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Sounds similar to the problems VW and BMW have been having with their DCT for years. Thankfully it's just a software issue that still needs work in this case.
Sounds similar to the problems VW and BMW have been having with their DCT for years. Thankfully it's just a software issue that still needs work in this case.
Not really. Honda is very late to the DCT party, and yet they act as if this is brand new tech.
"Honda sincerely regrets causing this considerable inconvenience to its customers due to the fact that the defect was not discovered during the development and product quality verification processes prior to the introduction of a new technology to the market and the defective product quickly came to market," Honda said in a candid statement.
It's 2014 Honda, it's been over 11 years since the first DCT VW Golf Mk4 R32 hit the market with a DSG.
I guess Honda does not like to learn from others and history, but rather plods along blindly making the same errors other have made decades earlier.
Not really. Honda is very late to the DCT party, and yet they act as if this is brand new tech.
It's 2014 Honda, it's been over 11 years since the first DCT VW Golf Mk4 R32 hit the market with a DSG.
I guess Honda does not like to learn from others and history, but rather plods along blindly making the same errors other have made decades earlier.
It's like the 5 AT situation all over again.
I don't know about that. We'll have to wait and see.
There is a reason Honda tests these things in the Japanese market first. Besides, if Honda continued to be behind in transmission tech people would bitch Honda is behind the times. They never win.
I don't know about that. We'll have to wait and see.
There is a reason Honda tests these things in the Japanese market first. Besides, if Honda continued to be behind in transmission tech people would bitch Honda is behind the times. They never win.
So what you're saying is, the other option is to make excuses as to why Honda is behind the times?
I won't say Honda isn't competitive, because they are. It's not all about cutting edge. But they're easily 1-2+ generations behind on recent tech, which makes them look bad to the educated consumer. If they can't build a solid automatic, at least make an amazing dual-clutch... nope!
On the positive side, at least their CVT seems great.
People are generally more forgiving when a car stands out in a positive way. When I see a Jaguar F-Type, I don't think "oh god, terrible reliability", I think "fuck. I want."
A good analogy I've heard around here is that Honda is like the plain or ugly girl with a great personality... it's safe, it's smart, but nobody is lusting after that.
In the subcompact segment, small can no longer mean cheap. It’s not only price but a product’s execution that makes the difference between a sale and a walkaway. With the 2015 Fit, Honda looks to be leading the pack -- at least on the execution side.
The basics: Honda’s new Earth Dreams direct-injection 130-hp engine, when combined with a continuously variable transmission, makes the Fit the segment’s fuel economy leader.
Continuously variable transmissions get a lot of grief from purists, who complain about the rubber-band feeling of power delivery. But each CVT evolution gets better, and Honda’s simulated shift points feel almost like a traditional automatic.
There is still some hunting for optimum CVT range during kick-down acceleration, but for the most part, the unit is pretty responsive and accurate. With the CVT whirring at its most efficient, 80 mph only requires 2,500 rpm from the engine. For the true purists who demand to shift their own gears, a six-speed manual is available.
Perhaps more important than the powertrain is Honda’s packaging magic, which adds five inches of rear-seat legroom and fold-flat rear seats. Some might accuse Honda of merely making the Fit larger to create that added space, but that’s incorrect: Although the Fit gains 1.2 inches of wheelbase, its overall length is 1.6 inches shorter than the 2013 model it replaces.
PHP Code:
Longer wheelbase, shorter overall
The new Honda Fit's wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than that of its predecessor, but new Fit's overall length is 1.6 inches shorter.
2015 Honda Fit 2013 Honda Fit
Wheelbase 99.6 in. 98.4 in.
Length 160.0 in. 161.6 in.
Width 67.0 in. 66.7 in.
Height 60.0 in. 60.0 in.
Curb weight 2,513 lbs. 2,496 lbs.
Base engine 1.5-liter I-4 1.5-liter I-4
Horsepower 130 @ 6,500 rpm 117 @ 6,600 rpm
Torque, lbs.-ft. 114 @ 4,600 rpm 106 @ 4,800 rpm
EPA mpg* 33 city/41 hwy. 28 city/35 hwy.
Base price** $16,315 $16,215
*2015 CVT model vs. 2013 automatic
**Includes shipping
Notable features: One reason for the added space for people and cargo is the re-engineering of the geometry and structures of the front strut and rear torsion beam suspension -- especially with shorter trailing arms in the rear.
The torsion beam itself is stiffer, allowing for more responsive handling for what is an admittedly crude -- but industry standard -- rear suspension setup. Compared with its predecessor, the Fit also provides more confident control during those panicky freeway braking events.
The body-in-white weighs about 44 pounds less than that of the previous model, but the overall vehicle weight is about the same because of added content and safety features.
Standard features include cruise control, trip computer, power windows, air conditioning, 15-inch wheels, three-blink turn indicators, alarm system with keyless entry, auto-off headlights, LED brake lights, five-inch monitor with 160-watt CD sound system, USB and Bluetooth access and steering wheel audio controls, and a rearview camera with three viewing modes. Tighter body seals and other soundproofing mean road howl and wind noise are significantly reduced from the outgoing model.
An optional display audio system allows for swipe, tap and pinch controls for music, weather, traffic, vehicle maintenance and Siri commands with an iPhone Bluetooth connection.
What Honda says: “We’re taking customers out of the penalty box of life in a small car,” said Rick Schostek, executive vice president of Honda North America. “We are amping up the fun in the small car arena.”
Shortcomings and compromises: For a budget car, the Fit is pricey. Although the price ladder hasn’t changed much, with a $16,315 base price including shipping, the Fit is about $1,500 more expensive than the Nissan Versa Note, $1,400 more than a Ford Fiesta and $900 more than a Hyundai Accent. Will price-sensitive consumers appreciate all the extra standard content that the base LX grade provides, or be scared off by the price?
The market: Subcompact sales account for about 650,000 annual units, but have a 4 percent annual growth target. The Fit conquests about 59 percent of its sales from other brands, and 55 percent of Fit owners stay with Honda for their next car.
Now that the Fit is made in Mexico and not restricted by the difficulties of Japan’s exchange rate, the United States should get as many units as it wants. Fit sales totaled 53,513 units last year, and Honda hopes they can climb to 70,000 units in its full calendar year.
The skinny: The Fit has replaced the Hyundai Accent as the highest content-per-dollar entry in the segment. But with all the bells and whistles, the Fit’s price can rapidly escalate past $21,000, perhaps too dear for shoppers looking at an entry-level subcompact.
Ever meet someone with a college degree in packaging? It sounds like the kind of program that’s as much BS as it is worthy of a B.S. Give us a few old shoeboxes, some packing peanuts, and a year’s worth of other car magazines, and we’ll deliver your eBay wins free of scratches and dents 60% of the time, every time.
But the Honda Fit has always proved that there’s a right and a wrong way to put together a package, and the Fit’s has always been right. For 2015, that right way has been revisited. The 2015 Fit gets a new platform, new engine and transmissions, and a new look. For the 1st time in the model’s U.S. history, it appears that aesthetics were a consideration.
It looks so much bigger but is actually 1.6 inches shorter. It keeps the same height and is 0.3 inch wider. The engorged appearance comes from a dramatically altered body-to-glass ratio. The part of the car you can’t see through is much taller, even if the car itself is not. This gives the Fit a more substantial appearance. And it is more substantial, although only slightly. Curb weights, which range from about 2600 to 2700 pounds, are up ever so slightly over the old car’s but remain at the skinny end of the class.
