was not nearly as nice as the Fit's
• The Civic has a very ugly, video game dash
• Everyone has a Civic
• The Fit had more room for larger items
• The Civic was too low (for me)
• I liked the leather wrapped steering wheel and clear gauges on the Fit

We really like the Fit, but it is a unique car, with lots of tradeoffs. It reminds me of an FJ Cruiser I had for a few years. It was very fun and fairly unique, but had some quirks that kept if from being a great all around vehicle for many folks. Awesome things about the Fit:

• Handling
• Interior Design
• Sporty Looks
• Super Easy to Park
• Fairly Inexpensive
• Cheap to Insure (it was less to insure than my 2000 Civic EX!)
• Spacious Interior
• Fairly Unique (i.e. not like a Corolla, Civic, or Jetta)
• The engine looks very easy to work on (snappy oil changes!)
• Of all of the cars we looked at, the Fit seemed to have the best quality. Built in Japan still means something.
• It's Fun!

Some things that I wish were better:

• Give it a little more power. A 1.6 or 1.8 (130-140hp) would be great, and probably wouldn't impact mileage. I am not a speed demon, but the 1.5 is a little wheezy, especially on hills. We have a lot of hills and mountains here. Why not have a Fit Si?
• I wish the mileage were a little better. I am getting around 29-30mpg 70% city/30% hwy. My old Civic did this, and had around the same power. I am aware that there are variables in mileage, driving conditions and habits, but apples to apples the Fit should do better than a 12 year old Civic. I only have 2k on the car, so hopefully this will inch up a bit.
• The paint is really soft, and my Fit already has a few chips.
• The engine fan absolutely roars and the engine surges at idle when the a/c or defroster is on. Why? My old Civic had almost the same size engine, without this terrible sound. It makes the car seem cheap.
• It would be nice to get another gallon or two into the gas tank. It seems like I fill it up a lot.

Other things for people to consider when thinking about buying a Fit:

• While it is quieter than an older Fit (I drove a 2011, that was loud enough that it would have kept me from purchasing it), it is still not a quiet car. If you are on the highway a lot and drive over 70mph, think about a Civic.
• You have no privacy in the Fit, as the windows are large and lightly tinted.
• The Fit has SPORTY handling. I love it, but the steering is almost too fast for my wife. You have to really pay attention on the highway.
• It is probably one of the best city cars on the road, considering ease of parking, zippy handling, and very flexible interior.
• It is an AWESOME soccer mom/dad vehicle. I have three teenagers, and am constantly carting them around. It is easy to get in and out of, and gets pretty good mpgs while zipping around.
• Greenies love you! I get comments about what an environmentally concious person I must be for having a Fit. Maybe this is just a Seattle/West Coast thing.Thank God they didn't see the Tundra .
• It is a pretty good car to teach a kid how to drive on, other than the fast steering. Now I know why most of the local driving schools have Civics.
• The Honda dealers, in this area at least, all pack their vehicles with stupid pin stripes and ugly door moldings to jack up the price, along with bogus fees. Negotiating was also more difficult and arduous than I remember, so much so that I will not buy a car again from the local dealer. I also will not purchase any parts or services from them. When I bought a Toyota just two years ago, it was a much better, and more honest, experience.

After two months, we have had no problems at all (knock on wood). The car has functioned well. Mileage was as mentioned above, and I'll fill it up with Mobil 1 at around 5K. I still need to remove all of the stupid moldings when it warms up a bit. We both love to drive it, and have pressed it into kid hauling service.

So, all in all we are happy with the Fit. Just be advised that it is a car with it's own personality. There are better all around cars out there, but if you want a unique city hopper that is sporty and fun to drive, the Fit may be the car for you.


YMMV

 

thanks for the thoughts. I went to the dealership today to look at the fit s and also looked at the civic. the fit feels more like a utility vehicle (more plastic parts, more hard, less soft). there was a lot of people there and when I sat inside the fit the people were audible, more quiet in the civic, and almost non existent in the ex accord. I'm also considering the corolla s, I dont care about being in a boring car as long as it does not give me problems. I'm also pretty pleased at the resale price. Seems like the used ones are being sold for just as much as the new ones so if I can manage not to get smashed and keep the car clean I could expect good resale value after a year or two. I've checked on fuelly and seen some owners are getting up to 40 mpg and I believe it's more achievable with the stick shift which I plan on getting.
decisions decisions.

 

If you don't mind a boring car, I'd look at the Corolla. The S is better looking than standard Corolla, and has nicer features. I think that it is only $1K or so more money. I have had lots of Toyotas over the years, and have never had problems with them. I think that the Corolla S is very close to a Civic LX price-wise. Drive them all and see what you like, as whatever you buy should stay with you for some time. Any of these cars will bite you with a lot of depreciation if you buy them new then sell them within a few years. Keep them longer and that will pay off in reducing the total cost of ownership. I sold my 2000 Civic with 140K miles on Craigslist in 4 hours! It depreciated about 6% a year over it's life. Pretty good!