I currently own a Forester with 98K miles and I am looking for a ride with better gas mileage but about the same interior room.

I like hatchbacks. I like to be able to get my two smallish dogs into the back, or a few sacks of planting soil, or my recycling bins and so on. I don't have any concern for such things as 0 to 60 or maximum g-force cornering. However, I live where it rains A LOT, and the Forester was like a cat on slick roads, which I really appreciated. So,
1. Is the hatch area pretty roomy from a practical use POV? What do you put in yours?
2. Do you feel safe on slick roads or in the rain at modest speeds like 60 MPH?
3. Driving sanely, mostly around town, can I reasonably expect 34MPG?
4. And, how is the visibility for short drivers. Both myself and wife are under 5'6".

Of course, we'll go drive one. But right now I am trying to narrow down the choices. I like the Honda reputation, the Fit price and mileage.
Thanks for any comments.

 

1) Extremely roomy. Better than a CRV. I can fit my drum kit, guitars, and an amp in there no problem.

2) Driving in the rain today, no problem. Both city and highway.

3) Haven't driven it enough to say for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised.

4) The windshield is like having a bay window. It's simply amazing. Take one for a test drive!

Hope that helps

 

1. Hatch is roomy and with the ability to fold down the seats there is tons of room. I'm put a couple of children's bikes in back and three or four bins full of recycling.
2. It's pretty stable at 85mph (as fast as I've gone) whether on dry or wet roads. I don't drive faster than about 40mph in the snow and not beyond 25mph on icy roads, and the Fit has been fine.
3. Currently, we are averaging 33-34mpg with about 4500 miles on the car, but I anticipate mpg will increase the more it's driven.
4. My wife likes the car and feels she can see everything while driving or as a passenger (she's 5'6). I feel the same as the wife, but I'm 6'4.

 

If you want stability you should look into getting the Vehicle Stablity Assist/Nav option.

 

i am 5'5 and i can see great out the front , and i get like 38mpg in the city , but i dont mash the gas , and i dont hold the pedal all the way till i hit the brake when coming to a light and such.

 

Test drive, then buy the Fit. It will meet all of your needs, and I don't think you really need the VSA/NAV help, or the extra expense. My '09 Sport handles my fast driving in coastal mountains, even in pouring rain, without the need for artificial stability aids. Stability at freeway speeds is absolutely great.

 

Thanks all - these are helpful comments. After I posted I looked into the mileage a bit more and it does appear that many people get real world mileage of 33 or so. That's a big improvement over my current 20MPG in the Forester.

Looks like there is only one interior color. So, is the interior then the same level of comfort for Sport and Generic versions? Or do they spruce up the insides on the higher dollar model?

Does any wish they had gotten some option that they DIDN'T get at time of purchase?

 

I'm 5'4" and the visibility is great for me! I drive 70/30 (highway/city) and average 35 mpg without doing anything special, but I don't floor it either. I think the Fit Sport might have different seats that are more supportive than the Fit Base. I know the Sport adds cruise control, leather wrapped stearing wheel, paddle shifters on the automatic, map lights, 6 speakers (vs. 4 for the base model), USB audio interface, and security system with remote entry.

I have the sport manual transmission and am happy I didn't pay extra for the nav/vsa. I just didn't think I needed it and it's quite pricey. I did add the sport grille, interior ambient footwell lighting, cargo cover, and cargo tray. I wish I would have added the door sill trim but I'll get that in the spring.

I also ordered and bought it without test driving (because they didn't have one on the lot) and have never had any regrets! I think the car is pretty much perfect (except I'd add seat warmers and sunroof option) :-)

 

Lots of room. Seems small on the outside, but the inside feels real roomy. A blast to drive. I drove it in my first snowfall since getting the vehicle and it did a great job. I highly recommend the 2009 Honda Fit Sport.

 

There is so much room you won't even know what to do with it all. I think the handling is great. When there was a half inch of snow on the road the other day, I was whipping it around curves just to see if I could even get the VSA to kick on, and it never did. As far as mileage goes, I drive mostly city and am getting about 31 MPG most of the time (the computer on the dash says 34 MPG most of the time). And with the visibility, it is superior to every other car I've owned. My 5'3" wife regularly drives a Prius, and she had my Fit while her car was in the body shop, and she couldn't believe how good the visibility was. It was pretty much her favorite thing about the car. There's really not a lot to dislike on the Fit. Give it a test drive, and you'll love it.

 

You have solved the energy crisis...now tell us how.

 

Drive the VSA Fit for yourself before you write it off based on the postings of folks who don't have it. Sure, it's uber expensive because you have to swallow the nav along with it. No question, this s*** saves lives, and unlike some vehicles, it can be disabled for more riske driving or if you get stuck.

 

I get where you're coming from Dave. Still, I have to say that coming downhill on the twistier bits of 84 where the road gets greasy in spots from pulverized leaves, etc.... the Fit's VSA is pretty darned smooth. Unless you are totally hamfisted, it intervenes so gently you almost don't notice and keeps the front end from pushing. That lets me think about other things so I like it in those conditions.

In fact, I like it better than the VDC on my STI which I haven't yet found a use for (though more experimentation in adverse conditions may convince me there also.)

 

as far as mpg goes, everybody seems to come up with different numbers.

if i did nothing but drive in town (suburban nj, frequent traffic lights) i'd probably average 29 mpg with winter fuel in nj.

i did better in october, fwiw.

regardless, once you hit roads without traffic lights, the mpg go wayyyy up.