Honda says it’s using more high-strength steel than ever in this Fit, which means that, in spite of the small increase in curb weight, the car sees big gains in rigidity in major areas. With this, Honda expects passing grades in all NHTSA and IIHS crash tests. The latter would be a major win, as the Fit was 1 of 11 compact and subcompact vehicles that the insurance-company fear-mongering outfit deemed “poor” in its wicked sneak-attack small-offset frontal collision test last year.
It’s Just a Small 1 …
It still displaces 1.5 liters, but that’s about all the new Fit’s 4-cylinder shares with the old 1. Now the engine is loaded with direct injection and dual overhead cams (whereas before it had port injection and 1 lobestick), and in addition to i-VTEC’s dual-profile cams, the 1.5 packs variable timing control. VTC does exactly what you’d expect based on its name, retarding cam timing at low rpm and advancing it at high engine speeds. There are oil jets to cool the underside of the pistons and a crankshaft that’s been lightened a claimed 27% through a 50% reduction in counterweights, from 8 to 4. An additional 13 horsepower and 8 lb-ft of torque, for totals of 130 and 114, respectively, don’t sound like much for all that effort, but it is just a 1.5-liter. EPA fuel-economy estimates range from 29 mpg city and 37 highway with the manual to 33/41 with the CVT.
Like its engine, the Fit’s transmissions finally join the modern era. For manual buyers, this is a good thing, as it means a long-overdue 6th gear. For automatic buyers, it means a CVT. If you’re not sure if we think that’s a good or bad thing, you can stop now and save yourself a few grand by buying a Nissan Versa. Make sure you get the really cheap 1.
…But You Can Do a Lot with a Small 1
As for the Fit, its enigmatic blend of minute footprint and megalopolis indoor space is retained. Step inside—“crawl” has never been the right verb for Fit ingress—and you’ll notice a dramatic reallocation of interior volume. What’s really changed is the wheelbase, and with it, rear-seat room. Spacing the front and rear axles an extra 1.2 inches farther apart and redesigning the rear suspension with shorter trailing arms allowed Honda to move the rear seat an incredible 4.8 inches farther back from the front. That’s awfully close to the difference between long- and short-wheelbase Audi A8s and BMW 7-series, and it nets rear-seat passengers greater legroom than they enjoy in even the limolike Accord. This is no less of a miracle than the packaging breakthrough that made the first Fit such a hit.
The trade-off is in a significantly smaller cargo area, which drops from the past car’s 21 cubic feet (with the rear seats up) to 17, making what was once the segment leader only midpack. But that’s still vastly more voluminous than any affordable sedan’s trunk, and a single lever still drops the Fit’s rear seat to create a flat load floor. While again smaller than its predecessor’s (53 cubes compared with 57), the Fit’s cargo hold remains bigger than that of any competitor in our last roundup of the segment.
Sunshine, Lollipops, and…Letdowns?
We’ve always been enamored of the Fit’s packaging, and that’s been the cherry on top of an outstanding low-buck dynamic package. Even though the new car shuffles its priorities in the interior department, it loses sight of them somewhat dynamically. Especially in economy classes, there’s no turning back against the electric-steering apocalypse. Here, the rack-mounted electric motor takes orders from a sturdier steering shaft, but there’s no feel, and the helm is less precise than before. It’s slower, too, 13.06:1 compared with 12.7:1, which deflates the fun on turn-in. Many cars at the lower end of the market feel as if their steering columns were made of waterlogged wood, and you have to twist them tight and wring out the moisture before any force is transmitted to the front wheels. Although the Fit’s rack is muted and less immediate, it’s still progressive, with some effort buildup through turns.
The Fit nonetheless has a playful chassis for an affordable stuff shuffler. There’s little roll, and trick dual-path shocks provide linear compression under normal loading and a sort of blow-off function that uses a secondary valve to allow quicker compression when encountering sharp impacts, keeping the body under control even when you smack a midcorner bump. Without the outgoing Fit Sport’s rear anti-roll bar, the 2015 model isn’t quite as neutral, but it’s still close to fun, and certainly closer to it than any of the nonexistent cars that offer a Fit-sized interior package at this price.
More, but the Same
It’s the same story underhood. Even though more powerful, the engine is missing the aggressive edge that reminded the driver the previous Fit came from the S2000 company. The clutch takeup is softer, more vague, and higher than in the previous Fit. The transmission finally gets a 6th gear, but it’s the same ratio as the old fifth, and the final-drive ratio is the same, so there’s no calming of the engine on the highway. At 75 mph, it still turns about 3600 rpm. A Chevy Sonic’s 4th gear is about the same as the Fit’s new 6th; at 75 in 6th, the Sonic’s engine turns about 1300 fewer rpm.
The CVT is the same unit as found in the Civic, where we also didn’t like it much. Here, there’s a Sport mode that mimics a 7-speed automatic, but it’s not a very good copy. Top-level EX-L trims add standard paddle shifters, but they’re entertaining only for as long as it takes you to realize they don’t do a good job of mimicking anything other than a dying automatic. If your traditional auto behaved this way, you’d drive it straight to the shop or maybe park it on the side of the freeway and call a tow truck. Why Honda thinks it’s a good idea to intentionally program a transmission function to work this way just shows how infrequently it expects the feature to be used by people who care.
Who’s on Top? Honda Wants to Be
Honda is hoping the people who care about this Fit will be the same who cared about 71,073 Ford Fiestas last year or 85,646 Chevy Sonics (and 34,130 Sparks) or 117,352 Nissan Versas. Even though the Fit is a 7-time 10Best Car and a 3-time comparison-test champion, it still lags behind most of its classmates in sales, moving 53,513 units last year. So Honda isn’t changing prices much compared to last year’s—the base car starts $100 higher, at $16,315—but there’s a load of new gear. Standard equipment includes cruise control, a tilting-and-telescoping steering wheel, a USB input, side and curtain airbags, and a rearview camera. Upgrade to the $18,225 EX, and you’ll add keyless entry and start; multiangle functionality for the rearview camera; a larger, 7-inch touch-screen infotainment system; and 16-inch aluminum wheels. For $20,590, the EX-L (“L” stands for “leather”) wraps the steering wheel, shifter, and seat trim in leather; heats the front seats; and makes the (not leather-wrapped) CVT standard. In the “ain’t it good to be king” seat is the EX-L with Navigation, which, for $21,590, adds navigation. And HD and satellite radio, but calling it the “EX-L with Navigation and HD and Satellite Radio” would have called attention to the fact that you have to spend more than $21,000 on a Fit to get satellite radio, whereas other competitors offer it as standard on less-expensive models. At least Honda, in this age of gray-scale cars, offers the Fit in Mystic Yellow and Passion Berry Pearl. Only 3% of buyers might like that, but 100% of people who write about cars and comment about them online will.
Until now, Honda has been loath to market the car too aggressively, as it was importing Fits from Japan, a logistical and fiscal bottleneck. This new car, though, will be built at a newly completed plant in Celaya, Mexico. Honda hopes a wider Fit spigot will better align its sales in this class with Car and Driver’s order of things. We might be disappointed by the car’s slight dynamic drop compared with its predecessor, but it’s hard to complain about a car that is still such a complete package. Some competitors might have better chassis, some have better steering, and some just don’t look dorky. But nobody else has yet matched the Fit’s incredible versatility at this price and placed it atop a chassis that offers a modicum of fun. When it comes to packaging, the Honda Fit is still the master.
