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Honda Fit?


PollyOR
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If anyone has experience with driving/owning a Honda Fit, I would appreciate hearing the pros and cons.

 

This is my first experience shopping for a new car.  I've loved our 1994 Dodge Caravan, but it is dying a slow death.

 

We live 5 1/2 miles out of town and drive in at least once a day, so we need good gas mileage.  I also want to be able to go visit my sister (12 hour drive) without worrying about breaking down in the middle of nowhere.  For safety reasons, I want a new car.  DH can't stand the thought of buying a new car but has agreed (I'm going through perimenopause and he's trying to keep the peace ;) ).  If I know DH, he will buy the cheapest car he can find.

 

With our record - we've owned the Caravan for 17 years - I have a feeling this might be my first and last new car purchase ever which makes the process a bit stressful.

 

I was sure I wanted a Toyota Prius because of the great gas mileage (50 mpg).  Today we test drove both a Prius and Fit (32 mpg).  I was surprised that the Fit had so much more leg room in the back seat.  I'm trying to keep my passengers in mind since I have three kids still at home (12, 16, and 19).  There isn't really room for three people to fit in the back seat comfortably for a long trip, but we would rarely all be in the car at the same time.

 

I'm feeling a bit silly that leg room seems to winning out over better gas mileage.  

 

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Hondas generally beat out similar Toyota models for rear seat legroom. Toyotas usually have a larger trunk or cargo space than similar Honda models. We've ended up with Toyotas for all three of our purchased cars over the years (basically only shopping for Toyotas and Hondas- we are boring people) and we've appreciated that extra trunk space more than once.

 

Honestly, I'd love our next around town commuter car to be the Honda Fit but if we can do the Nissan Leaf instead, that's our first choice. A Prius is also a possibility because we could probably get one from auction pretty cheap.

 

You're going to probably own this car longer than your kids are living at home so I would probably go for mileage and cargo space over legroom for backseat passengers.

 

Sure, they will be squished for a bit but soon enough the backseat will be less of a factor for you.

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My friend with four children 6'2" to 4' has this car and loves it. She could afford any car she wanted.

 

I have had three Hondas and thought very highly of them for fit-and-finish and reliability.

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We had a 2008 Honda Fit and liked it for the most part.  The only two "cons" we had were:

 

(1) DH drove it, and his commute is almost all interstate, about 70 miles round trip each day.  He said he did feel that it was easy for trucks to lose him in their mirrors due to the car being small, and

 

(2) The carpet and fabric on the seats was exceptionally "sticky" (for lack of a better word).  It was a bit of a pain to vacuum because everything really seemed to cling.  From what I've noticed with Hondas this is an ongoing problem -- they seem to be cheaping out on the quality of interiors in the last few years.

 

And this is really not a con IMO, but I'll throw it out for your info -- sometimes we could hear the gas sloshing around in the tank.  I think it was due to the design of the car (to facilitate the interior being so configurable).  It wasn't really a con, just something different that we've never experienced in any other vehicle.

 

I thought it was a really fun, sporty feeling car to drive.

 

As with every Honda we've had (we currently own four and haven't owned anything other than a Honda since about 1990, so we have rather extensive exprience ;)), the Fit got better gas mileage than Honda said it would.  My mother also had a 2008 Fit and hers got better mileage than expected.

 

You mght also check out a Civic.  I've lost track of the cost of Fits, but I don't think Civics are a lot more?  DH is driving a 2014 Civic now and getting 40 mpg on the interstate.  He doesn't do enough non-interstate driving to know what that mileage is, but I'd guess it would be at least 32.  Although I'm not sure that the Civic has as much rear leg room as the Fits do, and it's certainly not as versatile as far as being able to reconfigure the interior for hauling stuff.

 

And I'll throw this out just in case you're interested -- I'm currently driving a 2014 CRV (yes, we bought two new cars this year) and I'm getting 32+ mpg driving mostly on country back roads and a little bit in town.  On the interstate I easily get 35+ mpg.  And it's a pretty roomy vehicle.

 

FWIW, currently our oldest Honda is a 2001 CRV that oldest DS drives.  It has right at 200,000 miles on it and the only non-regular maintenance repairs it's needed have been replacing a brake sensor and replacing the radiator.  We stick with Hondas because of the outstanding reliability they've given us over the years.

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My son has a Honda Fit and really likes it.  I'd say the only con is that it's not the greatest car in the winter.  It sits low to the ground and if you're driving over snow drifts, you might have some trouble.  Of course maybe you don't have snow where you live...

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We had a 2007 Fit that we sold a few months ago because we needed to upgrade to a van and got more money for that than the 2002 mazda. The fit gets great mileage, is very roomy, has great storage, and since its a Honda it'll last for years! Even for a long car trip it was terrible in the back. We drove 6 hours with an infant in the middle seat and 2 adults on the sides and they were as comfortable as they'd be in any other 5 seated I've been in.

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I know of three friends who own Fits. All of them have commented on only getting around 25 to 28 mpg. Just for the heads up. The mileage is honestly not as good as the company wants to report, but then I think all car companies do that. They all really like their cars though. It is the only con I can think of.

How are your friends driving? Because we always got over 30mpg in our Fit. Purely interstate driving would always get me 35 mpg. Combining it would always depend on traffic. It was one of the main reasons I was really sad to let it go.

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My middle dd has a Honda Fit and LOVES it-she gets around 30 mpg (most driving around town with interstated use a few times a week)  My oldest dd has a 2-door Civic that she loves as well (it gets 34 mpg as she does mostly interstate driving).

