2007 Honda Fit Review

The 2007 subcompact Honda Fit four-door hatchback should slide easily into the rapidly growing market for cute, roomy, fuel-stingy subcompact cars, which include the upcoming 2007 Toyota Yaris and Nissan Versa.

Fun-to-drive, utilitarian cars such as the Fit are popular in Europe and Japan, where roads are narrow, urban congestion is horrendous -- and gasoline prices are seemingly high enough to provide a stiff ransom for your beloved, kidnapped family pet.

Honda saw that BMW's Mini Cooper has been a success in America, and thus figured its Fit can also succeed here. That's especially since nobody expects gas prices to dip below $2 a gallon again anytime soon and possibly will hit $3 a gallon this summer.

The front-drive Fit is called the "Jazz'' in Japan and Europe. Too bad Honda didn't keep that name for the U.S. version, because this car is a pretty jazzy number.

The Fit debuted in Japan in 2001 and more than a million units have been sold in more than 70 countries with various engines and trim levels. As with the Mini Cooper, the Fit is a cute "premium entry car," as Honda puts it. That's because the Fit has a good amount of standard comfort, safety and convenience features -- along with Honda's reputation for quality.

Such features include air conditioning, AM/FM/CD with four to six (depending on model) speakers, six air bags (including front side and side curtain bags), fairly wide 65-series tires, anti-lock brakes and power windows, mirrors and door locks.

A 60/40 split "magic seat" allows the rear seatbacks or entire backseat to be flipped forward without removing headrests -- or rear seat bottoms to flip up, providing lots of seating and cargo carrying configurations. The front seats can recline flush with the rear seats to create a long, flat surface for, say, a roadside nap for an exhausted driver who can't find a motel.

To help provide good interior room, the Fit's fuel tank was moved from where it's usually located in a car, under the rear seat, to under the front seat. The center tank layout also allows those seat arrangement modes, which aren't possible in a typical car.

The cargo area has a low, wide opening and is fairly large with rear seats in their normal upright position.

However, there's obvious cost-cutting: Inside door handles are small and feel cheap. And the driver's sun visor has an unlit vanity mirror, while the passenger sun visor has no vanity mirror at all.

Powering the Fit is a smooth, sophisticated 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that generates 109 horsepower. It has an overhead-camshaft design, with 16 valves and variable valve timing. It was potent enough to provide my test manual-transmission Fit with quick expressway merges and good 65-75 mph passing with a downshift to fourth gear-- at least with no passengers or cargo.

While the Fit engine is small, the car is lively because the base model with manual gearbox weighs only 2,432 pounds and the Sport Fit with an automatic transmission is just 2,551 pounds.

The five-speed manual transmission is standard, and the five-speed automatic is an $800 option, with the Fit Sport equipping it with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters for manual shifting.

A Fit with an automatic wasn't available for testing, but a five-speed automatic should allow the car to nearly equal the performance of the more efficient manual-transmission model, which has a rather notchy gearbox and a clutch with a light action but long throw.

The standard Fit with the manual lists at $13,850 and costs $14,650 with the automatic. The upscale Fit Sport costs $15,170 with the manual and $15,970 with the paddle-shifter automatic.

The Fit Sport has an underbody kit and rear roofline spoiler for better aerodynamics, fog lights, 15-inch aluminum alloy wheels with wider (55-series) tires, cruise control, premium 200-watt AM/FM/CD system with MP3/WMA playback capability and auxiliary audio jack to connect any portable music player. It also has a security system with remote keyless entry.

Fit Sport options include a sport muffler, chrome exhaust tip and sport mesh grille.

Estimated fuel economy of the standard Fit with the manual gearbox is 33 mpg in the city and 38 on highways and 31 and 38 with the automatic. The Fit Sport provides 33 and 38 with manual, 31 and 37 with automatic.

The rigidly built Fit, which uses high-tensile strength steel, is fun to drive. Its electric power steering is quick, and a sophisticated suspension provides a supple ride and good handling. The brake pedal has a nicely progressive action for smooth, short stops.

The standard Fit's 14-inch wheels and 65-series tires handicap handling a bit, but accessory alloy wheels and tires are offered for the Fit and Fit Sport in a 16-inch size and carry 45-series performance tires.

Honda calls the Fit a five-seater, and there are three-point seat belts at all seating positions. However, only four tall adults have decent room in the sporty two-tone interior because the middle of the rear seat is too hard for comfort. The supportive driver's seat slides back a lot to accommodate extra-tall folks, but leg room gets tight for a 6-footer behind a driver who slides his seat back a lot.

High, wide-opening doors with storage pockets and rear-door bottle holders make it easy to slide in or out. Front doors have distinct detents to hold them open at various degrees and fully open at a nearly 80-degree angle.

The deeply recessed gauges can be hard to read during the day, and the transmission shifter gets in the way of the dual front cupholders. However, controls are within easy reach, with large climate controls especially easy to operate.

The Fit is mostly aimed at young, first-time male and female buyers with busy social lives and hobbies who can benefit from the car's passenger and cargo-carrying capacity. It's also aimed at older empty nesters on fixed budgets who want a solid, practical car that costs little to run. There's probably many people between those groups who also will be interested in the Fit. 

2007 HONDA FIT 

PRICES: $13,850-$15,970

LIKES: Fuel-stingy. Fairly roomy. Decent acceleration. Safety items. Good roadability.

DISLIKES: Long-throw clutch. Hard-to-read gauges. Small engine.