2015 Honda Fit – Test Drive, Specs, Rating, Price

The Honda Fit is a Lean Cut

It’s pretty difficult to hit the fine balance between practicality, fuel efficiency, and affordability. But the sub-compact Honda Fit just might be hit the perfect spot. After all, the Honda Fit didn’t win Car and Driver “10-Best” vehicle for seven years for nothing. This year’s 2015 Honda Fit is completely redesigned from ground up offering cuter looks, upgraded technology and enhanced driving experience.

In terms of exterior, it’s not the prettiest of the bunch. Rather, its styling is more tailored to the younger crowd or those that desire a funky look. And it’s not just the chassis sculpturing either. The exterior color palette looks as though it was inspired by a kid’s furniture department store.

Despite its immature looks, the Honda Fit is as functional and versatile as it gets when it comes to a sub compact design. With its newly designed center-mounted fuel tank and its ultra versatile Magic Seat design, the Honda Fit receives an astonishing increase in 139 liters of cargo space, 122 mm increase in legroom; yet, decreasing its overall length by 41 mm.

Honda Power

Powering the wheels of the Honda Fit is a miniature 1.5L V4 with DOHC and i-VTEC+VTC timing control and direct fuel injection. What this engineering jargon translates to in the real world is an 11-percent increase in peak of 130 horsepower, 7.5 percent increase in peak torque at 114 lb-ft.

Choice of transmissions come in two flavors: a Continuous Variable Transmission, or a 6-speed manual. Speaking of which, anyone who has ever driven a CVT transmission knows it’s a theft to driving enjoyment; and unfortunately, the Honda Fit shows when coupled to one. On the brighter side, it does come equipped with a manual G-Shift mode that can be sequentially controlled from the shift lever. But in the end of the day, a CVT is simply a CVT and it just doesn’t (and probably will never) deliver the same level of driving experience as that raw mechanical feel of a manual gearbox.

There is definitely merit to compromising driving enjoyment. With its CVT manual transmission equipped, EPA rated fuel economy scores in at 7.0/5.7/6.4 L/100 km for city, highway and combined respectively. That is comparing the EPA ratings of the 6 speed manual scoring in at 8.1/6.4/7.3 L/100 km. That is roughly 12% in fuel saving costs calculated based on its combined fuel economy.

On the Road

As best as one could describe, the Honda Fit is a simple car. The seats provide just the right amount of padding, a homogeneous black interior, and a box-like feel when seated in. There is definitely a lack of padding on the inside as the cabin space is susceptible to wind and road noise, but still tolerable.

Center console is controlled by its own Honda Link 7″ touch screen display system. It works fine, but not great as I found the overall user interface to be sluggish and the lack of a volume knob replaced by either its capacitive buttons or buttons mounted on the steering wheel made it frustrating to control the audio level. And speaking of audio, quality falls in the lower spectrum of quality.

The chassis feels light and nimble thanks to its more rigid aluminum chassis design, bringing the curb weight down to 2579 lbs (for the EX model with CVT). Body roll can be felt when cornering and there is a slight delay in suspension response. The increase in center of gravity due to its box-like chassis is probably the biggest factor but I definitely did wish the suspensions could have been better tuned to offer more stability and responsiveness on the road.

Pay to Play

Our tested Honda Fit EX model equipped with CVT came priced in at $20,495, and that’s a pretty good bang for the buck. But what’s even a better bang for the buck in my opinion, is its 6-speed manual transmission option for $1,300 less. Yes, you will be paying a little more in fuel, but in all sense of reality, sometimes you have to pay to play and in this case, the $1,300 of reserve funds is well worth the added enjoyment and smile every time you hop in and out of the Honda Fit.

Specifications

Vehicle : 2015 Honda Fit
Model : Honda Fit
Price as Tested : $20,495
Vehicle Type : 5 Passenger Sedan
Seating Capacity : 2+3
Powertrain Configuration : FWD
Engine : 1.5L V4
Transmission : CVT
Fuel Economy: 7.1/6.3/6.8 L/ 100KM City/Highway/Combined

Pros

Excellent use of interior cabin room
Magic Seats offer great versatility with various ways of folding up the rear seats for added cargo space
Great fuel economy
Affordable Price tag