Auto Trends

The Honda Fit, while a fantastically popular vehicle, it has never really enjoyed many rave reviews on its acceleration, ride quality, quietness, control, or appearance. But what could you really expect from a $15,000 entry level car?

In a world of nothing but Honda Fit’s, perhaps it would actually “fit” onto our highway system and not get lost withing the blind spots of gargantuan H3’s or Chevrolet Denali’s. Maybe the fact that you have to floor it to make it up a steep mountainside at under 55mph wouldn’t matter when nobody else would be able to pass you anyway…

But now let’s turn to the real world and see if the 2007 Honda Fit has really done it’s job in fitting in.

The 2007 Honda Fit was comfortable and roomy, there is no question about that. It had a cute little appearance for drivers and even offered a sport model for those who crave the feel of the road, but don’t exactly want to pay for it. It had a good overall safety rating of 5 points in a front end collision despite its small size.

On the down side, while the Fit is able to offer 33 MPG, it only came with a 10 gallon tank, which meant frequent fill-ups anyway. It’s engine, while some have called it peppy, is still only a 1.5 liter VTEC four cylinder lugging its passengers with only 109 horsepower and 105 lbs of torque.

But there is a new Fit coming to town, and the word at the New York auto show was that is was a welcome improvement. Let’s see if they have addressed some of it’s faults or further improved on some of its perfections…

First off, the new 2009 Honda Fit is going to be even more roomy than its predecessor, and we’re talking by several inches in all direction. It will ultimately be a subcompact with a mid-size feel. The interior has all new higher quality materials, including more supportive seats and all-important tilt steering.

The outside has also been ramped up, to give it a sporty touch from the original body style. Nothing too major here, but enough to put a little more pep into that petal.

And speaking of that petal, what are they going to feature under the hood?

Why it’s the same economical 1.5 liter VTEC, except this time the talk is that it might be packing 120 horsepower and somewhere in the range of 110 lbs of torque. Now we are talking 0-60 times in less than 9 seconds, which will make the Fit much more pleasurable and safe on the highway.

But wait, didn’t they just add all that new interior room and extra metal and plastic to make the Fit even bigger. Well, there goes our acceleration.

Actually not, as the 2009 Fit was able to make all their improvements and only raise the vehicles weight by 22 lbs, which is the difference between driving to an all-you-can-eat-buffet, and then coming back home from one!

The chassis has also been completely revamped. It will be much more responsive and offer a much more comfortable ride for its passengers. The steering has also been improved, making use of its improved cornering characteristics.

But all this has got to cost more?

Well, yes, but since you are actually getting more for your dollar it is well worth it. It is still at around the same base price as before, but if you want to take advantage of some of these new and improved features, you are going to have to shell out a bit more of your green.

But when you think about the average amount of green needed to but a new car in the US, the Honda Fit is a steel by comparison!