2009 Honda Fit Sport: Talented, but Needs Torque | Long-Term Road Tests Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

2009 Honda Fit Sport: Talented, but Needs Torque





The more I drive the Fit, the more I wonder if most of us need more car than this. The Fit will probably handle 90 percent of what 90 percent of us need in a car day-to-day. An impressive piece, all is not perfect in this wildly versatile and frugal little wedge. The electronic throttle definitely needs some recalibration, as it tends to hang on to revs, and is too sensitive when getting underway, often resulting in some high-revving histrionics when all you wanted was a reasonably swift stop-light launch.



The little 1.5-liter four-cylinder feels peppy when unladen (aided by the Fit's low weight, you can carry impressive speed into corners as you cane this frisky little pod), and the annoying e-throttle actually tends to help with rev-matched downshifts. With five adults on-board however, 106 lb-ft of torque suddenly feels completely inadequate when trying to hustle the Fit up a short, steep onramp to anything approaching freeway speeds. Once up to speed, road noise is also excessive, not uncommon on Hondas, and an obvious trade-off for light weight. The lack of sound deadening does not make the Fit a first choice for long freeway stretches, a prejudice compounded by its slightly nervous high-speed demeanor.


Those same traits pay dividends on surface streets, and as an errand-running star in your personal fleet, the Fit is practically unmatched. I can only imagine how sweet the Fit could be with a torquey little turbo-diesel engine and a more hunkered down and stability enhancing sport suspension. The rumor mill is saying we can expect an upcoming hybrid version of the Fit, but I'd hate to see any new proulsion system that has a weight penalty. For what's real and available now, the Fit continues to impress, but would you "Jazz" it up with a hybrid's torque/weight, a larger Civic motor or an oil-burner?


Paul Seredynski, Executive Editor, @ 4910 miles

 

Its true that it holds on to high revs...but it is a sport and you do want high revs coming out of a corner.
I just took a mini road trip over the weekend in some hilly country and let me tell you the fit with DF210 lowering springs was an absolute blast to drive on the twisty roads.
10x more fun than my CL-S (a tank) was even with the extra power.
You feel so much more connected to the road being light weight and excellent handling.

I raced like a speed racer and still achieved 38 mpg on the trip. Show me what other car is fun to drive and gets 38 mpg still.

Good article.. Some good points..

 

they forget that most americans are overweight and dont
put that into consideration when writing articles.

perhaps it's not the car, it's you AND your friends. let's not
point fingers at this remarkable little car. it has plenty of
torque for my dd needs. doesnt feel that slow when my
family is onboard either.

if it wasnt' for the heavy folks honda couldve used better
gearing for even more fuel economy, imho. that's the
kind of article i want to read. hahaha.

 

Plus, I don't think the Fit is intended to be a family hauler in the first place. It's not even intended to be a long distance highway cruiser either. It's an urban/suburban errand runner, and in that respect it shines above anything else.

 

My wife, who is the principal driver of our Fit, is almost 100 pounds lighter than I, and almost a foot shorter. She is a bit more enthusiastic about the straight line acceleration of the car than I am, and her lesser weight probably equates to a few tenths of a second in 0 - 60 time. But, seriously, we got the Fit after returning a BMW 330i (255 hp) at end of lease - and the decrease of 138 hp is of no concern to her. I also can't complain about the fact that the cost factor is so much less and infinitely more in keeping with the current troubled economy. The Fit truly fits our lifestyle. Just a shame that children are long since grown up, and the enormous cargo carrying capabilities have not been much utilized by us.

 

[QUOTE=Just a shame that children are long since grown up, and the enormous cargo carrying capabilities have not been much utilized by us.[/QUOTE]

I don't utilize all the space either, but the beauty of the Fit is that it has the handling/performance/economy of a car that's even shorter in length than an S2000, but has the interior capacity of a Mazda 5 for cryin' out loud.

 

......

By coincidence we also have an S2000 (my beautiful Garage Queen), and I can see every day the Fit and the S2K parked right next to each other. It really is an interesting comparison, and it is dramatic just how short the Fit hood is, and what an efficient package overall the Fit makes. The S2K wastes a lot of space with a giant projecting hood, with the inline 4 cylinder engine entirely in front of the front axle. Very different vehicles with very different design goals, but each quite successful in its own unique way.

 

Actually the engine in the S2000 is behind the front axle. Its proportions are dictated by the classic roadster formula of long hood, short rear deck.

Both cars are designed to do relatively specific things, but of the two, the Fit is certainly more of a generalist! I wouldn't trade my S or Fit for anything else on the market right now, that's for sure.

It's interesting how many people own both S2000s and Fits. Quite a large number, relatively speaking, it seems like.

 

Sorry, you are correct of course - combination of a little dyslexia and some early onset Alzheimer's. The engine is 100% behind the front axle, which contributes to the S2000's near 50/50 weight balance. The huge front overhang is for the air box, radiator and other components. The Fit/S2000 difference in hood length is incredible. A few years back I had a VW Passat V6 where the engine was positioned fore and aft, and not crosswise like the usual FWD. That engine was entirely in front of the front axle.

I suppose the reason there are so many S2000/Fit dual owner families on this Board is a testament to our discriminating automotive tastes.

 

I had to chime in, because I am also an S2000+Fit owner. They are definitely intended for different purposes, but I took my Fit on its first road trip yesterday and enjoyed some mountainous roads....and I was surprised how well it took the curves! Certainly not as good as the S2000, but a lot better than I expected. The best part is that I got 39 mpg on the whole trip! I'm totally loving this car and how it packs so much into such a small efficient package. My S2000 used to be my "little" car, but I can't say that anymore unless I'm talking about interior space!

I don't have any pics of my two little white Hondas, but I may have to go out for a little photo shoot sometime soon.

 

Plus they put five adults in the thing. I mean, I know that you can, but would you really ever do that for more than a jaunt around town?

 

The Edmunds.com writeup is pretty much spot-on I think - it fairly called the GE8 Fit's lack of sound deadening and torque for five-up motoring, but praised it as the locker-on-wheels that could breakdance at a gymkhana too.

It ain't perfect, but in these days, what is?

Now if only more people could shrug off the bias against the badge and the size and appreciate the car for what it is...

 

Hmmm... Maybe we need a special Forum just for S2000/Fit joint owners. I will observe three things that these two seemingly vastly different vehicles have in common:
1. Extremely high critical acclaim from the professional community. Both are remarkably successful designs in their own right.
2. Unusual powerplant designs. The Fit engine is unusually compact and efficient. The S2000 engine is efficient in another way: it is still the most powerful, in bhp/liter of displacement, normally aspirated engine ever in production, getting 240 hp from 2.0 liters.
3. The Fit has its GD3 vs GE8 debate regarding which is 'better.' S2000 aficionados argue the same for Ap1 vs. Ap2 engine variants. In 2004, the engine was increased from 2.0 to 2.2 liters by lengthening the stroke, and consequently dropping redline rpm from the astonishing 9000 rpm to only 8200 rpm. There are Ap1 fans, and there are Ap2 fans - I have the Ap1 version myself.
Again, greetings to all fellow S2K'ers out there.

 

great writeup, thanks for sharing.

motor and throttle are the two biggest issues that i have with my car, but for the price, i think its as good as it gets.