Subcompact cars needn’t be underwhelming or underspecified, at least that’s what Honda believes with the 2015 Fit. Making a small, affordable, and capable car is arguably tougher than a $65k+ luxury sedan: sticking to budget while still delivering that premium feel just about every driver now demands. There’s plenty riding on the new Fit, especially since it’ll also be the basis for Honda’s upcoming “urban SUV” later this year. SlashGear spent some time behind the wheel to see if it’s more than Fit for purpose, and whether the new Honda Link infotainment system really can bring the best of your iPhone to the dashboard.
Design and Interior
1 Fit; many audiences. Honda’s subcompact has an unusually varied fan base, spanning young drivers, through urban families, to retirees, and it takes some careful planning to deliver an updated model that satisfies them all. Key to the third-gen Fit’s look is helping make Honda more appealing to a younger age-group, however, the company told us, hence a more eye-catching design than the models that came before it.
So, the grille is more aggressive and the lights front and rear more angular and jewel-like. The substantial lower half of the 2015 Fit - everything below the shoulder-line - is emphasized to give it a meatier stance, particularly on the 16-inch alloy wheels that are standard from the mid-tier EX and up.
The usual near-indecipherable car design language dubs it “Crossfade Monoform”, and while that’s a mouthful we do like the strong crease-line running from midway through the front doors to the rear lamps, a detail that demanded new manufacturing processes to achieve, so Honda’s styling team tells us.
Sharp looks sit on top of some legitimate improvements in packaging, however. The 2015 Fit is 0.3-inches wider than the model it replaces, even though shoulder room inside has increased 1.4- and 0.8-inches for front and rear passengers respectively. It’s also 0.6-inches shorter, despite increasing the wheelbase by 1.2-inches.
More important, by reworking the gas-tank so that it’s wider and thinner, and putting it under the front seats rather than further back, rear passengers get an extra 3.1-inches of space between them and the seats ahead of them. It’s enough to accommodate 2 adults each over 6 foot in the back, without them feeling unduly cramped.
Cargo space, too, is improved - not only versus the outgoing car, but the Fit’s rivals too. With 52.7 cu.ft. to fill, Honda has managed to squeeze in more room than the Chevy Sonic and Nissan’s Versa Note; in fact, the 2015 Fit has more than twice the room of a Ford Fiesta. It’s utilized in varied ways, too, such as by dropping the rear seats flat (and potentially the front passenger seat too) for fitting in a bike or a surfboard.
Most impressive, though, is what Honda calls “Tall mode”: lift the seat base of the split rear seats up, fold in the leg, and you have standing room from the base of the footwell all the way to the roofline. Only the slightest bump in the middle interrupts the floor; it’s the perfect space for carrying pot plants, small bookcases, or other tall furniture, and is 1 of the best features of the new car.
Seat comfort front and back has been improved, with a noticeable increase in support from the new seat designs. It’s quieter on the move, too, with new acoustic dampening, and the standard-fit equipment has improved, too. On the entry-level LX you get power windows, a rearview camera, automatic headlights, LED taillights, cruise control, remote keyless entry, and manual air-conditioning, while the EX - which Honda expects to account for more than half of sales - adds in a moonroof, push-start, Lane Watch, fog lamps, and paddle shifters.
The top-spec EX-L (which will also be available as the EX-L Navi, with navigation built-in) adds XM and HD radio, full leather heated seats, heated side mirrors, and leather on the wheel and shifter knob.
Honda’s dashboard design is fair and reasonably laid out, though the faux-stitched-leather look and the glossy center touchscreen aren’t our favorite finishes. The big knobs for controlling HVAC are at least easy to understand, and there are useful keys for navigating the infotainment system on the steering wheel. The 2015 Fit simply doesn’t feel as daring inside as it does on the outside, however; the angular Fiesta dash, or the swooping Chevy Sonic center console feel more inspired than Honda’s functional layout.
Honda Link Infotainment
What the Fiesta and the Sonic can’t compete with, at least on paper, is the new Honda Link infotainment system, new to the third-gen Fit.
Honda’s argument for Honda Link makes a lot of sense: instead of doubling up on features built into the dashboard, instead take advantage of the smartphone many drivers area already carrying. Similar to Apple’s CarPlay, the new Fit can mirror the display of an iPhone, but also works with a suite of Honda iOS apps for streaming, navigation, calls, and more, that can be controlled by the touchscreen and steering wheel buttons.
Honda Link is standard on the 7-inch infotainment system offered on the EX and above (the LX gets a more basic 5-inch version), and the basic apps are free. The exception is Honda Link Navigation, which is $59.99 for the North American version; still, that’s cheaper than the $1,000 premium to upgrade the EXL to the EXL-Navi with its built-in sat-nav.
On its own, the base 5-inch system on the LX has a 160W AM/FM/CD 4-speaker system, a single USB, and Bluetooth; the 7-inch “Display Audio” system steps up to a bigger WVGA touchscreen, 160W 6-speaker audio, and a second USB port, along with an HDMI input. When used with Apple’s HDMI adapter, an HDMI cable, and a USB cable, Honda Link can hook up to an iPhone 5s, iPhone 5, or iPhone 5c.
While Honda’s concept of relying on a smartphone for advanced functionality may be straightforward, the implementation is a little less clear. For a start there are 4 iOS apps, each doing slightly different things: as well as the navigation app, there’s Connect for location searches, weather, messaging, and service scheduling; Aha, for streaming internet radio, Twitter and Facebook updates, and a point-of-interest database; and finally Launcher, which brings approved third-party apps to the dashboard.
Opening and switching between these apps is all controlled by the infotainment system, but there’s noticeable delays in doing so. Similarly, while the touchscreen supports familiar gestures like pinch-zooming on maps, there’s a frustrating degree of lag that simply doesn’t match the immediacy of an iPhone display. At times we tapped an on-screen button and were left wondering whether it had registered or not.
Scale back expectations and try to forget how responsive your phone is, and Honda Link becomes less frustrating. Still, there are some odd decisions in its design: near-empty screens with a tiny button that required 2 or 3 jabs to hit properly, for instance, or counterintuitive menu structures. We missed a regular knob for controlling volume, too, though there are at least steering wheel buttons to do that.
Honda Link does have some useful features. It can read out not only incoming SMS messages and email, but Twitter and Facebook statuses, and there’s Siri Eyes Free support for using Apple’s virtual personal assistant. Unfortunately, the bulk of Honda’s own voice control system is limited to the top-spec EXL-Navi package, which gets natural voice control over things like the radio. On lower-spec infotainment, however, voice control is effectively for placing calls and nothing else, which somewhat undermines the idea of running navigation from your phone without it being a compromise overall.
There’s obviously Bluetooth streaming for A2DP music from compatible phones and media players, and the HDMI input can handle just about anything with a video output. We were able to get Mobile Safari on the iPhone running on the Fit’s display, though we had to control it from the phone since the remote touchscreen wasn’t recognized. It’d be more useful if you had video stored on a separate device, though Honda disables the HDMI playback when the Fit is out of park.
