XP: Honda Fit

[esdreturns]

Hi. I don't go here, but I thought I might get more responses over here.


Does anyone here happen to own a Honda Fit? If so, do you love it, hate it? I'm going car shopping tomorrow and a new one is very MM.
It's not what I'm used to (currently own an Audi, used to have a BMW), but I'm getting divorced so I want a car that doesn't cost me a ton to repair. My Audi has been AWFUL in that respect.

Any other recommendations would be great as well, I just know that Hondas are super reliable. 

Thank you!

 

[esdreturns]

Jan 26, 2016 20:03:53 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

I drove one, and almost pulled the trigger. But I really thought the seat was super uncomfortable. If you're coming from luxury type cars, the seats are not comfy.

Oh that's disappointing. I'll check it out anyway, maybe they changed the seats (fingers crossed). How long ago did you drive one?

[esdreturns]

Jan 26, 2016 20:04:36 GMT -5 mp said:

I loved it. I've upgraded but loved it when I had it.

Thank you!

[esdreturns]

Jan 26, 2016 20:12:08 GMT -5 mp said:

The cup holders in the dash are something you'll never knew you needed.

In the dash, you say?? I'm intrigued.

Thank you both!

[winnieandwine]

my answer depends on 1) where you live 2) what your job is.

I loved my honda fit 358/365 days of the year. fuel efficient, tiny (fits everywhere), comes to a stop very quickly on dry roads, excellent cargo space....

BUT I lived in Chicago and worked in a hospital, so this turned out to be an awful purchase because ~7 days a year I was on the verge of a panic attack. you don't want to be in a very light, low to the road, small car on partially paved roads during a blizzard. I definitely would slip and slide... even driving slowly/cautiously with plenty of stop room. one time I was going maybe 10mph on our hospital campus and slid right through the stop sign. cars just don't do well when you're so low you're pushing the snow in front of you.

[esdreturns]

Jan 26, 2016 20:20:15 GMT -5 winnieandwine said:

my answer depends on 1) where you live 2) what your job is.

I loved my honda fit 358/365 days of the year. fuel efficient, tiny (fits everywhere), comes to a stop very quickly on dry roads, excellent cargo space....

BUT I lived in Chicago and worked in a hospital, so this turned out to be an awful purchase because ~7 days a year I was on the verge of a panic attack. you don't want to be in a very light, low to the road, small car on partially paved roads during a blizzard. I definitely would slip and slide... even driving slowly/cautiously with plenty of stop room. one time I was going maybe 10mph on our hospital campus and slid right through the stop sign. cars just don't do well when you're so low you're pushing the snow in front of you.

I live in CT, but I WAH full time. That's a good point though, thank you.

[compassrose]

FYI, my Subaru is awesome in the snow, and the Subaru service/warranty is fantastic. Definitely MM.

[winnied]

We test drove one and seriously considered it but instead purchased a Hyundai Accent and love it. We thought the finishes were slightly nicer in the Hyundai and the back folds down better for storage purposes. H is also very tall and actually fit better in the Accent than the Fit.

[bk1]

I loved my Fit. I upgraded a couple months ago but it was perfect for when I did have it.

[esdreturns]

Thank you all. I was originally looking at an Accord Coupe or the Civic and then saw the price tag on a new Fit and got excited lol. I really appreciate all the opinions!

[dr.girlfriend]

We have two, I think they're 2011 and 2012. We love MOST things about them. They've been very reliable...we've had to replace an unusual number of tires and two windshields, but otherwise they've been great. My only gripe is that the stated gas mileage is COMPLETELY off. I can't figure out why it's so bad. I even took the car back to the dealer in the first few months, posted on message boards, etc. People said it was just until the car got broken it, etc. Nope. I only drive it from home to the kid's school and to the train station, so it's all slow speed and lots of stop signs. I've had it four years and it has about 20k miles on it. My average gas mileage is barely topping 20 mpg. DH drives his on the highway more, but I still think his average is about 28 mpg.

Otherwise, though, it's a great, versatile car. It feels roomy inside. I love how there are almost no blind spots. When you fold the back seat down you can fit at least a five-foot dresser in the back. It's the perfect car for our three-person family. Obviously not great for too many more...even when my parents are visiting five is a squish and we usually take two cars, but for our purposes it's good.

[dr.girlfriend]

Jan 26, 2016 20:03:53 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

I drove one, and almost pulled the trigger. But I really thought the seat was super uncomfortable. If you're coming from luxury type cars, the seats are not comfy.

This is so surprising to me, because I have crazy back problems.  My back hurts if I sit on my couch, in my office chair, pretty much everywhere.  But my Fit has the PERFECT back support.  I seriously wish I could drag that car seat with me everywhere.  But then again I'm super short and have a really deep curve to my lower back, so maybe what's comfortable for me hits other people just wrong?

[dr.girlfriend]

Jan 26, 2016 20:14:49 GMT -5 mp said:

Jan 26, 2016 20:13:27 GMT -5 esdreturns said:

In the dash, you say?? I'm intrigued.

Thank you both!

I miss them every day. haha.

I love that if your coffee is hot you can put it in the dash cupholder (right in front of the vent) and turn on the a/c and it cools it almost instantly.  :-D

[tacosforlife]

We have a 2013 and love if. I've never had a luxury car, so I can't compare how the interior will feel in comparison. But I love how easy it is to park - we've gotten in some crazy tight spots. But it fits so much stuff with the back seats folded down. We have gotten $900 worth of IKEA furniture in it. The stereo interface on ours is meh, but they've improved that. If either of us had a long driving commute, we'd probably replace that. But overall I LOVE ours. Highly recommend.

