I guess my handle says it all. It's time to say goodbye to my beloved but seriously-rusty-and-needs-$4000-in-repairs Mazda Protege 5 carrying 155,000 miles on its corroding frame. I have the opportunity to buy a brand new 2013 Honda Fit Sport in Midnight Plum Pearl for an OTD price (including $1500 for my P5 as a trade in) of $16,150.00. But for some inexplicable reason I just can't bring myself to pull the trigger on the Fit. I have read practically every thread on this forum and all are laudatory and passionate about their affection for their Fits. I want to love the machine, but my test drives have not lit the fire under my checkbook. What puts me off is the seemingly anemic acceleration uphill and the vague straight line steering. Please, a little input from you Fit old hands. Am I simply being too critical?

 

I can understand your position, I switched from a Protégé 5 to the Fit 3 years ago. My P5 was nice and not worn out. The Fit doesn't handle as well as the P5. I have the automatic in the Fit and it accelerates about the same as the automatic P5 up to around 30-35 mph.

I felt the same about the Fit steering. It was vague with very little road feel. I checked the toe in, found it was toed out. I adjusted it to about 1/32" toe in. That helped the steering. It still doesn't match the P5 or my Porsche 944 for road feel.

The Fit is more usable if you need to haul stuff around, the seats fold flat. The Fit gets better fuel mileage than the P5.

I would still rather have a P5 in equal condition. I wish I had kept the one I had, although it would have soon needed a timing belt. Changing out the belt on the P5 may not be any more difficult than doing the spark plugs on a Fit.

Clifton

 

Your concerns are valid.

It's a good commuter, very versatile storage. Not great on the highway (tiring) but adequate (I've driven it to the Keys 4 times in the last year).

The additional power and efficiency of the 2015 models would make me wait. Whether you keep it long or short term, I don't think you'll save that much with a discounted 2013 (it'll come out of the sale if you keep it short term). The added efficiency will compensate in the long term. Test drive a few other makes in the meantime.

 

It would help to know if you are only looking at this car category and whether you are only looking at new cars. If you are definitely going to buy a new car, as Steve pointed out, the Fit is not a "let's go for a tour of the lower 48 states" car. It is a "I like driving in tight urban spaces" car that has the ability to carry home just about anything from the local hardware store. If you are sold on a new car, take a hard look at the 3, CX5, and the RAV4 and the CRV as well. I bought my Fit because it is a no brainer as a used car. They are tough to break and offer many years of ownership no matter what the odometer reads. But if I was parting with serious cash on a new car, I would not buy the GE Fit, nor would I take a chance on a first run model such as the 2015 Fit. Good luck with your decision.

 

Yeah I think it boils down to basically what are you looking for in a car? I bought my fit because it was low maintenance, somewhat cheap, and good on gas. But if you are looking for something with more acceleration or riding experience, it might be worth checking out other models.

 

It might not be for everyone. I've driven a Mazda Protege (sedan) and it feels a lot more "peppy" than the Fit. I personally think the Fit's steering is perfectly weighted and pretty damn good for an electric power steering.

I love my Fit, but I'm not gonna shove my love for the Fit down your throat, lol.

Get the new Mazda 3, I've heard so many good things about it, and the styling is just amazing. Sure it's quite a bit more than the Fit, but you get a nice premium-ish and quick car.

 

I hate to say this in a Fit forum, but if you want a fast little car, think of the new Fiesta ST, turbo 4 with manual tranny. Kinda has a harsh ride for the city, but no problem with power. Just a thought.

I'm thinking that if you test drove the Fit and weren't that thrilled with it, then there are a lot of other cars that would be good. As much as I love my Fit, I wish it had more power. It is an urban car, and that is where it shines. Cannot beat the cargo capability. I always get better than EPA MPG ratings.

I hope you find a good car and it lasts a long time for you.

 

I'm new to the Fit but not to Honda. I have a 2013 Sport in 5 speed. This car in my opinion is plenty fast. I read online about getting results 0-60 mph under 8.2 secs (motor trend). This is not super car but faster but come on that is faster than most cars on the road. Drive it hard in front on a State Trooper and see what happens . All joking aside this car for me is a family car: 2 adults and a 3 year old, and soon to be newborn. The fit is a commuter car that for me is getting better miles ever time I drive it. I'm up to 36.2mpg today and averaged my last whole tank 35.5 mpg. This is not easy, or slow driving. this is highway speeds. This car has a lot of cool features too. I Love the magic seat. I fold one up for trips to the grocery store and it ll fit an entire buggie there. The way the doors open almost to a complete 90 degrees helps with the little one.

Do what you think is best, but to me the car for what the price is?!?! its a steal. Good Luck with what ever you do. But PULL THE TRIGGER! Heck keep pulling the trigger till it goes empty and reload and do it again =)

 

Many, many thanks for taking the time to reply and help me with my decision. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

 

If you've read the reviews, there is a pretty uniform consensus that the manual transmission is the way to go if you want a peppier car. I drove both and the auto definitely feels like it has less power than than the manual, even though it's the same engine. I chose the manual and still love driving it after 5 years.

 

I think this is kind of a philosophy of cars question that can best be answered by a cost benefit comparison. You have an almost limitless range of options for what car to get, and all of them will have a cost of ownership associated with them (add up expected depreciation, repairs+maintenance, gas, insurance, financing cost for whatever time frame seems reasonable for you). As far as new cars go, the Fit is about as low cost as it gets (barring maybe a Yaris, or a Prius if you drive lots of miles?) and it does a lot of things well especially for its price. But you could get other cars that "upgrade" various features over the Fit. Being a Mazda guy, a Mazda 3 would be an obvious option; 155 hp for the 2l engine; like 185 for the 2.5; it would get you better power and drivability, but would probably set you back another $400-800 a year with its lower milage (for the 2.5 anyway), higher depreciation, and higher repairs and maintenance. And the Fit has more versatile interior space. And Mazdas have a long track record of turning into rusty messes after 10 years on salted roads. So is it worth it? I guess that's up to you.

I was in your shoes a few weeks ago when I had an 00 Protege that needed $2500 in repairs. I got an 07 Fit, manual transmission. Cheap and I like its drivability; all the Fits from 07-13 seem about the same to me. Although a 1.6L 00 Protege is admittedly a lower performance baseline than the Protege 5's.

Happy hunting, though, and let us know what you end up going with.

 

I completely agree Terry M. This is the primary reason why i went for a new 2013 Fit sport M/T. More responsive than the A/T IMO. As i have read the reviews here before and got the car. I was able to haggle the price down as it was a display model. Some accessories included(free). Or you could just wait for the 2015 model and see if the DOHC engine suits your needs or wants better.

 

i actually owned a pro5 5MT back 11(?) yrs ago? i bought it new cash and sold it 6k miles later before it's first oil change. thing was slow and while it was decent for the most part, the gear box was blah, steering was okay, everything felt real cheap.


my '12 fit sport 5MT is a much better car than the pro5 for sure...and i speak from experience. this is on my dd though. i own other cars for fun.

 

yah, the AT is a dog on these cars. my wife doesnt mind it, but my AT and MT are at least 2sec different to 60mph. the '12 MT is surprisingly quick...much quicker than the '08 MT i had before.