Overall, then, Honda Link feels ambitious but not quite fully baked. The idea of relying on a phone for advanced features makes plenty of sense, but then limiting things like advanced voice control to the top-spec system feels counterintuitive. Meanwhile, the plethora of apps and the occasional sluggishness to the interface left us frustrated at times while trying to move between social networks, internet radio, and navigation on the move.
Honda can, of course, update Honda Link over time, and the company tells us it has significant plans for the system. That will include Android support, expected to arrive in late 2014.
Engine and Performance
Honda will offer a single engine option on the 2015 Fit, a 1.5-liter in-line 4-cylinder gas engine with 130HP and 114 lb-ft of torque. It’ll be paired with either a 6-speed manual transmission (standard on the LX and EX) or a CVT with paddle shifters (optional on the EX, and standard on the EX-L); Honda quotes 29/37/32 mpg for city/highway/combined from the manual, or up to 33/41/36 mpg from the CVT.
EX and EX-L Fit get Honda LaneWatch, which uses a camera built into the passenger-side wing mirror to give a side view of the car on the dashboard display whenever you indicate. It sounds like it should be a gimmick, but after a few minutes navigating highway traffic we were convinced by the system. All models get Hill Start Assist and Motion Adaptive-EPS, the latter torquing the wheel to correct under or over steering during cornering.
We drove both the manual and CVT versions of the 2015 Fit, and came away impressed. It’s a quieter, more refined car than before, smooth at highway speeds, but handles surprisingly well thanks to the front strut-type suspension and H-type torsion beam rear suspension. Honda says the throw of the manual gearbox has been reduced by about 10-percent for a more sporty feel, and that it snicks into place more eagerly than before, though it’s far from being a sports ‘box.
Shift stroke could definitely benefit from being reduced even further, though the new Fit is certainly happy to rev high for more spirited driving. Unfortunately, while you gain an extra gear over the 5-speed in the outgoing car, the ratios have been adjusted so that 6th in the 2015 Fit is effectively the same as 5th in the old model. We’d have preferred a lower-ratio at the top end for more frugal and quieter highway driving.
As for the CVT, it’s a lazier experience than the manual, preferring to keep the Fit smoothly churning rather than catering to more enthusiastic drivers. Yank 1 of the paddle shifters and the gearbox temporarily mimics a 7-speed manual, going back to normal after a short period. Alternatively, it can be switched into sport mode and manually controlled permanently.
Wrap-Up
Starting from $15,525 for the manual Fit LX ($16,325 for the CVT), the 2015 car delivers a fair step up from the model it replaces. Standard equipment is improved, the ride, handling, and performance are both more predictable and perkier, and the internal space is better configurable. We’d probably step up to the EX ($17,435 for the manual; $18,235 for the CVT) simply for the considerable improvement in equipment, mind.
If Honda has got the basics - and more - correct, there are still some rough edges. Honda Link is ambitious and well-intentioned, and we certainly approve of leaving more advanced infotainment functionality to smartphones, but in its current implementation it’s clunky and confusing at times. Our hope is that Honda will refine it over time, since we could see it becoming a legitimate differentiator from rival cars.
Most important, though, is the new sense of personality that the Fit has discovered in its third-generation. It’s still a car you buy with your head more than your heart, but it’s certainly less appliance-like than the outgoing Fit, and Honda has legitimately raised the game for subcompacts with how it has utilized the interior space. Impressive stuff for a runabout, and a shift that leaves us eager to see what Honda’s urban SUV delivers later in the year.
If there is any question about whether smart engineering is on its way back at Honda Motor Co., 1 need look no further than the 2nd-row "magic" seats of the 2015 Honda Fit.
In an impressive display of packaging, not only does the 2nd row give plenty of legroom and headroom for a 6-foot-tall person to sit -- unheard of in a subcompact car -- but the seats fold down seamlessly to the level of the hatchback's cargo area.
Sure, the seats cost more -- Honda declined to say how much -- to engineer and build than conventional seats. But a conventional seat -- as seen in the Ford Fiesta, Nissan Versa and Hyundai Accent -- has nowhere near the same occupant space and does not fold flat with the cargo area. To Honda's engineers, the seats are worth every penny.
"It depends on how you think about it," said Makoto Konishi, the Fit's chief engineer or "large project leader" in Honda parlance. "Sometimes added cost is necessary. To spend the money to beat the competition, it's worth it."
That level of confidence from a chief engineer has been sadly lacking from Honda for more than a decade, as purchasing-, finance- and regulations-obsessed executives ran roughshod over Honda's engineering culture.
But after a series of product-launch miscues and meltdowns -- starting with the 2001 Civic and culminating with the 2012 Civic -- Honda had its moment of clarity: The automaker that once was willing to spend a couple of extra bucks to deliver smart engineering needed to return to its roots. Cost-down and fuel economy solutions still would be important, but no longer paramount.
With the 2015 Fit, engineering detail after detail is done the way of company founder Soichiro Honda: elegant solutions based on customer-1st decisions. Sometimes, it's visible, with better packaging taking priority over aerodynamics. Sometimes, it's felt in the driver's butt, such as the subtle change in the design of the torsion-beam rear suspension that makes the Fit's handling more responsive.
"If you go cheap, and it doesn't sell, you don't win. If it's going to cost $50 more, and you don't do it, you don't win," Konishi said. "We are trying to give birth to things that are different from the competition."
That this is happening with Honda's $17,000 entry-level car can only spark the imagination for when Honda cascades those improvements up through the model line.
If the 2015 Fit is any indication, Honda has its mojo back.
In its glory days of the 1980s and '90s, Honda's main mission was to engineer a better car that flattered the driver, even if it was slightly more expensive.
But after Japan's economic bubble burst in 1991, bean counters began playing a larger role in Honda's strategic and product planning. The culture of dynamic driving and smart packaging took a back seat to meeting cost and corporate average fuel economy and safety standards.
For Honda watchers, the turning point came when Honda ripped out the supple, double-wishbone front suspension in the 2001 Civic and replaced it with a cruder, cheaper MacPherson strut setup. Honda's rationale was that it improved the engine bay layout -- and it cost hundreds of dollars less per unit. But Honda purists were outraged.
Still, within Honda, the band played on, as management continued to believe that consumers still worshipped Honda vehicles. Riding the red-hot car industry, the Honda brand rolled to 11 straight years of record U.S. sales, through 2007. It collected scads of J.D. Power and Associates quality and APEAL -- for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout -- awards.
But after a string of poorly envisioned products (see chart, Page 3),Honda stopped winning APEAL awards. Although Honda still was near the top in Power's quality rankings, its product execution was turning it into a commodity-car brand, with rising incentives to show for it.
As engineering took 2nd priority, the nadir came with the 2012 Civic, which was savagely de-contented in anticipation of the recession crimping consumers' spending habits. The interior was subpar, with inferior materials and fabrics. Noise, vibration and harshness were punishing and un-Honda-like. Consumer Reports removed the Civic from its "recommended" list for the 1st time in memory, calling it "cheap" and "insubstantial." Although Honda sold a ton of Civics, it paid a fortune in incentives to move the metal.
This was the inflection point for Honda, and crisis thinking took over. CEO Takanobu Ito took the blame for the lousy Civic, but he also put heat on his engineers to make it better -- fast. The underlying message to chief engineers for subsequent products: engineering and quality over cost.
