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2015 Honda Fit Review

OUR TEST CAR: 2015 Honda Fit EX-L 1.5 iVTEC CVT 130 HP

 
Let’s face it: size matters. This is why Chevrolet still makes the Suburban, it’s why Forgiato makes 28-inch wheels and it is why Honda still builds the Fit. Now, if you’re wondering why the subcompact Honda Fit is being mentioned alongside such sizeable objects, you’ve obviously never stepped inside Honda’s multifunctional hatchback.
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Since its debut more than a decade ago (seven years for those of us in the U.S.), the Honda Fit has made quite a name for itself by packing so much space into such a diminutive package, and on top of that, it has been, by far, one of the most fun-to-drive hatchbacks on the market – at least ones not wearing the GTI or ST badging.

In its first two generations, though, perhaps the only major drawbacks about this car were its bland styling and subpar fuel economy, so Honda went back to the drawing board to develop the 2015 Honda Fit giving it a much better look as well as fuel economy that helps kicks this hatchback up to the top of its class. Looking across the landscape of low-priced, entry-level cars with which the 2015 Honda Fit competes, it isn’t hard to see why Honda focused on the specific changes for its lowest-priced offering, but like everything else in life, change didn’t come without compromise. We recently spent a week with the all-new Fit finding out what was added and what was given up to create the biggest small car on the market.

Size definitely plays a part in the allure of the 2015 Honda Fit. Compared to the second-gen model, the new Fit adds an extra 1.2 inches (3 cm) between the front and rear axles, which directly pays off in terms of passenger space – we’ll get to that in a bit. Despite the stretched wheelbase, the overall length has decreased by about that same amount (1.6 inches/4 cm to be exact) and it is marginally (0.3 inches/8 mm) wider. These new dimensions help give the 2015 Honda Fit a more athletic stance by hiding some of the tall roofline that sits about four inches taller than the Hyundai Elantra GT.
If there was any single area that the previous iterations of Honda Fit were lacking, it was the styling.

The 2015 Honda Fit has finally received a look deserving of its surprising sportiness, and it does so without completely alienating previous Fit designs, however cute and quirky they may be. It still has a similar wedge-shaped design that the previous two generations of Fit exhibited, but there is now far more character in the overall execution of the styling. Narrow headlights and a glossy black grille not only tie the Fit’s look in with other recent Honda designs like the 2015 Civic and 2015 CR-V but it also helps create an added sense of width.

Where the previous Fit designs were slab-sided affairs when it came to the sheet metal, the 2015 model year brings some stylish creases along the side of the body, and the rising beltline reduces the size of the window openings, which along with the more rounded roofline, brings a more appealing hatchback profile. The rear view of the 2015 Fit is dominated by the faux air vents in the lower fascia that seem a little out of place on this car, the rest of the car’s rump is rather tidy with LED taillights and a thick chrome strip spanning the liftgate. Overall, the more aggressive styling across the lineup helps make up for the fact that there is no longer a Fit Sport trim level, and Honda finishes off the more youthful look with a vibrant palette of available hues including Mystic Yellow Pearl, Passion Berry Pearl, Aegean Blue Metallic and this tester’s Milano Red.

Honda obviously spent a lot of time working on updating the exterior of the 2015 Fit, but equal effort was put into giving this car an interior that is even more comfortable, well-appointed and practical than the previous model. The longer wheelbase brings an extra 4.8 inches (12.2 cm) of legroom as well as more passenger volume (an increase of up 5 cubic feet/142 liters). This means that in addition to rear occupants appreciating the room, parents of young children will be happy to know that the added interior space now easily allows a rear-facing car seat to be properly affixed in the back seat without affecting the comfort of front occupants.

In spite of this added volume, cargo space is down slightly from the second-gen design likely due to the roofline that isn’t as squared-off as before, with 16.6 cubic feet (470 liters) available behind the rear seats and 52.7 cubic feet (1,492 liters) with the rear seats folded flat. That is almost 4 cubic feet (113 liters) less than the previous model, but it still blows away rival hatchbacks in this subcompact class not to mention the fact that this is about the same cargo capacity available in the much larger 2015 Subaru Impreza five door, which leads its compact hatchback class with a best-in-class 52.4 cubic feet (1,483 liters).

Size is just a portion of the advantages that the 2015 Honda Fit brings to the subcompact set. Honda’s innovative Magic Seat system brings four modes of adjustability to match the needs of passengers and cargo. Max cargo space comes with the Utility Mode, which is just the rear seats folded flat, but taller items (up to 4 feet/1.2 m) can fit in the floor space of the second row thanks to the Tall Mode that allows the rear seat bottoms to fold up out of the way and lock in place.

