Sure, I got mine in November 2007, so it’s been through 3 winters in Boston now. I have the Sport model, which has slightly larger tires than the standard, and they call them “all-season” (not sure what that really means). I’ve been through countless snowstorms in that time and have not gotten stuck anywhere, fishtailed or otherwise had any handling problems in the snow except once. I spun out during a big storm on a highway - but that was really my own fault for turning onto the exit too quickly. I didn’t hit anything or anyone and there was no damage to the car.
I’ve found that as long as you drive carefully and slowly in any snow conditions, my Fit performs splendidly. Note: I am generally traveling in an urban/suburban area, not in the hinterlands of NH or ME, so keep that in mind. I don’t think I’d want to drive the Fit (or any small car) in the white mountains during a storm.
Interesting. My mom bought a Yaris recently specifically because she felt it had better visibility than the Versa an Fit. She is pretty short though. I test drove the Versa and Yaris with her and I felt the Yaris had better visibility than the Versa, but I couldn’t really figure out why. I didn’t try out the Fit, she did that the following weekend on her own.
Pretty much all passenger car tires (except for high performance and mud/snow tires) are All-Seasons. If you stay in mostly civilized areas of the north east they will be fine. If you live up north or travel to remote and unplowed locations frequently, you’ll want snow tires.
Even on a car like a Fit, a good set of snows will allow you to get most places. At some point, ground clearance becomes the limiting factor.
I own a new Versa Hatchback. Suprisingly roomy inside. I average 27 MPG per tank. I drive in the city and the freeway is a lot like driving in the city.
Thank you for all the responses. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to come back to the thread, things got a bit hectic at work.
It’s amazing how every Fit owner seems to love it. That’s definitely a plus. The dealer’s attitude is a minus, but Toyota doesn’t seem any better.
I’ll try to test-ride the Scion xD, Nissan Versa, Saturn Astra and the Chevy Aveo. I’ve already sat in a Mini, and I’m not sure if I’d ever get used to that interior.
I see Consumer Reports criticized the “compromised driving position” of the Yaris - does anyone know what they’re talking about? I see their overall rating is low, but I don’t agree with some of their criteria (e.g. they criticized the center console which I thought was great).
The only criticism I have of the Fit is that it’s slightly overpriced in the US because demand is so high- you can get a lot of cars which are objectively better in most respects for similar money.
Actually, it’s not that it’s overpriced, just that you can’t get much if anything knocked off the list price because dealers are moving them without discounting.