With a quick turnaround of a nearly clean-sheet, no-holds-barred redesign of the Civic for the 2013 model year, Honda rescued 1 of its most important vehicles. It also started applying the Civic's lessons to the development of the CR-V and Accord. Although both products were well down the development path in r&d terms, both showed measured improvements over their predecessors, especially the Accord.
The 1st vehicle that would benefit fully from the new thinking would be the Fit.
"The Fit reflected on our experience with the Civic," Konishi said. "How much would we be willing to do to save cost or improve fuel economy? Would we be willing to make the car smaller to get better fuel economy?"
1 decision, together
Even from Day 1 of r&d, Honda engineered the Fit differently.
"In the past, for a global car, we would design it for Japan 1st, then ask, 'Is it OK?' to the U.S. or Brazil," Konishi said.
Problems from any regional market meant patchwork solutions.
This time, when engineers took the concept to Ito, he collected all the regional leaders and said, "'Let's decide this once, globally,'" Konishi added.
Instead of letting the purchasing or finance departments have decision-making power over engineering development, Honda let its engineers be creative, then told the purchasing department to make it work somehow -- just like in the old days.
"If we did everything we wanted, that meant the cost would go up, so the purchasing department had to work very hard," Konishi said.
The mission was to create a global car that could be manufactured anywhere in the world with a maximum of locally sourced parts. By getting early input from all the regional r&d centers, Honda was able to cut costs by up to 20% and channel those savings back into better content.
To improve the Fit platform's purchasing leverage with suppliers, Honda also performed the r&d work simultaneously on the Fit, the Fit-based crossover coming later this year and the City sedan that was launched in emerging markets in January.
Such a move was risky. Communication among the variants' engineering teams was crucial so that all decisions were in alignment. Purchasing executives, sales managers and manufacturing engineers also were brought on board much earlier. It didn't help that Honda was simultaneously opening a plant in Celaya, Mexico, to build the Fit. It also meant some hard choices, such as deciding not to sell hybrid and sedan variants in the United States.
"Of course, there were business decisions to be made," said Rick Schostek, Honda North America executive vice president of strategy, governance and support. "But when the engineers had their ideas, we knew that going with the lowest cost might not be the best way."
Standing their ground
In looking at the 2nd-row seats, packaging was paramount.
"During the course of a 5-year product cycle, at some point, our various features will be overtaken by others," Konishi said. "So the packaging had to be smart enough to last through the life cycle."
To make room for the seats to fold flat, the fuel tank's profile was squished flatter, even though capacity didn't change.
"With the Insight, we wanted good fuel economy and really good aerodynamics, even if it meant a bad 2nd row and cargo area," Konishi said. "For the new Fit, we put the packaging in place 1st, then did the aero. The functional requirement came 1st."
In other words, if having an impressive 2nd row meant sacrificing a few tenths of a mile per gallon in fuel economy, so be it. If Honda needed better fuel economy, the improvement had to come from the engine and transmission.
Honda made the engine better through direct injection -- arriving rather late to this technology party, to be sure -- mated to Honda's legendary VTEC variable valve timing system. Engineers lightened the crankshaft by 27% by narrowing the crankshaft journals -- which connect the crankshaft to the engine's connecting rods -- and used 4 counterweights instead of 8. Although the engine's horsepower jumped by 11% to 130 hp, with the new continuously variable transmission, fuel economy improved by 16 percent to a best-in-class 33 mpg city/41 highway.
There were other notable developments on which the r&d team refused to budge. Interior fabrics, materials and standard content are excellent for a budget car. And far less road howl and wind noise enter the cabin.
As for ride and handling, subcompact cars typically are saddled with an antiquated, cheap chassis to keep costs low. All have a variation on the torsion-beam rear suspension that has been in use since Conestoga wagons roamed the prairie. While stuck with using a torsion beam, Honda strengthened it by crimping the underside so that its shape is less like an "O" and more like an inverted "U."
A steel industry study shows this torsion-beam method is more expensive to create. But because the new design requires fewer patches and metal inert gas welds, it's less brittle and has better torsional rigidity, Konishi said. In a daylong comparison road test, the handling of the new Fit was more supple and responsive -- yet another way Honda flatters the driver of an inexpensive car.
"This car represents our values," Schostek said. "It's what a true Honda is to us."
Much-anticipated, redesigned small car has been delayed
Published: May 22, 2014 10:00 AM
There’s something strange going on with the release of the 2015 Honda Fit. Originally schedued to go on sale on April 14, the car has now been delayed for more than a month, and customers aren’t getting much information about what’s going on. For now, the Fit is no go.
Dealers are telling customers that there is a “shipping delay nationally” on the car, but they’re unable to give out any more information. We have a Fit reserved for the CR test program (our vehicle identification number has been identified), but so far, we haven’t received any other information on the car from our sales representative.
We put in a call to Honda, and the Northeast Public Relations Manager, Chris Naughton, sent us a statement from Honda:
“The Fit is being built for the first time in North America, a significant new investment in Honda’s 8th auto plant in the region and one that features some of Honda’s latest and most advanced manufacturing technologies. As this is an all-new plant, we are taking a measured approach to the production ramp up and shipments from the plant have been slower than anticipated.
As we build up substantial inventory to sustain the nationwide sales launch, deliveries of the 2015 Fit to Honda dealerships will begin the second week of June.”
This isn’t the first all-new car that has experienced a slower-than-anticipated initial rollout. Ford took its time when it introduced the Fusion sedan, for example. And as owners have reported to Consumer Reports in our Annual Owner Survey, first-year vehicles tend to be trouble prone. So it’s understandable that Honda—and other manufacturers—don’t want to launch a vehicle with any problems.
We loved the previous-generation Fit for its combination of fuel economy, versatility, cargo-carrying ability, and fun-to-drive nature. And as our first drive of a preproduction 2015 Fit showed, the new car builds on those already solid credentials.
While consumers may be frustrated that they can’t get their hands on the Fit until mid-June, it’s likely they’d rather wait a little longer than to have to make repeated trips to the service department with a brand-new car.
I know I am impatient, VERY impatient to see these products but Honda seems to be in full recall avoidance mode here with TLX RLX Fit delays. Given the horrific number of GM recalls lately, I suppose this is the opposite extreme to take.
I don't like it, but I also don't want clanking suspension noises like some RLX PAWS owners are experiencing, in my future RLX. Honda tends not to do so hot with rushed releases.
I know I am impatient, VERY impatient to see these products but Honda seems to be in full recall avoidance mode here with TLX RLX Fit delays. Given the horrific number of GM recalls lately, I suppose this is the opposite extreme to take.
I don't like it, but I also don't want clanking suspension noises like some RLX PAWS owners are experiencing, in my future RLX. Honda tends not to do so hot with rushed releases.
Had some time to kill Friday waiting for my car to be able to start, so I test drove a 6MT '15 Fit EX. Much larger inside than it appears, peppy with the 6MT, but sluggish after running around in a coworker's BRZ at lunch that day.
Was really impressed with the rear seat room. I'm 6'0" & had ample space in the back seat with the driver's seat configured for me.
Not a fan of the rev hang these have built in, makes shifting a little jerkier IMO. Also not a huge fan of the touch screen only interface of the multimedia system.
Refreshed 2018 Honda Fit Launches Next Month with More Aggressive Styling, New Sport Trim and Available Honda Sensing
Jun 12, 2017 - TORRANCE, Calif.