2015 Honda Fit - Page - 1
The front seats also get in action with the ability to recline back almost completely flat when the rear seats are folded up. With the rear seats folded down and the passenger seat folded back, Long Mode allows the Fit’s cabin to swallow longer items up to 7 feet 9 inches (2.3 m) long. Finally, both front occupants can take advantage of the unique reclining abilities of these seats with Refresh Mode, which makes for the perfect place to take a quick rest stop nap during long road trips.

Honda uses this combination of surprising size and innovative seating to deliver a relaxed and roomy cabin, but the new styling also breathes life into the Fit. Unlike the budget-minded, utilitarian look of the previous Fit, the 2015 model year is clean, attractive and well laid out. Through a decently sized three-spoke steering wheel, the driver gets a good look at the three-gauge instrument cluster with a large speedometer centrally located and flanked by smaller gauges for the tachometer and digital multifunction screen. This car had a mostly blacked-out interior that was accented by small amounts of satin-finished metallic trim. Thankfully, the only chrome trim Honda saw fit to use on this car was limited to the exterior.
At times, the Fit’s interior flirts with bouts of perfection.

But just as we were heaping on praise for the layout, the amazingly comfortable yet supportive seats and the overall size, then we come across the hard plastic door armrests and the wonky infotainment touch screen. For the armrests, it is an annoying oversight from Honda (especially considering the soft-touch instrument cluster with the faux stitching) that really does affect long-distance comfort in the car. As for the seven-inch touch screen used for the upgraded Display Audio system, the lack of hard buttons and the placement and size of the touch controls (like the volume and menu buttons) leaves the system with a hefty learning curve that can be extremely aggravating.

The good news here is that the actual screen for the navigation works the same as a smartphone with pinch to zoom and swipe functions. The EX-L also comes standard with HDMI and two USB inputs, Siri Eyes Free and an SMS text messaging function not to mention upgrading to leather on the seats, steering wheel and shift lever as well as heated front seats, a power moonroof and push-button entry and start. When it comes down to the bottom line, the EX-L with Navi has a lot of luxury for not a lot of price, and it all adds up to a cabin experience that makes the Fit rewarding to spend time inside, which is definitely something that couldn’t be said about subcompacts just a handful of years ago.

Honda hit homeruns when it comes to the styling and interior packaging of the 2015 Fit, but it played things safe with a bunt when it came to the powertrain and chassis tuning. Since the Fit hit the scene in 2007, it has been a relative sleeper in the realm of subcompact hatchbacks with a surprisingly fun and engaging driving dynamic. This was dialed back a bit for 2015 trading in some of that unsuspecting peppiness for a healthy dose of Earth friendliness. This wasn’t really that much of a surprise with Honda’s new Earth Dreams – a name that doesn’t really forecast too much fun on the horizon – engine under the hood.

Packed neatly (and tightly) under the small hood, the 2015 Honda Fit is powered by the 1.5-liter direct-injected Earth Dreams four-cylinder producing 130 hp (97 kW) and 114 lb-ft (155 Nm) of torque. While that isn’t a whole lot of power, it is significantly more than the 117hp (87 kW) and 106 lb-ft (144 Nm) produced by the previous Fit. More importantly, fuel economy has increased quite a bit thanks to the optional continuously variable transmission. Yes, the dreaded CVT makes its way into the Fit replacing an otherwise sufficient five-speed automatic, but no, this isn’t the rubber band of a CVT that we’ve come to loathe in some other entry-level vehicles.

One way Honda reduced the shiftless, buzzy feeling of driving a car with a normal CVT was by adding built-in shift points that were tuned to feel like a seven-speed gearbox. There is still some of the CVT curse deep down in there, but for the most part, driving this car normally, many drivers might have a hard time telling it’s not a conventional automatic. The new CVT doesn’t do much to help the Fit’s case when it comes to the fun factor, but drivers opting for this transmission will be greatly rewarded when it comes to fuel economy.

Proving just how advanced automatic transmissions have gotten in recent years, this new CVT far outperforms all versions of the pre-2013 Fit with official EPA estimates of up to 33 mpg city (7.1 l/100 km) and 41 mpg highway (5.7 l/100km) in base LX trim. Honda optimized the LX’s aerodynamics and weight resulting in the higher fuel numbers, which is why our EX-L tester has lower estimates rated at 32 mpg city (7.3 l/100km) and 38 mpg highway (6.1 l/100 km).

2015 Honda Fit - Page - 1
During our time with this car, these numbers were surprisingly easy to meet or exceed. In normal keep-up-with-traffic and forget-hypermiling driving, the trip computer showed that we managed to get almost 34 mpg (6.9 l/100km) in city driving and averaged an impressive 40.4 mpg (5.8 l/100km) once we got onto the highway. This was taking advantage of the little green tree to the left of the steering column – the button engaging Econ mode – but even tipping the car into the manual mode and using the paddle shifters didn’t affect fuel economy too much.