[Pibs]

My MIL has one, and was nice enough to let us take it on an 8-hour road trip to my parents house for a week. We pretty much fucking hate that car. The seats were really uncomfortable after about 15 minutes, it wasn't great about handling Iowa winter weather, and it didn't have any oomph. The gas mileage wasn't impressive. And supposedly people love the luggage space, which was also not anything to write home about. My brother-in-law hates the seats in the Fit, too. He lives in the same city as the inlaws, and when they get together they all take his car or FIL's Civic because he refuses to ride in the Fit.

I say all of the above as someone who has (and loves!) two Smart cars -- so I get the appeal of tiny cars that are reasonably priced, have good gas mileage and are easy to park. The Smarts are so much better in the snow than the Fit is. And if we ever need to tote more than two people around or deal with bad weather, we have a Subaru Forester that is AMAZING and very reliable.

[mmp]

Love mine, seats are awful. However, I bought Clazzio seat covers from beansgarage.com and they are fantastic. It's like I had new seats installed, and they aren't the crappy fabric that comes with the Fit.

[ellipses84]

DH has a Civic HF and he loves it. I never thought he'd even consider it, and I don't think he'd ever get a Fit. All the cars are larger now and the civic is more like the size the accord used to be.

[tacosforlife]

Re: gas mileage. I wasn't going 70 because I was following the moving truck, but I was routinely getting 44mpg on the highway during our cross-country move. At normal highway speed, I get 40mpg on the highway.

My dad has FINALLY stopped asking me what the cost of gas is on a regular basis after my constant responses of, "I don't know. I haven't gotten gas in three weeks."

[drloretta]

I loooooooooooove my Fit. Love. I don't think I've ever said that about a car before. It didn't hurt that I hadn't gotten a new car in about 9 years before it, so all the bells and whistles were amazing to me, LOL.

It's very roomy, even for my DH who's built like a professional wrestler. I love the seats that flip up or down in the back. DH particularly likes that the back seats fold down flat with the trunk, so you get one large area of storage space. It gets great gas mileage--mine is a 2009 and I'm still getting in the mid- to high 30s. Maintenance has been great. I did have major maintenance done last summer, but other than that it's been your basic oil change, rotate the tires, etc.

My only quibble is that only the driver's side door unlocks when I turn it off. It drives DH nuts in particular. There's somewhat of a fix but it still annoys me. I figure it's a small price to pay for a car that I otherwise adore.

ETA: I don't find the seats uncomfortable.

[drloretta]

Jan 26, 2016 20:13:27 GMT -5 esdreturns said:

Jan 26, 2016 20:12:08 GMT -5 mp said:

The cup holders in the dash are something you'll never knew you needed.

In the dash, you say?? I'm intrigued.

Thank you both!

There are TEN cupholders in the Fit!

[tootsie]

I've had my used 2010 Fit for 3 years. It's an awesome commuter car. I am on the road ~1.5 hours every day, fill up once a week and average around 30mpg. Really the only maintenance was fix a brake fluid issue early on, which I think was someone's mess up at the dealership, and I put new tires on it this summer. My H changes the oil and filters. Weather driving is not a huge issue for me as I live in the Texas desert, but it's done ok in the few times I've driven in ice and snow. I upgraded the tires so that probably helps.

Sizewise it's been fine except when my DD was in her infant seat. That made everything feel very cramped, but the problem is resolved now that she is older and forward facing. I like how you can put the back seats down several ways for cargo space.

It's not luxurious in any way, but it's been functional and has fit our utilitarian vehicle needs.

[MrsDarcy]

My H has one. He really likes it. He gets 38-40 mpg routinely. It's really roomy for how small it is. We can fit so much in the back with the seats folded down, and the back seats flip up for more storage. The cupholders are great. He had a BMW before, so we understand the "downgrade" but the cheaper repairs and mpg more than make up for it.

[IrishBelle]

I've test driven one and as much as I love Hondas, I wouldn't consider purchasing it. If you do a lot of highway driving it feels like you are in a tin can. I'm sure it is fine though at city speeds.

[MixedBerryJam]

Jan 26, 2016 20:12:08 GMT -5 mp said:

The cup holders in the dash are something you'll never knew you needed.

This made me laugh, because I had an Odyssey, which seats 7 but had 11 cupholders. Now I'm in a Civic, which I love, but man, it only has 2 cupholders. If I have an old iced tea in there, and my son and I both have beverages, I need to throw the old one away! I need more cupholders!

OP, my sister has a Fit and she loves it. Loves. It. 

[cst2cst]

I had a 2007 Fit and love, love, loved it. I only traded it in because I got a second boxer who was bossy and took up all the room. We frequently took 3+ hour drives with them and wanted more room for the dogs.

I fit a 42 inch flatscreen and 8x10 rug in that car, but my spoiled dogs couldn't figure it out. Lol.

[esdreturns]

Thanks for all the responses! I ended up with a 2015 fully loaded Civic because it was the only one left, and they really wanted to get rid of it. I was able to get an awesome deal on it. I am sad about the no in-dash cupholders though. I really liked that idea lol.

[drloretta]

Jan 27, 2016 16:52:00 GMT -5 esdreturns said:

Thanks for all the responses! I ended up with a 2015 fully loaded Civic because it was the only one left, and they really wanted to get rid of it. I was able to get an awesome deal on it. I am sad about the no in-dash cupholders though. I really liked that idea lol.

That was my car before the Fit. Good choice