More youthful and emotional styling enhances Fit's sporty character
Honda Sensing® adds safety and driver assistive technologies to Honda's benchmark subcompact
New style and features add to Fit's best-in-class space, refinement, practicality, fuel efficiency and affordability
Honda today revealed the 2018 Fit with fresh new styling, the addition of a Sport trim and the availability of Honda Sensing® on its popular hatchback. Updated styling at the front and rear, and a splash of additional color add vibrancy and infuse the versatile Fit with an enhanced youthful, sporty and emotional character. The availability of Honda Sensing® brings the suite of advanced safety and driver assistive technologies to the subcompact Fit.
"With sporty new styling and additional feature content, the 2018 Honda Fit ups the ante with new styling and sophistication not typically found in the subcompact segment," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president of the American Honda Automobile Division. "Fit has always represented a great value for subcompact customers and the addition of available Honda Sensing® to its fun-to-drive performance and unmatched versatility will keep the Honda Fit as the industry's benchmark subcompact."
The 2018 Honda Fit features new, sportier styling, starting with a horizontally layered, two-piece chrome and piano black grille with a larger, more prominent "H" mark. The more integrated and sophisticated headlights blend into the side edges of the upper fascia's wing creating a unified yet more aggressive design. The front bumper sports top chrome accents and features a full-width splitter, along with more angular fog lights pods.
At the rear, the Fit's low and wide sporty styling continues with a redesigned bumper featuring a full-width character line in piano black and a splitter-shaped lower section. A newly styled taillight combo completes the Fit's sharper looking rear.
Positioned between the LX and EX trims, the new Fit Sport trim features an even more aggressive and sporty look with aero form features at the front, sides and rear, and a low and sharp front splitter highlighted in bright orange. An exclusive black finish on the 16-inch alloy wheels further adds to the sporty look. At the rear, a three-strake diffuser with bright orange upper trim line, chrome exhaust finisher and Sport badge complete the Fit Sport's aggressive exterior styling.
Two new vibrant colors – Helios Yellow Pearl (replacing Mystic Yellow) and Orange Fury – join an expanded color palette that includes White Orchid Pearl, Lunar Silver Metallic, Modern Steel Metallic, Crystal Black Pearl, Milano Red and Aegean Blue Metallic.
Available on LX and Sport trims and standard on EX and above, Honda Sensing® includes Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Collision Mitigation Brake Braking System™ (CMBS™), Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS) incorporating Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) incorporating Road Departure Warning (RDW). This makes Fit the most affordable car in America with such a robust suite of available advanced safety and driver-assistive technologies and the only vehicle within its segment to do so.
This is the third-generation Fit's first update since the launch of the 2015 model in 2014. More in-depth information about the upgrades to the 2018 Fit, including expanded feature content will be provided in the near future.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co (7267.T) is considering shifting production of its U.S.-bound Fit subcompact cars to Japan from Mexico in a few years, partly due to a new North American trade agreement, two people familiar with the deal told Reuters. Fit cars for export to the United States are now made at Honda’s auto plant in Celaya, Mexico. The Celaya plant also makes HR-V sport utility vehicles (SUVs) for the U.S. market. A Honda spokesman said the company had not made any decisions on Fit production.
The new trilateral deal, which replaces the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), is set to raise the minimum North American content for cars to qualify for duty-free market access to 75 percent from 62.5 percent.
U.S. President Donald Trump wants the deal to shrink the U.S. trade deficit by curbing imports into the United States and boosting production of foreign-branded vehicles there.
But the terms of the trade deal reduce Honda’s incentive to produce the Fit in Mexico for the U.S. and European markets, said the sources, one of whom has direct knowledge of the plan and the other who was briefed on it.
They declined to be identified as the matter was still confidential.
In addition, they said, U.S. consumers are increasingly shifting to SUVs, making it more advantageous for the Mexico plant to build those, rather than subcompacts.
One of the sources said that if Honda decides to shift production, it would come when the company launches its next Fit model in the next few years.
2020 Honda Fit Hybrid with 2-Motor System Likely for Japan & Europe, Not the US
Honda has revealed that it’s planning to install its 2-motor hybrid system in the upcoming 4th-generation version of its Fit small hatchback, which will be 1st shown at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show later this month.
Also called i-MMD, the hybrid system combines 2 electric motors with an Atkinson-cycle engine. In the Honda Accord Hybrid and upcoming 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, that’s a 2.0-liter inline-4, but in the Honda Insight it’s a 1.5-liter inline-4. Specifications for the Fit Hybrid won’t likely be revealed before the show, but some sources have suggested that a 1.0-liter turbo-3 will be used for some of the lineup—with a 1.5-liter inline-4 more likely for the Fit Hybrid.
Honda itself only confirms in a pre-show release that the Fit Hybrid's 2-motor system "will made even more compact than the previous system."
The 2-hybrid system is different than most others in that it’s a series hybrid most of the time but sometimes operates as a parallel hybrid. There’s no conventional transmission or torque-split device. One of the motors is geared directly to the engine while the other is geared to the front wheels—and on the other side of a clutch.
In light-load cruising conditions, the gas engine is locked into the mix, with a tall drive ratio, but if more power is needed it disconnects, letting the engine otherwise play the role of onboard generator.
The system itself saves weight versus other hybrid systems—an important quality as hybrids take on weight in the form of battery packs and power electronics. And it’s been well-received so far in the Accord Hybrid.
The outgoing Fit Hybrid, offered overseas, was offered with a single-motor hybrid system incorporating a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox—called i-DCD—in a layout that’s not unlike that in the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid and Kia Niro Hybrid.
The arrival of the 2-motor system to the Fit isn’t at all a surprise. Last year at the Geneva auto show, Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo announced that Honda will expand the use of the system across its entire lineup.
The ramp-up of the technology is part of Honda’s goal to make hybrids 60% of the automaker’s global sales by 2030.
Honda’s transition to hybrids and plug-in vehicles like the upcoming Honda E is particularly important in Europe as diesel sunsets in small cars. The Fit, or Jazz, as it's badged in some markets, might be only sold as a hybrid in Europe.
There’s a big asterisk to all of this: None of it has been confirmed yet for the U.S. The rival to the Fit Hybrid, the Toyota Prius C, has been discontinued, with no immediate successor, and in recent years that model’s sales were tepid at best.
Honda in the U.S. declined to comment to Green Car Reports on future product.
Honda will shine the spotlight on the next-generation Fit during the 2019 Tokyo auto show opening its doors later this month. The Japanese firm released a dark teaser image to preview the model.
Like earlier spy shots, the picture suggests the Fit (which is called Jazz in many global markets) receives a more bulbous-looking front end. It's less streamlined than the current model's and more upright. The back end seemingly gets horizontal lights connected by a light bar or a piece of trim.
The photo also confirms the Fit's silhouette doesn't change significantly, so it should remain as spacious and practical as ever. It looks like stylists made the windows between the windshield and the front doors much bigger to increase visibility and brighten up the cabin. All told, the Fit will grow up as it enters its next generation, though it hopefully won't grow too much in size.
Honda's teaser depicts a Fit configured like a standard subcompact hatchback, but spy shots taken recently in Europe strongly hint a crossover-ized trim level will be part of the lineup. That yet-unnamed variant appears to wear cladding over the wheel arches and the rocker panels, and it's fitted with a set of roof rails. It's not much taller than the regular model, however. Injecting rugged style into the range makes sense; rival Ford caters to overseas buyers who like the look with the Fiesta Active.
