When Honda designed the Fit, they had low cost, practicality and effecientcy in mind. For the love of God it's a subcompact. It's basically the lowest form of a car that is yet affordable and fun to drive. I know no coolant temperature gauge, no outside thermostat, no more driver/passenger shoulder switch that allows you to slide the seats without pulling the bottom bar (bet a lot of you forgot about that from the GD3), unstability on freeway, etc, etc.

The major plus in my opinion for me is if you consider all the options and match it with a Civic DX or even LX, the Fit is well optioned. Even the base has AC while the Civic DX doesn't. Not to mention the price difference! It's resilient in utility, great MPG, incredible handling, aerodynamically designed for a subcompact and driver friendly. All I can say, I give Honda props for keeping my Fit affordable.

 

what he said

 

You don't get the display, but you CAN get the navi, and VSA. We can't get either of those things, I expect because of cost - it wouldn't be a popular option here at over A$4,500, when for $A300 you can get one to put on top of your dash, or for the same money you can buy a Civic (dunno why you would if space is a criterion, but not everyone buys a bigger car for more space).

The coolant gauge isn't there because no-one else does it either in this class. What I don't get is that when the sensor is there (the ECU needs it) and in Australia the display is there, the cost to incorporate a gauge into that would be cents. They already have the algorithm from the fuel consumption one. Just put in a second one with different parameters. Mitsubishi did it with the new Lancer. Maybe the problem is memory capacity?

 

One more thing to add. The Fit is well liked by just about every generation of people... not just Asians either! I know the Civic's popularity is high, but they have been around 20 years now with the current 8th generation model. The Fit in the US is on their 3rd year, 2nd generation and look at it's popular fan base and culture impact! Not bad if I say so myself!

 

My '08 struck me the same way. I've owned Subarus before the Fit, and Subies feel like they are glued to the road, so the relative wind-related instability Fit was really noticeable to me. I put a Beatrush front undertray on the car to try to improve gas mileage, and didn't the darn thing make a world of difference in terms of stability. The car is much more stable in crosswinds; although a strong wind directly from the side will still be felt, it won't move the car off its path. Around big trucks I don't feel much of anything anymore, which I must say was the most pleasing improvement to me; I swear trucks swing a little closer to our little cars just to watch them wiggle. Well tough beans trucker, mine doesn't wiggle anymore. I also notice the additional stability when taking on- and off-ramps at my, err, 'sporting' pace. If Laile/Beatrush ever comes out with one for the new Fit, I'd recommend giving it a try.