Hi All, I'm new here and am looking for people's thoughts on the 2nd gen. Fit for a family vehicle. My wife and I are about to have our first kiddo and we're looking to add a second vehicle to the mix. We're looking for a hatchback/wagon that gets good mileage, and are homing in on the Fit and the Prius. However, we live up in the Twin Cities and snow is well...here for like half the year. I'm wondering if people have recommendations on how well this'll do in the snow. It looks like this gen has better storage capacity than the 3rd, but how is this car for hauling stuff. Our families are both out of state so we will be doing some longer drives with stuff in the car in this vehicle. Thanks everyone for your help!

 

The Fit does as well in the snow as most any smallish front wheel drive vehicle, which is to say it's not bad at all. Good snow tires do help a good bit, of course. The ground clearance is perhaps a bit of a concern if you get deep drifts across the road; no car does well when high-pointed on a snow drift. Still, generally speaking, there's no need to be concerned with winter driving ability in my opinion; at least, I've had no complaints over four Vermont winters.

Cargo space (in any generation of Fit) is exceptional with the back seats folded and decent but not amazing with the seats in use. You can, of course, split the difference by folding one of the seats. I've hauled, at different times, a dismembered secretary (from Ikea, not from a temp agency!), ten rolls of attic insulation, a screen door, 8' lumber, a full-size drill press, etc.

 

MN: perhaps the biggest issue when talking cars is price point. You did not mention what yours is? That leaves the door open to brand new vehicles or 15 year old used cars. When dealing with wagons, there is an immediate trade off between interior comfort and gas mileage. For instance, the Toyota Venza is a much more family friendly wagon, but will not get anywhere close in gas mileage as a much smaller Fit. You mentioned kid(s), hauling and distant traveling. I just don't see the Fit as a go-to vehicle for you. Fun to drive around town: yes. Easy to park: yes. Great cars for young drivers: yes. Stores lots of stuff if you are driving solo: yes. But a family wagon: no. As I have posted before, if you need to haul more than the driver, store stuff and want a comfy distance driving machine, finding a used Elantra Touring is a good choice. I routinely get 30 MPGs in suburban driving with mine. I'm seeing a ton of them up here in Vancouver this week. I can't comment on the Prius V aside from the obvious gas mileage. We can throw out better suggestions if we have an idea of what your budget is. As for buying a Fit, it is a bullet proof, no brainier purchase.....as long as you don't expect it to do more than its size allows. With the constant model changes to the small CUV segment, there are a ton of great choices to be had on used RAV4s, CRVs, CX5s, Tucsons, etc. which would fit a growing family much better.

 

The only tough decision will be whether you opt for a Sport with the 16" wheels and a slightly harder to find tire size, or you opt for the base model with 15" wheels.

I have a Sport, and it is great in the snow! Tires are key. I have Michelin Premier's for the summer and Dunlop Winter Maxx for winter.

The ability to lay rear seats flat into the floor and to fully recline the passenger front seat allows for an amazing cargo capability! I'm always pleasantly surprised at what the Fit will fit, harr harr.

It's a great little car, and its fun to drive too. Our dealership uses a Fit as a parts delivery car.

 

I can offer this opinion.
I've owned BOTH Honda Fits...Gen 2 and Gen 3, and a Gen 3 Prius.

IMO...all 3 good/great vehicles.

BUT.....
IMO if snow and inclement weather is a huge priority? The Hybrid nature of a Prius does NOT make it an ideal snow or ice vehicle. IMO...it was the worst I've ever owned in snow and ice. It has an aggressive traction control to protect the electric motor. And the regenerative brakes? Well...also IMO not the best on slick surfaces.
That being said, Prius owners will tell you how great they are in snow and ice and blizzards...once they put snow tires on them. Even though many of them make them work, - I routinely disagreed with my at the time Prius Brethren on this issue.
But my experience? I liked my Prius BUT...it really wasn't the best in snow and ice. Snow tires ABSOLUTELY a must, and even then...not the best vehicle choice.

The Fit...you know what? Also not the best choice. I feel more confident in The Fit in snow and ice...the front wheel drive and balance of The Fit make it pretty sure footed. BUT...it has low ground clearance.

Really, if I lived in the Snow Belt, and blizzard or severe snow storm conditions were routine, and I was dealing with a growing family?
I'd consider a Subaru All-Wheel Drive product.

And I'm saying that as a one time Prius owner and current Honda Fit owner.

If the choice is absolutely down to Prius vs. Fit, and snow and ice driving is the priority...I would EASILY recommend The Fit over The Prius.

But I think neither would be my choice, if routinely driving in those conditions with a growing family was the reality.

 

If I had to take kids on a road trip, I'd prefer an Odyssey EX-L, with a DVD player stocked with kid-friendly movies.

Depending on your driving capabilities in snow, you might consider a Forrester, however. They are almost magical in winter weather. You can always add a DVD to the Subaru...