While Honda isn't ready to announce technical specifications, it confirmed the next Fit will be exclusively offered with a two-motor hybrid powertrain on the European market. This decision falls in line with the company's electrification strategy, which calls for two-thirds of its European sales to come from electrified models — including hybrids, EVs and hydrogen-powered cars — by 2025.
The 2020 Honda Fit will make its debut on Oct. 23. What remains to be seen is whether the model will return to the American market, or if Honda will focus on bigger models that generate more volume. Autoblog reached out to the company, and we'll update this story if we learn more
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. held the world premiere of the all-new Honda Fit at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show.
Without compromising the spacious cabin and excellent usability that has been a hallmark of each successive generation of Honda Fit, this 4th-generation all-new Fit was developed with the intention of becoming the globally-accepted standard for compact cars suited to this new era.
As a new concept in automobile development, the development team pursued an "emotional value" which cannot be expressed numerically and embodied four dimensions of comfort that enable this vehicle to be better able to support the daily lives of customers. Moreover, the all-new Honda Fit will come in five different types so that customers can select the model that is right for them depending on their lifestyle and life stage.
The hybrid version of the all-new Fit will be the first Honda compact car equipped with the 2-motor hybrid system Honda developed to realize both excellent environmental performance and a comfortable driving experience at the same time, and will be introduced to the market as a part of Honda's e:HEV models.
Honda revealed the all-new fourth-gen Fit at the Tokyo Auto Show this week. The little subcompact hatchback’s sporting a new look, a new hybrid powertrain that has the brand’s updated two-motor design, and a new rugged Crosstar trim. Unfortunately, while the new Fit looks like a fantastic vehicle, the car’s already being delayed. And we still don’t know if it will come to the United States.
The fully redesigned Fit was originally expected to be released in Japan this November, but Automotive News reports that the date has now been pushed back to February 2020. The reason for the delay is because Honda altered the specifications for the subcompact car’s electric parking brake. More specifically, Honda switched from drum-type brakes from Dutch supplier Chassis Brakes International to disc-style brakes because of supply issues.
“This change will take some time, but I am sure we can deliver the reliable car to customers in February,” said Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo. “I believe this delay won’t have much of an impact in the long run.”
Honda hasn’t confirmed or denied whether the new Fit will be sold in the United States. Small hatchbacks aren't doing too well in America, as Ford nixed both the Focus and the Fiesta from its lineup. In terms of Honda’s line, the subcompact Fit isn’t selling as well as the brand’s subcompact crossover, the HR-V.
At first, the three-cylinder turbo was nothing more than the automotive industry’s attempt to downsize from free-breathing fours. More efficiency can also intertwine with more performance, which is why Ford is the first automaker to prove the three-cylinder turbo’s worth in a hot hatchback.
From 1.5 liters of displacement, the engine cranks out 200 PS (197 horsepower) and 290 Nm (214 pound-feet) of torque. Not only did Ford match the output of the Fiesta ST200 from the previous generation, but Toyota followed leveled up to 1.6 liters and all-wheel drive for the GR Yaris.
The Japanese interloper boasts 272 PS and 370 Nm of torque, trumping the FiST by a considerable margin. In U.S. currency, make that 268 horsepower and no fewer than 273 pound-feet of torque. Better still, Toyota and Gazoo Racing are much obliged to offer a six-speed manual tranny!
This gets us to Honda’s Jazz, a subcompact hatchback that’s alternatively called Fit in the United States of America. Even though the Type R has slim chances to happen, there’s no denying that the Civic’s smaller brother would look similar to the rendering provided by X-Tomi Design.
Functional air intakes integrated into the front bumper, a lip spoiler, red brake calipers, side skirts, black wheels, a fixed rear wing, and Champion White paintwork are exactly what you’d expect from a Type R. The question is, what would the Jazz Type R hide under the hood?
In addition to the 1.0-liter turbo three-cylinder engine, Japan gets a 1.3-liter four-cylinder with close to 100 ponies and Europe is treated to a 1.5 running the Atkinson cycle because it’s a hybrid. e:HEV is how the most powerful option is called, packing 109 PS (107 horsepower) and 253 Nm (187 pound-feet) of torque. In other words, don’t expect blistering performance.
The only way the Type R would stand out in the crowd is by going the three-cylinder turbo route with hybrid assistance. Even though a performance variant isn’t likely a priority for Honda, some motoring publications from Japan are making a case for the 1.5-liter engine with a turbo and no hybridization whatsoever.
According to the reports in question, the Jazz Type R would develop close to 220 PS (217 horsepower) and 250 Nm (184 pound-feet).
With roughly 7.5 million sold in 20 years, it's safe to say people love the Honda Fit, or as it's called in Europe and elsewhere, the Jazz. "Elsewhere" would be the key term since Honda's versatile subcompact hatchback is not only sold all over the world, it has also been built in 10 plants in eight different countries, including China, where the authorities were so honored to have a Fit factory within their borders, they allowed Honda an unprecedented larger share in the joint venture.
A major reason is safety, which was highlighted from the very beginning. I attended the original launch at Honda’s Tochigi R&D center in Japan, which started with a crash test. The 2,535-pound Fit was subjected to an offset impact with a six-year-old, 4,030-pound Honda Legend sedan at a closing speed of 62 mph. When our ears stopped ringing, the Fit’s crash-test dummy passengers were shaken but intact, the doors opened and the passenger cell retained its shape. The Legend’s passengers didn’t fare so well, with the pedal box detaching from the firewall taking the driver dummy’s feet with it.
Part of this early emphasis on safety was perhaps to assuage any fears about sitting atop the fuel tank, as the Fit's was uniquely placed under the front seats protected by chassis members. This design has been common to every generation, including the all-new Honda Jazz seen here, and makes it possible for the amazing rear seats, originally called "Ultra" and now known as "Magic Seats" to exist. Distinctively, the backs can be folded flat onto the bases to create an ultra-low load floor, or the bases can be folded up against the back leaving a big empty well in the middle of the car to swallow yucca plants or German shepherd dogs. The result has been unmatched space and versatility for the segment, something that continues with the new version.
What wasn’t clear in Japan 19 years ago was just how reliable the Fit would prove. It regularly tops reliability surveys and (partly) as a result, it tends to appeal to an older constituency of buyers who value a car that starts every morning and costs just cents in maintenance over rival subcompacts that looked better, drove better or had more premium cabins.
In Europe, those reasons were enough for the Ford Fiesta, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa and Mini Cooper to ultimately outsell it. In the United States, it's been less a matter of competition than the market's disinclination from both subcompact cars and hatchbacks. The runaway popularity of crossovers doesn't help either, and although the new Fit/Jazz will be available in the crossover-lite Crosstar model shown above, the future of the Fit in the States remains in doubt. Whether the next generation will come, and if so in what form, still isn't entirely clear. Nevertheless, we managed to snatch a drive in the European version of the new car to see what you might be getting – or missing.
On the outside, the new model is at 159 inches long, 0.55 inches longer than its predecessor. It’s 60 inches high, which is almost an inch lower and about the same width as before at 66.7 inches. The Fit Crosstar is a tiny bit longer and wider, but quite a bit higher.
