Near the end of the year I’m planning on getting a new car. For some time I had been thinking about getting a Honda Fit Sport. I like the fold-down seats, the fuel efficiency, and the paddle shifters (semi-automatic transmission). Has anyone had/driven one? Other things I’m considering about it-
-Like many cars, it comes with lots of options, bells, and whistles you can add. Is it more cost effective to get these with the purchase or simply go get aftermarket lights/trim/etc.? While the base cost of this type of car is fairly reasonable, adding stuff makes the price balloon and sort of take the econo out of the economy car.
-This car is similar to the Toyota Yaris. Anyone have a preference between the two?
-When I buy it, I was planning on putting $10,000 down and financing the rest. I figured that the rest of the balance would be low enough that I could finance it for 36 or even 24 months and pay it off quickly. But since I’ve never bought a new car/financed one before, I have no idea what the ‘best’ way to do it is, since I know dealerships offer all sorts of different financing plans. Obviously I’d like to pay as little interest as possible though its not practical for me to save up the ENTIRE cost of the car in a few months. I figured ten grand was a good down payment to throw down, but again, I’m not experienced with these kinds of things and don’t want to get ripped off.
Can’t comment on down payment or anything, but I just wanted to say I LOVE my Fit. I hate driving in general, but that car handles like a dream. I got the base Sport and didn’t add on anything–most of the other stuff is pretty unnecessary and can be gotten elsewhere for cheaper. The Fit is #1 on the US News and World Report small car list, and for good reason. It handles like a small car but feels like a much bigger one. Tons of leg room, head room (I’m nearly 6 feet tall, so this is very useful) and cargo space. I have a rear-facing car seat in it with no problem. My 6’3" husband loves to drive it too.
I got one the first summer they were available in the US, and I plan to keep it until I die or the wheels fall off. It’s almost like they took a list of everything I needed and wanted in a car and designed something specially for me–if it had AWD available, I’d think they’d done exactly that.
I can’t tell you anything about the add-on stuff, beyond what automatically comes with the Sport model. It seems like I did run the numbers and it was about the same cost to get the Sport model or to get the base model and add the handful of safety/function upgrades I wanted. And, of course, the Sport model came with a bunch of stuff that I quite frankly wouldn’t have bothered with upgrading, like the extra stereo speakers and such. The only thing I’ve added to the car since we drove it off the lot was floor mats and a lot of dog hair. The mats were cheaper from a store, and the dog hair wasn’t available at any price from the dealership.
The other thing I’ve considered, which I don’t think was available through Honda, is a luggage rack for the roof.
When we bought, I couldn’t find a hatchback Yaris for love or money–like the Fit, dealers simply couldn’t keep them in stock that summer. I did, however, drive the non-hatch version of the Yaris. It drove pretty similarly, and controls were all laid out fine. For most people in the market for a cheap little hatchback, either car would be perfectly adequate.
But the seats just don’t have anything like the same flexibility, and it was the seats that sold me on the Fit. We have two fairly large dogs, one who’s likely to develop a lot of arthritis as she ages. Being able to flip up the seat bottoms and have a place that’s just the size of their dog beds that she can just step into instead of climbing or being lifted is perfect for everybody involved. I do craft fairs, and being able to make that almost 8’ space is perfect for hauling my tables and tent. That’s also perfect for bringing home lumber if we need it, or fetching the Christmas tree without having to strap it to the roof. If you don’t have these sorts of things to consider, it might not be quite as ideal a choice for you.
I owned a Fit for about 10 months, but sold it as I had just bought a house and needed some cash.
It had TERRIBLE fuel economy. I was averaging as little as 12 miles gallon . At the dealer they claimed it was just taking time for the computer to get used to the vehicle’s operating dynamics and that it would improve after I hit the 6-7000 mile mark.
I love honda products, and have owned both Civics and Accords,
I do feel that I got a “lemon” on the Fit, how ever, as I did research and found no one else with similar experiences with the Fit.
Would I buy another… Probably. What others have posted about handling and characteristics is true. It is a great, flexible and fun car.
We love our fit. It’s very inexpensive to own, reliable, gets about 30MPG, seats four comfortably with plenty of headroom (I was always hitting my head in our old Civic) and has nice cupholders (something you don’t realize is important till you don’t have them). Our only complaint is that it’s a little underpowered (we didn’t get the Sport model, although I’m not sure that makes a difference).
I’ve heard nothing but awesome things about the Fit from my friend who owns one and her bf who is also my brother and a mechanic/car guy. Great gas mileage and performance overall (she does have manual though), and just a fun car to drive. I believe she got the Sport edition, and hers has the integrated iPod with its own little compartment and a nice body kit type deal on the outside to make it look cooler. I personally do not like any hatchback-type looking cars but if I had to get one I would get a Fit.
Another Fit owner here - I’ve had my Sport for almost 3 years now and I love, love, love it. Handles great, decent MPG (though not spectacular, I should say - I get about 28 city), roomy inside, and it looks cool. I run a theatre company, so I’m constantly tossing in all kinds of stuff: furniture, props, lumber, pipe and drape, costumes, whatever. The Fit can handle it all! Well, not all, but a lot more than you’d think just looking at it.
I live in New England, so it’s been through 3 winters and done very well. I’ve only had one handling problem in the snow, when I was driving a bit too fast on a snowy highway. As long as you drive carefully, it does fine in urban snow. It probably would not be great for rural areas with heavy snow and little plowing, but most other small cars wouldn’t either, I would think.
My one complaint: the a/c is loud. You can really hear it when that sucker turns on.
Best car I’ve ever owned. I’ve only owned 3, but still
I acutally just bought my first car (picking it up in <1 hour) and after trying out a whole bunch of cars at the local dealers I narrowed my choices down to a Fit or Toyota Matrix; and ultimately went with the Matrix. But it was a close call. It’s truely is shocking how much space Honda managed to wedge into that thing.
I tried the Yaris but it just didn’t feel as big inside as the Fit and was only about 1k cheaper than the Matrix.
I can’t comment on the paddle shifters since I only test drove manuals. And I went the the bare-bones models since I really don’t think the fancy bells and whistles are worth the cost. Except for heated seats, that would have been a nice stand-alone option.
As for financing, I was prepared to do a cash deal but I asked and the best my local Honda dealer was willing to do in-house was 7% on a 3 year deal; Toyota however had a 0% offer for the same term. You may or may not be able to do better than Honda at a bank.
I run a theatre company, so I’m constantly tossing in all kinds of stuff: furniture, props, lumber, pipe and drape, costumes, whatever. The Fit can handle it all! Well, not all, but a lot more than you’d think just looking at it.