The Big Success Gets Bigger

By Peter Lyon, Contributor, Japan Email
Date posted: 09-20-2007

The teeny Honda that dared to be big is back with a redefined package for 2008. What's this? A brand-new Honda Fit? Didn't it just arrive in America last year?

Well, yes, but Japan and Europe have known about the superb Honda Fit since 2001, when it first landed in their respective showrooms and quickly set sales records. It simply took a further five years to reach us here in the U.S. as Honda struggled with the "ifs" and "buts" of introducing such a small car in America. In the end, the combination of Scion's marketing success and skyrocketing gasoline prices finally forced American Honda to bring the Honda Fit to the U.S.

Now it's time for a major model change, and the new Honda Fit will be introduced at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show. About a year from now, it will reach America as the 2009 Honda Fit.

Bigger in Almost Every Way
Not surprisingly, the all-new 2009 Honda Fit follows the same recipe as its predecessor. Centered as before around its centrally located fuel tank — the key ingredient in the packaging formula — the Fit gets a tweaked design look, more interior space and, wait for it, improved ride and handling, an issue of some controversy with its predecessor.

As Project Chief Engineer Kohei Hitomi says, "When you're on a good thing, don't just stick to it. Make it better." At our drive of a production prototype of the new Fit at Honda's test track in Northern Japan, Hitomi and his design team were beaming with confidence as they pulled the covers from the new subcompact.

Artfully maintaining that same sharp-nosed, high-roofed look, the Honda designers have added a sportier flavor to the car. There's also an optional panoramic skyroof.

By moving the windshield forward by 4.7 inches, the stylists have created a cabin that feels as roomy as that of a Civic. Clever triangular windows have been sculptured into the side front doors to improve visibility, as the A-pillars of the previous design were thought by many owners to be obstructive.

The wheelbase has been increased 2 inches to 98.4 inches, while the overall length goes up 2.2 inches to 153.5 inches. The Fit is also 0.8 inch wider, while the front track is 1.4 inches wider and the rear track is 1.2 inches wider. It's surprising that the overall weight gain is a meager 22 pounds.

An Interior Where Brave Meets Bold
Inside the Fit's cabin, it's apparent that quality levels are up, with improved plastics, more supportive seats and a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel. Meanwhile, a new dashboard layout looks softer, reflecting a special effort by stylists to appeal to women.

Just as with the recently introduced Mini Clubman, the stretched wheelbase of the new Fit primarily improves rear-seat legroom, which has increased 1.6 inches. Honda has also decided to do away with the spare tire, and this brave move increases cargo capacity by 1.5 cubic feet to a total of 14.2 cubic feet.

Answering the customary call for even more cupholders, the Fit now offers a staggering total of 10!

Honda at Its Best
In Europe and Japan, the Fit is available with either a 1.3-liter or 1.5-liter inline-4 engine, but the U.S. market will get only the all-new 1.5-liter. The incorporation of i-VTEC variable valve timing helps the 1.5-liter engine produce 118 horsepower at 6,000 rpm (an improvement of 9 hp) and 107 pound-feet of torque at 4,800 rpm (a very useful increase of 21 lb-ft).

We spent much of our time in the 1.5-liter model with the five-speed manual transmission that will come to the U.S. in about a year. With a handheld stopwatch, we clocked this car to 60 mph in 8.9 seconds. We also drove the car with the Japan-spec continuously variable transmission (CVT), which features shift paddles on the steering wheel that can choose among seven gear ratios.

The combination of the 1.5-liter engine with i-VTEC and drive-by-wire throttle represents Honda's engine technology at its best. We had such an early look at this engine that Honda hadn't yet built the proper i-VTEC engine cover for it and the engineers wouldn't let us take any pictures as a result. But we can tell you that it gives the Fit a whole new personality.

Gently squeeze the throttle in light traffic or plant your boot for a quick getaway and the Fit responds briskly and effortlessly. Ample torque is on tap from as low as 2,000 rpm and the engine is always willing. While we sampled the silky-smooth CVT, it is the deliciously mechanical five-speed manual transmission that rewards you with short-throw action and precise gear engagement.

Supple, Yet in Control
Beneath the new look lies a thoroughly reengineered chassis, and improvements (especially in the front bulkhead) have improved structural rigidity by a stunning 164 percent. While this means the doors now close with a deeper, heavier thud of quality, the Fit's ride and handling are the prime beneficiaries.

This will please a lot of drivers of the first-generation Fit that found the ride quality too harsh. Chief engineer Hitomi tells us, "We are very aware that the predecessor was a little firm, so we spent a lot of time fixing that. But we believe we've got it just right now." While the ride is still firm, the Fit now soaks up the bumps far better than before.

Apart from making the front and rear tracks wider, the size of the front bushings has been increased and the steering geometry has been rehashed. At the rear, the torsion-beam setup has gained another 0.8 inch in travel, and Hitomi explains, "Two vertically mounted stiffeners positioned inside the D-pillar above the rear springs work in conjunction with the other rear modifications to bring the rear end around quicker and flatter."

Minicar, Not Minivan
It all works, as the new Fit now turns in superbly, gobbling up corners without rolling onto its door handles. More important, once you turn into a corner, you feel the rear end come around obediently, as if it actually wants to follow the line scribed by the front tires, so there's less understeer than before. The Fit now feels more like a small sedan than a small minivan.

The new suspension calibration also improves straight-line stability. On Honda's high-speed proving ground, the Fit felt as stable at 110 mph as it did at 50 mph. And the brakes also offer loads of stopping power, while the pedal feels firm and uncompromised by brake fade.

The Fit employs a new power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering with a revised rack to reduce steering effort a low speed. This is a fine thing in parking lots, but we found the steering lacked any feel up to about 20 mph. As speed rises, the power-assist gradually increases steering effort to a more reassuring level.

On the Way to the USA
The Fit that will come to the U.S. will be the Japanese-market 1.5-liter RS in most of its basic specifications. The Fit Sport will feature the RS model's body kit of aerodynamic devices as well as taller wheels and tires, much as it does now.

The new Fit addresses all the criticisms leveled at the current car, with improved ride and handling plus a more spacious and more stylish interior. No longer does it seem like a downmarket Honda built to a price point. There might be some concerns in the U.S. that the 2009 Honda Fit will cannibalize Civic sales as the little car continues to surge in popularity, yet it is the Honda way to relentlessly improve its products, no matter what the consequences might be.