This is a 2012 Honda Fit. It came home with me last night and after some love will head of to college with Deucekid#1.
I've had it for less than 24 hours and I'm totally in love. If it were a manual I'd probably keep it. Even as an auto I'm loving driving around in it. This is a one owner car with 153k miles on it. Always in Texas. A little dirty, but nothing that I can't clean up. Lots of pictures incoming.
I should have bought one of these years ago.
The rhing about neat economy cars is that they aren't really all that neat until the bottom of the depreciation curve. They become super neat and fun in hindsight, much better than when new. Its held true for the protege5, mazda5, neon, crx, etc.
At least the way i see it. Been wrong before though.
Man the 2nd gen cars were just great looking. Great color too. Some real wheels and hit it with the lowering stick and I think it'd be a real looker.
Dusterbd13-michael said:The rhing about neat economy cars is that they aren't really all that neat until the bottom of the depreciation curve. They become super neat and fun in hindsight, much better than when new. Its held true for the protege5, mazda5, neon, crx, etc.
At least the way i see it. Been wrong before though.
I think the Protege5 was neat right from the start. Just the right size and sporty enough to be interesting. And the CRX? Definitely neat when new.
Mazda5 and Neon are not neat. Fight me!
The Fit is one of the most egg-shaped modern cars out there, it's cool.
I never liked the looks of the second generation Fits. The first versions are better in my book. The second generation doesn't even have the dot over the letter i on the badge.
Recorded this as Mazdeuce drove off with his new aquisition..
Keith Tanner said:Dusterbd13-michael said:The rhing about neat economy cars is that they aren't really all that neat until the bottom of the depreciation curve. They become super neat and fun in hindsight, much better than when new. Its held true for the protege5, mazda5, neon, crx, etc.
At least the way i see it. Been wrong before though.
I think the Protege5 was neat right from the start. Just the right size and sporty enough to be interesting. And the CRX? Definitely neat when new.
Mazda5 and Neon are not neat. Fight me!
The Fit is one of the most egg-shaped modern cars out there, it's cool.
Ill bite. Mazda 5 does nothing for me, but a Neon is a FWD Miata, no "cool" tax and hurt feeling more than any Honda ever could.
I sat in the back seat of a base first-gen Neon when they were new, that memory has prevented me from ever viewing them favorably.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Theres a reason god made blondes, redheads, and brunettes. Everyone has their own taste, preference and opinion. You dont dig the mazda5 and neon, both of which i adore now that theyre ridiculously cheap. Didn't think they were neat enough for the money before. We can agree to like different stuff, and thats cool.
So, nope. Not gonna argue with you. Unless you dont think mopar is underrated, much like mazda. Both are awesome small market brands that dont have the draw of honda/chevy. But have their own market segment carved out of the big guys.
Dunno. Kinda rambling at this point.
Seth: how good is the honda automatic in manual mode?
I loathe neons. I know they are capable track/auto-x cars. Doesn't make me like them any better. Never liked the Fit. Always felt like the bottom basement car it is, and being a Honda requires a money premium that I never felt was deserved.
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
I have no idea. Didn't know it was possible. The car is slow, but it's "fast enough" and in all honesty the transmission is matched well to the motor. It is much more eager to do the right things than the rental Kia I had a couple weeks ago.
First things first, the car went up in the air.
Nice and clean and not bent anywhere. CV boots are good. Tie rod boots are good. No leaks though there is evidence that the chain case has been re-sealed for some reason. None of the plastics are broken. I was wondering if the car had an underlay from the factory. There are places for speed clips that could have held something here but no evidence that they were ever installed.
All of these B segment cars were about big things on small packages. I bought a Mazda2 the same year this was new. The Mazda was cheaper and lighter and probably drove a bit better, but it was smaller inside and not nearly as clever. The Fit has a high roof line, clever seat packaging and a million cubbies. The Mazda2 felt like you shrunk a car around the passengers until you couldn't shrink it any more. The Fit feels like Honda started that way, but half way through the design someone decided they needed to move a refrigerator and take their kids on a cross country road trip but didn't want to actually buy a van.
i think the undertray depended on which trim level you got. like only the EX-L or whatever the highest trim level got them.