A Fit is rather smallish when you start factoring other cars sliding into you on snow/slush/ice. Probably won't win a battle with a Denali or a rogue dump truck, but then again, only a giant SUV would likely fend-off such an accident.

 

Obviously an extreme example, but it's an extreme world out there.

 

Reading the comments here made me laugh a bit.

Low ground clearance for the fit? Maybe it you're used to an F-150.

I live in Canada (Quebec) and never had a problem with snow. Before the Fit, I drove a 94 civic hatch that had even lower ground clearance without problem.

ANY vehicle will not drive well in the snow it you don't have proper tires. The key here is to get good tires. It doesn't matter if you have the sport or base model as you should get another set of rims to go with your snow tires.

An AWD vehicle may help you move forward in the snow but you won't stop faster.

I think the Fit is an awesome family car. Lots of room and good gas mileage. If you install a rear facing child seat, this leaves little room in the front for an adult. Depending on the size of the adult, you might feel a little cramped.

Here's my Fit Sport with winter tires installed

 

Don't know why you would think that is funny.
It's simply true.
The Fit does have low ground clearance.
True, many new vehicles have similar low ground clearance. But the Fit definitely is one of them.
I didn't measure, but I think The Fit has lower ground clearance than The Prius. Even though neither offered a good place for a fat man to hide.

I agree that all vehicles do better with dedicated real snow tires. I'd recommend that choice with Prius, Fit, or Subaru.

Don't know if I agree that stopping distance wouldn't be better with All-Wheel drive vs. Front Wheel Drive.
I have relatives that own a Subaru All-Wheel drive wagon, and we borrowed it once to drive from the city to the mountains during the winter and I was amazed at how well the All-Wheel drive worked.
It was near seamless.
Maybe the biggest danger is that it felt so sure footed in the snow, you are apt to forget to be cautious. You start to feel like the system allows you to do ANYTHING in the snow and ice.

I'm not saying The Fit is a bad vehicle in snow and ice. Yes, with front wheel drive, especially with snow tires, I think it can be pretty good.

But it does have low ground clearance, and if I was looking for vehicle to be the safest to transport family....and have room for hauling, in routine and repeated snow storm conditions.

I have to say an All-Wheel Drive product would probably be ahead of either The Fit or Prius on the list.

That's not to say with a good set of snow tires, The Fit can't be used in winter conditions pretty well.
Just when I see...Family, Baby, and Hauling and Repeated Snow Storm Conditions....I think I'm going with All-Wheel Drive.
The Subaru's are pretty much designed to exactly match those need parameters.

 

Any car is "good in the snow" if it has snow tires. That's all there is to it, really. But let's be honest, some cars are better than others.

AWD on all-seasons is worth far less than 2WD with snow tires. That said, obviously AWD is a useful thing by itself! And a well designed system like Subaru is going to be better than the simple ones from most brands.
The Fit has ground clearance comparable to many sedans, so if you would consider say a Toyota Camry or the equivalent, any mainstream car really, the Fit is going to be similar.
Some NICE TO HAVE features are a recessed area to protect wipers from the snow, along with wiper heaters. Honda doesn't seem to have much knowledge of cold-weather design; there are small things they could do better.
One thing that's stood out to me in the past is the tiny battery on the Fit. If you keep the car inside or on a heater, that's a non-issue, but if you leave it outside and it's super cold, that battery honestly is underspecced vs what it should be. My two cents.

All that said, we use a Fit as our only car, I have a kid, and clearly I was OK with it. It's a good car

 

Toyota lists the Camry's ground clearance as 6.1 inches. Honda doesn't list the Fit's ground clearance, but other unofficial sources list it as being around 5 or 5.5 inches. It's certainly in the low part of the range for "everyday" cars (as opposed to performance cars).

 

The fit has a 5.9 inch ground clearance according to this site. It has "standard" ground clearance. Not low, not high.

https://www.auto123.com/en/new-cars/.../2013/base/dx/

AWD is good to get you GOING, that's about it. The 3 days a year it would be nice to have in the snow, you're paying in lower MPG the rest of the year.

AWD will not make you stop faster. What makes your car stop are the brakes. The Fit happens to be AWB (All wheel Brake). You can only brake as fast as tire grip allows you to do.

In the snow, you use snow tires. Period. It's not much more expensive to do so anyway since you're not putting mileage on your "all season" tires.

If you live up a hill or often go in ski resorts during snowstorms, AWD might be a good choice.

My ex had an Impreza. The AWD is impressive but the rest of the car and the service from Subaru of Canada will make me never buy a Subaru product again. Oil consumption issues, engine knock, head gaskets leaking, etc. If I was to get an AWD car, it's anything but Subaru.

Like I said, I've gone though Canadian winters with the Fit without a single issue.

 

When I lived in New England I survived many terrible snow storms in my Fit. As others have said, good snow tires are key. I'm now living in the South, and my Fit and I are both happier.