Climb in, and the Mark IV Fit’s cabin materials are of a higher quality than in its predecessor, though some of the plastics are wincingly old-school. There are odd-looking fiber pads on the dashboard, and the driver’s digital instrument binnacle looks like something you give a toddler on which to watch "Dinosaur Train." Storage space is reasonable, with a deep but narrow center console cubby, door pockets that will accept a small drink bottle, and two glove boxes. The feel is of a more finessed and refined version of the old car, but it’s not without its quirks.
The central touchscreen for instance, which is certainly improved with more attractive graphics and an enlarged 9-inch display, has more than 20 different touchscreen functions. It's a distraction. And as with all Hondas, the switchgear is willfully weird, like the massive screen backlighting dimmer switch, or the ultra-complicated procedure to switch off the lane-keeping assistant. However, there are multiple USB ports, and (at least in the U.K.) every Fit but the base trim gets standard Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Generous seat adjustment and extra steering telescoping make it easier to get a good driving position, while forward visibility has been improved by windshield pillars that are half as thick as before. With more generously cushioned bases, the front seats are much more comfortable, and the same goes for the newly upholstered rear bench, which used to have all the comfort of a Little League bleacher. The Fit is strictly a four-seater since the sloping roof sides and restricted width mean three adults would be very cramped in back. American-market cargo capacity numbers aren't available (and European ones would be incomparable), but the "Magic Seats" continue to make the Fit as practical as always.
Our test car was the top-model trim, which includes spiffy leather-and-fabric upholstery as well as heated seats, a rearview camera, sat nav, premium stereo and 16-inch alloy wheels over the lower trim grades.
Safety is comprehensive. "Honda Sensing" is standard and now includes a new range-finding hazard recognition system, which dispenses with radar and uses instead a wide-view camera. Automatic emergency braking is not only standard, but has a wider range of operation and recognizes cyclists and pedestrians. All trim levels come with adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance, which can now detect grass road edges as well as painted white lines. Blind-spot information and road-departure mitigation are also included and there are 10 air bags in all models. These features, or at least the previous generation of them in the U.S.-market 2020 Honda Fit, only show up in the EX and EX-L trim levels. Should this next-generation model arrive here, we would expect that Honda Sensing would now similarly be standard across the board.
Under the hood is just one option, Honda’s newIntelligent Multi Mode Drive (i-MMD) hybrid system, which works on the same principle as Honda's other hybrid models. Like the Insight, it has a 1.5-liter, Atkinson-cycle, four-cylinder gasoline engine (the Accord and CR-V hybrids have 2.0-liter engines) and twin Direct Current pancake motors, the smaller of which also acts as a generator. The gas engine sits in series with and upstream of the electric motors and in most cases the engine drives the motor/generator, which provides electricity to drive the car.
Dubbed "e:HEV" starting with the new Fit, this powertrain automatically selects among three driving modes depending on conditions: EV mode where the car drives as much as possible with its battery; Hybrid where the engine drives the generator, which drives the motor, which drives the wheels; and Engine Drive, where a clutch closes to bypass the electric motors and connect the engine directly to the wheels to increase efficiency for medium-speed cruising.
At no time does the engine and either of the electric motors directly drive the car, and since the larger electric motor is more powerful than the gas engine, the total system output is basically that motor’s 107 bhp/187 lb ft output. Top speed is 109 mph, with a 0-62-mph sprint of 9.5 seconds. I managed 50 mpg during my drive. The current American-market Fit with its available CVT returns an EPA-estimated 36 mpg combined.
Start up, and the drivetrain software will try to start off using battery power, although the engine soon makes its presence felt. In normal urban driving it stays pleasingly in the background and the electric motor has a quiet warbling hum. Accelerate, and throttle hookup is brisk, which limits the rubber-band effect at modest speeds. And the typical high-torque characteristics of the electric motor make the Fit feel, well fit, despite its 2,747-pound weight. Stand on it, though, and the revs soar, and while the system provides some artificial steps in the power delivery that sound like gears (something not found in the American Honda hybrids), you’ve got to be absolutely belting it to hear these. Thankfully, it’s a Honda, so it loves to rev and it sounds pretty good when absolutely belting it, but like Toyota’s rival system in the European-market Yaris, the engine's operation still feels a bit unconnected with the throttle.
There’s decent braking via all-round discs, and a nicely progressive pedal feel even at low speeds, which is often a sour point in hybrid cars. The suspension consists of front MacPherson struts and a rear twist beam, all of which have been gently updated for this new model. It’s certainly an improvement, but on the EX model’s 16-inch wheels, the Fit clatters away at road surfaces, bouncing and galumphing at the front and heaving a little at the rear. Sharp-edged bumps do most damage in this respect, with audible thumps and sharp reactions.
A short drive in the larger but more softly-sprung Fit Crosstar on the same roads revealed that while it rolls through the turns like a barrel over Niagara Falls, the ride quality is much better judged.
The standard Fit’s handling isn’t bad, though this isn’t a car you’d push through the turns for the sheer joy of it. The control weighting is good and the new variable-ratio steering is certainly precise with pleasing amounts of weight, but there’s little progression or feeling of a buildup of forces. You can over drive this car with quite hilarious results, but European supermini rivals would leave it for dead on a twisting road.
If you’ve already got a Fit and are looking to replace it, this is a better car, improved in every area, with a more comfortable and classier cabin. It’s also economical, well put together, and if the past is any guide, should be ultra-reliable. U.K. prices start at the equivalent of $24,115, and the EX model driven here is $27,171, and although the United States would likely see a discount of 8% or so, the Fit would still, theoretically, continue to cost more than other subcompacts. With its quality and space, it has always seemed worth it, though. Should this next-generation Fit actually make it to the States, we expect that to continue.
Honda is discontinuing the Fit hatchback in America.
There's a new global version of the Fit sold elsewhere, but it won't come here.
The company will increase production of the related HR-V subcompact crossover as a result.
Honda is dropping the Fit hatchback from its U.S. lineup after the 2020 model year. The company recently debuted a new generation of the Fit for the rest of the world, but we now know officially that the new model won't come to the States. Production of the current-generation Fit in Mexico will end, and Honda will ramp up production of the related HR-V crossover as a result.
More Honda Deaths Honda Civic Coupe Dead, New Sedan and Hatch Coming Honda Accord Sadly Loses Manual TransmissionThe Fit was first introduced to the U.S. for 2007 and won several Car and Driver 10Best awards on the merits of its amazing space efficiency and fun-to-drive nature. Honda cites slow sales as its reason for dropping the Fit; so far in 2020, sales are down 19 percent to just 13,887 units. In 2019, Honda sold 35,414 units, compared with the HR-V's 99,104 units sold. We can assume that the HR-V is also more profitable for Honda, as its base price is $22,040 to the Fit's $17,145.
Other markets including Europe and Japan get the new fourth-generation Fit, which is also called Jazz in some markets. We're sad it won't be sold in America, as we found during a prototype drive that it's a significant improvement over the current model in many ways.
We Drive the New Fit New Honda Fit Makes a Case for Small CarsNew 2020 Honda Fit models should remain in dealer inventory in the U.S. for the next few months, but if you're looking for an entry-level Honda once Fit supply runs out, you'll have to look towards the Civic or the HR-V.
02-10-2014, 02:16 PM
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