 

DH just purchased a new commuting car-- for the first time in over 20 years he did not purchase a Honda!  He chose a Mazda 3 and it has been a very comfortable car for him-- with lots of leg room in the back.  His mileage has been over 30 mpg and it has lots of cool features/gadgets--- plus it was affordable and has a better rating than the current Hondas.

 

 

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I have a 2010 and love it.

 


We live 5 1/2 miles out of town and drive in at least once a day, so we need good gas mileage.   

 

This bit made me chuckle.  :)  I have a 40-mile round-trip rush-hour commute.  My current average mpg (it gets reset every time they need to disconnect the battery for maintenance) is 35 mpg.  I would guess that over the life of the car so far it's around 32.

 

Assuming your 5 miles is mostly traffic lights and low speed limits, your overall mpg may be lower than the sticker indicates.  If you have a long stretch of highway between your home and town, you are likely to fare much better.

 

I do find that the front seats are much less comfortable than those in my husband's Accord, but if your 12-hour trip is infrequent I'd imagine you could deal with it for the benefits you'll get throughout the rest of the year.

 

 

I know of three friends who own Fits. All of them have commented on only getting around 25 to 28 mpg. Just for the heads up. The mileage is honestly not as good as the company wants to report, but then I think all car companies do that. They all really like their cars though. It is the only con I can think of.

 

I have a hard time fathoming how this is even possible, unless they are spending a lot of time letting it run idle to warm it up, or to run into the Quickie Mart or whatever.  I even get stuck at train crossings and in urban gridlock frequently and have never dropped that low.  It will drop, however, when I have to warm it up for 20 minutes or so in winter.

 


And this is really not a con IMO, but I'll throw it out for your info -- sometimes we could hear the gas sloshing around in the tank.  I think it was due to the design of the car (to facilitate the interior being so configurable).  It wasn't really a con, just something different that we've never experienced in any other vehicle.

 

I have never heard that - but maybe that was specific to the 2008 design?  My 2010 has never done that.

 

My son has a Honda Fit and really likes it.  I'd say the only con is that it's not the greatest car in the winter.  It sits low to the ground and if you're driving over snow drifts, you might have some trouble.  Of course maybe you don't have snow where you live...

 

This reminds me, too, that in high winds the Fit gets buffeted a bit, and ice and snow can definitely be difficult.  But if you bought a Prius you'd have the same issues.  And in Oregon talk about snow and ice is pretty much irrelevant, right?  (ETA:  Duh, Miss Mousie, not all of OR is coastal OR!  Sorry.)

 

:)  Hope that helps, and I hope you are completely satisfied, whichever way you go.

 

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We looked closely at the Fit and really wanted to like it for DH's commute, but in the end we bought a Volkswagen Jetta. The Fit seemed rough, and it's true they don't often don't get near the marketed mpg. In weather like ours in Maine, winters make a big difference. DH regularly gets over 40 mpg in the much larger Jetta. Plus my DS is a car fact junkie (he literally made salesmen scramble when he'd ask questions, and impressed them so much with his knowledge he was offered a job at every.single.dealership we went to) and the Jetta won ands down from a safety standpoint. I think the Fit would be fine for short trips like most of yours, but not so much for distance driving. It's cute for sure and I loved the inventive seating/storage configuration in the back; it really depends what you're looking for.

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Listening in.   My daughter and I looked at about 15 different cars this week.  Surprised we narrowed it down to the redesigned 2015 Fit, the Prius C, and what we expected, the Equinox.  Our family always drives SUVs and trucks as I prefer size for safety.   My daughter really liked how much room the Fit and Prius had, and of course, the mpg were a huge plus.  The Fit offered so many more extras compared to the Prius.

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Thank you!  This is so helpful since we only know one person who owns a Fit and he is single.

 

We live in the valley, so we rarely have snow.  If it snows, I stay home.  

 

The 5 1/2 mile drive to town is a flat two-lane highway (55 mph).  That will help with mileage.

 

The car salesman gave us a demo of the folding seats.  The Fit seems to be the contortionist of cars.  ;)

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  • 1 month later...

I didn't see this at the time, but I have friends who recently bought their second Fit after the first one being totaled in an accident. They love it to pieces and they say the cargo space is great. If I were buying a new car it would absolutely 100% be the one I bought. 

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If anyone has experience with driving/owning a Honda Fit, I would appreciate hearing the pros and cons.

 

This is my first experience shopping for a new car.  I've loved our 1994 Dodge Caravan, but it is dying a slow death.

 

We live 5 1/2 miles out of town and drive in at least once a day, so we need good gas mileage.  I also want to be able to go visit my sister (12 hour drive) without worrying about breaking down in the middle of nowhere.  For safety reasons, I want a new car.  DH can't stand the thought of buying a new car but has agreed (I'm going through perimenopause and he's trying to keep the peace ;) ).  If I know DH, he will buy the cheapest car he can find.

 

With our record - we've owned the Caravan for 17 years - I have a feeling this might be my first and last new car purchase ever which makes the process a bit stressful.

 

I was sure I wanted a Toyota Prius because of the great gas mileage (50 mpg).  Today we test drove both a Prius and Fit (32 mpg).  I was surprised that the Fit had so much more leg room in the back seat.  I'm trying to keep my passengers in mind since I have three kids still at home (12, 16, and 19).  There isn't really room for three people to fit in the back seat comfortably for a long trip, but we would rarely all be in the car at the same time.

 

I'm feeling a bit silly that leg room seems to winning out over better gas mileage.  

I love Hondas, but they are for short people.  Toyotas are even worse.  I'd love a Fit, but it is too low for me.  I want some big, honking vehicle that I can step right into. 

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