Get the 2015 Honda Fit out on the open road, and that’s when you can really start to tell the differences between the new and old models – both good and bad. On one hand, the longer wheelbase and wider track do give the Fit a slightly more planted feeling when you push this car into the corners, but the new Motion Adaptive Electric Power Steering lacks the sharp, on-center feel found on the previous Fit. The true benefit of this new steering system is how easily the Fit can be parked, and with a target audience living in urban settings, that will likely be a major selling point.

Going along with this, the new Fit also has excellent visibility for the driver. Sure, the smaller window openings that help make the car look better on the outside also somewhat lessen outward visibility for the driver compared to the outgoing model, but that’s not really a bad thing. The previous Fit was like driving in a fish bowl with almost perfect visibility, and this 2015 model is probably still best in class when it comes to this. When in doubt, the EX-L also comes standard with Honda’s nifty LaneWatch, which uses a small camera mounted under the passenger door mirror to display the car’s blind spot on the infotainment screen. It can be distracting at times, but for the most part, it’s a helpful piece of safety technology.

Not that the 2015 Honda Fit has to worry too much about safety. This hatchback has already been named a 2015 Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to go along with a five-star crash rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
It seemed for every two steps forward the 2015 Fit took over the past generations and the competitors, it always took a step back.

In driving, this backward step was the disappointing amount of road and engine noise that makes its way into the cabin. Perhaps we’re just a little spoiled by the flock of small cars sporting an overabundance of sound insulation and laminated side glass, but even the normal clicking and clacking of a direct-injected engine can be heard inside the car.

Above all else, the biggest draw to the 2015 Honda Fit might be the fact that this car is still the lowest-priced vehicle in the Honda lineup with a starting price of just $15,650 – only $100 more than the 2013 Fit (there was no 2014 model year). There are cheaper cars in this class, but you won’t be able to find anything offering this much interior room. The new breed of subcompact crossovers (like the Chevrolet Trax and Honda’s own HR-V) boast similar dimensions but cost thousands of dollars more. Even when looking at our top-of-the-line Fit EX-L with Navi test vehicle, the as-tested price of $21,590 is a great bargain.

At the end of the day, the 2015 Honda Fit does give up ground to fun-oriented small cars like the Mazda2, Kia Rio, Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Sonic, but honestly, buyers really looking for an exciting and dynamic small car should probably consider spending the extra money for a VW GTI or Fiesta ST. Still, the new Fit is far more entertaining than middle-of-the-road subcompacts like the Hyundai Accent, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris.

With the 2015 Honda Fit, Honda has once again set the bar for subcompact hatchbacks when it comes to packaging. Although the 2015 Honda Fit has given up some of its edge when it comes to how it drives and handles, most customers in this segment will appreciate the hatchback’s smoother ride and vastly improved fuel economy not to mention the affordable pricing and cool, edgy styling. If you need a car with a lot of space but your budget is limited, then the new Honda Fit might be the perfect fit for you.
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autoevolution Mar 2015
75
Value for money: 8/10
History
6
Exterior
7
Interior
8
In the city
9
Open road
6
Comfort
8
Tech facts
7
Gadgets
7
Safety
9
Conclusion
8
82user rating 30 votes
Rate this car!
 
Key Specs
USEU
Engine
1498 cm3 I4
Fuel
petrol
Power kw
97
Power hp
130
Power rpm
6600
Torque val
114
Torque rpm
4600
Transmission
CVT
Traction
FWD
Acceleration
8
Top speed
118 mph
Length
160 in
Width
67 in
Height
60 in
Wheelbase
99.6 in
Ground clearance
5 in
Cargo volume
16.6 CuFT
Weight
2630 lbs
Seating
5
Power
97 KW/130 BHP @ 6600 RPM
Torque
114 Lb-Ft @ 4600 RPM
Engine
1498 cm3 I4
Fuel
petrol
Power kw
97
Power hp
132
Power rpm
6600
Torque val
155
Torque rpm
4600
Transmission
CVT
Traction
FWD
Acceleration
8.2
Top speed
190 km/h
Length
4064 mm
Width
1702 mm
Height
1524 mm
Wheelbase
2530 mm
Ground clearance
127 mm
Cargo volume
470.1 L
Weight
1193 Kg
Seating
5
Power
97 KW/132 HP @ 6600 RPM
Torque
155 Nm @ 4600 RPM
fuel efficiency
mpgOfficialOurs
City3234
Highway3840.4
Combined3537.2
fuel efficiency
l/100kmOfficialOurs
City7.36.9
Highway6.15.8
Combined6.76.3
base price
$
15,650
base price
-
Photo gallery (34)
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