2012 Honda Fit Reviews

Reviews

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Best Honda on the road, and quite a head-turner besides!

Back in the late 80s I was fortunate enough to pick up a gently-used 1987 Honda Civic CRX, my first "foreign car". It was only a 2-seater, but it suited my needs perfectly at the time. I owned it for about 7 years when my ex-wife forced me to trade it in because we were expecting a child and there would be "no place to put the car seat". I've regretted that decision ever since, and swore that I would someday own another Honda. After owning several cars since then, both foreign and domestic, I finally had the opportunity to purchase another Honda, this time a new one. I chose the Fit specifically for its styling and of course the Honda quality, but I chose a sport model because that was the only trim level that the Orangeburst Metallic color was available in.

I've owned the vehicle for a while now, and I felt it was high time I put my thoughts on it into words so the world at large would know how pleased I am with it. I hardly know where to start, but I guess I'll go from the outside in. The body style is similar to the Suzuki XL7 crossover and now defunct Aerio, but Honda has provided to enough accents and differences to the body style that makes it distinctly Honda. The headlights are large and expressive, providing a clear and wide field of view even without the foglights on. The doors open easily and wide, allowing easy access to the interior. I must give them credit for the hatchback as well...never have I owned a vehicle with a hatchback as light as this one, taking barely any energy at all to open and close, which comes in handy when carrying armloads of groceries or shopping bags.

The interior is certainly nothing to sneeze at either. The trunk area is surprisingly adequate for a vehicle of its size, and you can fold the rear seats up (the seatbase locks in an upright position should you need to slide cargo in from the side) or down (the seatback folds completely flat). When you combine that with folding the front passenger seat down, you actually have enough length to carry something the size of a surfboard in. An added touch on the left rear seatbase is a "hidden compartment" that you can access by turning to small knobs. This area allows you to store small items such as important paperwork, etc. without anyone being the wiser as to where it is. The front passenger area is very comfortable, too. I am 6'2" tall, and when driving I have several inches of headroom left above me...more than I've had is some larger vehicles. Instead of a center console, the Fit Sport is equipped with a fold-up arm on the right side of the driver's seat...much like a captain's chair. The dashboard display is large and very informative, supplementing the usual "idiot lights" with a driver information center. Depending on your preference, you may view your total mileage, trip odometer, real-time mpg rating, and remaining oil life before your next change, expressed as a percentage. Radio and cruise controls are placed within easy access on the steering wheel hubs (in the sport model), and the radio itself offers an auxiliary jack to plug in an MP3 player. Inside the upper glove compartment is a USB connector suitable for charging cell phones, etc. but also can be used to play music files off of a flash drive. I opted out of the optional navigation system that would've added a touch screen instead of the normal radio display because I didn't feel the need to pay a 10% premium on the cost of the vehicle just to have it. If I had to pick something bad about the Fit it would be that...I think $1800 is far too much for a GPS system that I have on my phone already.

Finally, on to the performance of the Fit, and this is where I disagree with a lot of reviews I've seen on other sites. Many people have criticized the acceleration in it, but my response to that is: it's a 1.5L 4-cyldinder that puts out 117 HP...if you wanted 0-60 in 2.2 seconds acceleration then maybe you should've purchased a Ferrari, or a Mustang, or some other car with a huge engine and tiny fuel economy. For that matter, shame on you for purchasing the car and not doing any research first. Yes it downshifts more than a larger car, but after driving it around northeastern Pennsylvania for a while, I have no complaints on its hill-climbing ability, and I smile every time I look at the mpg and see I'm getting nearly 30mpg city in it.

All in all, I'm very happy with my Fit, and I don't foresee making the same mistake I did the last time: I plan on keeping this car for a long time to come!