I'd appreciate hearing more about your longer-term opinions of how the fit compares to other hatchbacks you've experienced. I've been interested in the fit/yaris for awhile, the fit is usually pretty pricey (high resale value), and the yaris' I've been in have been very cheap/economy (tbf, like a @$14,000 msrp car). Both neat hatches, hope the fit lives a long life with you guys
Last year I bought a 2015 Fit EX, a white one with the 6-speed manual gearbox.
I kind of have a thing for quirky little cars, particularly ones that are more fun to drive than they have any real right to be. I was driving a 2012 Kia Soul, the base model with zero frills, the 1.6L motor and a 6-speed manual. I refuse to drive anything with an automatic, it's just a personal preference, and the only way to get the Soul with 3 pedals was the stripped down base model.
I loved that little car. It was a blast to drive. It was versatile, practical, fun, and as reliable as an anvil. 160K+ miles of "driving it like I stole it" and never a single solitary mechanical issue. Not one.......but.... The lack of modern conveniences and creature comforts was starting to wear thin. I lusted after things that most take for granted. Cruise control, Bluetooth and the like. I'd have happily bought another Soul if Kia had offered a manual gearbox in one of the other trim levels. But, for reasons surpassing understanding, they do not, so I started looking for a replacement. Something similar, but with just a touch more livable day to day.
It didn't take too long. When your #1 requirement is a manual transmission, and #2 is low-cost, your options narrow down pretty quickly. I'd always liked the look and design of the Fit, so I focused my efforts there. It too me over 6 months to locate a low mileage CPO fit with a manual. They are incredibly hard to find. I'd driven the Fit with the CVT and it's not even close to the same car. The manual transmission transforms that little car. It is truly a joy to drive. I have no regrets. I just wish it had been a better color. Well, at least it isn't black....
I'm 60K+ miles into it now, and it still puts a big smile on my face when I drive. I even drove it cross-country (Alabama to California and back) last summer. The gearbox and shifter are excellent, the handling is shockingly good, steady, planted, tossable and predictable. It loves a nice curvy road or an interstate on/off ramp. The little 1.5L loves to rev, and even sounds pretty good, even with the factory exhaust. It is comfortable, and everything just works....like a Honda. Oh, and, driven carefully, it can touch 40MPG........
About the only letdown was the front brakes. They just didn't respond well to my......spirited.....driving style. With hard use they were prone to fading and the rotors warped, very quickly. A set of drilled and slotted rotors and some EBC pads fixed that, now it stops like throwing out a big anchor. About the only other thing to complain about is that it's not terribly quiet inside, but, it's an economy car after all. Also, the pedal placement is kind of weird. The accelerator location makes heel and toe downshifting almost impossible. There is a relocation kit available to correct that but I haven't done it yet.
I really like mine. It is exactly what I was looking for and I plan on hanging onto it for a while.
My advice.
1. Go ahead and upgrade the front rotors and pads. All told it cost me about $50 more for the upgraded components over the OEM replacment type. Well worth it.
2. TIres. Not sure about your 2012, but my 2015 has an oddball 185/60 16" tire. No one stock that size and the selection is very limited. Next time I'll go with a 205/50 16". According to the Honda forums, that is the preferred upgrade for stock wheels.
That's about it. Enjoy it, IMHO they are fantastic little cars.
mazdeuce - Seth said:In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
I have no idea. Didn't know it was possible. The car is slow, but it's "fast enough" and in all honesty the transmission is matched well to the motor. It is much more eager to do the right things than the rental Kia I had a couple weeks ago.
First things first, the car went up in the air.
Nice and clean and not bent anywhere. CV boots are good. Tie rod boots are good. No leaks though there is evidence that the chain case has been re-sealed for some reason. None of the plastics are broken. I was wondering if the car had an underlay from the factory. There are places for speed clips that could have held something here but no evidence that they were ever installed.
