Comparison review: Six subcompact hatchbacks (Second place)

June 12, 11:48 PMAutos ExaminerBrady Holt

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The Honda Fit is spacious and frugal, but its fun factor is overrated and its price is too high. See more photos of the Fit below
the article in today's slideshow. 

When the market decides one car is in a class by itself, that car’s automaker and that automaker’s dealers know just what to do: milk that for all it’s worth. 

As such, the well-reviewed Honda Fit has the second-highest sticker price of this comparison (behind only the Suzuki SX4) – that’s Honda’s cut – and high demand means dealers don’t have to discount much from that sticker – their cut. Expect to pay a princely $16,593 for this Fit, pricing site Edmunds.com says, nearly $1,000 more than the next-costliest Pontiac G3.  

Of course, if the Fit truly were in a class by itself, a princely sum might be worth it, despite the necessity of value in to an economy car. But although it does outshine the competition in several ways, it does not manage to avoid sharing their subcompact feel. Even at its higher price point, it’s buzzy and noisy and stiff-riding and slow, and uses hard, cheap interior plastics, same as the others. 

The Fit’s gas mileage and reliability estimates are better than the class norm, its interior space is near the top, and its cargo flexibility is unmatched. And it’s otherwise at the very least acceptable by the class standards. 

But the Fit would need either to shed the tinny subcompact feeling to be worth its higher price or drop its price to where that subcompact tinny feeling isn’t as significant to win this comparison. 

Inside, the Fit is very spacious but basic. The interior doesn’t feel like it’s about to fall apart – not close – and it has some nice design touches, but the overall ambiance is far from special. The seats look nice, with lots of shapes on them that look like they should hold a driver in place for sporty driving, but they’re hard, feel rather flat, and need longer cushions for optimum support. There’s plenty of space, at least, and class-leading visibility all-around. The roomy rear seat could squeeze in three adults better than most subcompacts, but the Fit is still a narrow car. 

But it’s the cargo versatility where the Fit shines. It leads this comparison with 20.6 cubic feet of space behind the rear seat, and is just behind the Nissan Cube with a total of 57.3 cubic feet with the seat folded down. Unlike the Nissan, the Fit has a flat-folding rear seat that’s flush with the floor. The rear seat cushion also flips up against the seatback two offer a differently shaped cargo space that high handle some bulky items better, or that serves as a partition to keep things from sliding around. 

However, although the Fit has the passenger and cargo space of some SUVs, that doesn’t mean the car will perform well if you’re using all that volume. The small 1.5-liter 4-cylinder delivers adequate acceleration only if you really rev it, feeling more sluggish in the sort of gentle driving that nets good gas mileage. (The Fit is rated for 29 miles per gallon.) The standard 5-speed manual transmission has a very light feel but it’s adequately precise. The car is geared for low speed acceleration – high revs in dense city traffic – but the gearing leaves the engine running too fast at highway cruising, which makes the car loud, buzzy, and generally unpleasant. A jittery highway ride doesn’t help. 

Also, while the Fit is supposed to be sporty for a subcompact, “sporty for a subcompact” doesn’t mean all that much. It’s small and light, which gives it an inherent agility, but the steering is too light. The steering is responsive, but the Fit overall did not demonstrate the sharp moves some other reviewers have raved about – except by the low standards of its class. 

“The Fit communicates its eager responses in a way that’s reminiscent of a sports car,” wrote Car and Driver magazine. Perhaps they need a refresher course on sports cars. The Fit has a different style of handling – competence, but not the temperament that encourages you to push the car further that separates this tall little hatchback from a truly fun car. 

But with moves that do outdo its competitors, plus lots of space and good gas mileage, the Fit certainly isn’t a bad little car. Factor out price, and it would lead its class. But not by the wide margin it would need to justify a $16,593 price tag. 

Overall grade: B