All of these B segment cars were about big things on small packages. I bought a Mazda2 the same year this was new. The Mazda was cheaper and lighter and probably drove a bit better, but it was smaller inside and not nearly as clever. The Fit has a high roof line, clever seat packaging and a million cubbies. The Mazda2 felt like you shrunk a car around the passengers until you couldn't shrink it any more. The Fit feels like Honda started that way, but half way through the design someone decided they needed to move a refrigerator and take their kids on a cross country road trip but didn't want to actually buy a van.
That plastic tray covering the engine is a PITA, and they are prone to.....disappearing..... The fasteners really suck. It also doesn't help that the front of the car is so low that I was always catching it on things anyway. Mine departed the car unannounced and unnoticed. I went to change the oil one day and it was just gone...... I'm thinking about trying my hand at fabricating an improved sheet aluminum one.....
This forum got me liking these. I tried to get the wife to buy one when a deer totaled her Kia spectra5 but we got a good deal on a Nissan Versa hatch back so. Curious if it’s less buzzy and quieter inside then the Versa cause that car is worse then my last mk1 rabbit on the highway.
If/when it's time for tires definitely put some 205s on there. It settled the car down a lot on the highway. With the stock size it was very darty and pushed around by cross winds.
In reply to rattfink81 :
My wife had a Versa sedan as a rental recently. It was quite terrible. The Fit is SO much better.
We bought the Versa as it was 1k for a 07 that need a $40 exhaust fix. As a hatch back it works for us and the rear seat area is huge which is great as I have 1 kid in a rear facing and 1 in a booster. Plus I’m 6’3 220lbs so the whole family fits. But yes it’s about the cheapest eco car I’ve been in since early 90’s kia’s.
Dusterbd13-michael said:The rhing about neat economy cars is that they aren't really all that neat until the bottom of the depreciation curve.
While I certainly felt that way about my old Accent, having bought our ‘09 Fit new, and it still being in the family with 200k on it, it’s been worth every penny. At the time we got it I was driving 150-300 miles per day. Averaging about 35mpg per tank, plus the ridiculously minimal maintenance it required, it’s payment+insurance+fuel+consumables was still cheaper per month than driving our paid-off 2000 Villager.
Oh, and congrats Seth - you guys are going to love that car!
Bunch of pictures to catch up on but life is moving at warp speed. In the mean time, I swear there's more covered space in here than my truck with the tonneau cover down. Two sets of wheels/tires plus a full size spare under the floor plus room for at least one more set. Cavernous.
And there's a freaking pencil holder in the glove box! Coolest thing ever.
Recently drove one of these for the first time in a while (sadly a totally rotten one on it's way to a certain death) and was, yet again, really impressed.
Seth:
How does this compare(handling/accel/fun to drive) to:
a 1973 capri V6
1970 BMW 1600
1992 Sentra SE-R
1998 Neon R/T
1999 ZX2
--if you had ever driven any of these?
In reply to Agent98 :
From that list I'm limited to the Neon, but add to is a 2000 Focus ZX3 and a Mazda2 and in all honesty let's throw a NA Miata on there.
What the Fit has (mine at least, I don't pretend to speak for the gen 1 or gen 3 cars) is a sense of livliness. It's not fast, in fact, the less we talk about accelerating the better which is true of all of the cars on that list if you compare them to anything with modern power levels. What it does do is communicate through the steering and through the seat. It does what it's told and tells you what it's doing. You hustle it at sub speed limit speeds. You're wailing on it, looking ahead, a touch of trail braking, catch the perfect apex and roll back onto the throttle and you're never at a speed where you could disrupt traffic. It's not like a NA Miata, but it's very much like a NA Miata in your interaction between you and the car and the road.
Fun and versatile car! Reliable as I recall too. We looked at a Fit while in Japan, but opted to get a minivan instead (Toyota Noah). Perfectly sized to college duties I think! Nice find!
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