2015 Honda Fit Review: Car Reviews

"On the ultra-efficient Fit LX, a front lip spoiler, engine under-cover, center floor cover and shrouds around the rear suspension have all been added."

EX gets none of it, apparently.

 

Yes, this is very interesting and also a bit confusing.

Apparently Honda went all out to help the LX get the best possible fuel economy, so that they could advertise that 41MPG Hwy figure.

The question is how did they accomplish this?

As has been pointed out, the LX includes some extra aerodynamic bits. Also the LX is equipped with 15" steel wheels vs the 16" alloys on the EX versions. I can also assume that the 185/60/15 tires on the LX are probably low rolling resistance tires.

But the other strange thing is that the LX CVT is 86 pounds lighter than the EX CVT. So they trimmed some weight. But notice that the LX 6MT is only 60 pounds lighter than the EX 6MT. So the LX CVT has 26 pounds less weight, and according to the weight distribution, it lost this 26 pounds from the rear of the vehicle. So what other tricks did Honda employ to get those extra MPGs from the LX?

 

The 15" tires are slightly taller too!

 

Yes, the sidewalls of the 185/60/15 tires are 3/4" taller than the sidewalls of the 16" tires, but that still leaves these tires a little smaller than the overall diameter of the 185/55/16.

Now one thing I wonder is, since these two tires are pretty close in overall diameter, but not exactly the same, has Honda programmed the odometer differently to compensate for this difference or are they leaving at a point that splits the difference?

The reason this would be significant is that a smaller diameter tire (the 185/60/15) will result in the car registering that it has traveled further than it actually has. This would result in a higher indicated fuel economy reading for the LX with this smaller tire.

 

No the 15" are about 1/2" taller. You've got it right there in your post, 3/4 + 3/4 - 1" = 0.5" taller

 

No, it is the 185/55/16 that is a bit taller.
If you calculate the sizes
The 185/60/15 is 23.74" diameter
The 185/55/16 is 24.01" diameter

But the actual tire diameters will vary by brand

 

Not full diameter. 185/60 means 60% of total 185mm width. so 55 series def has a smaller side wall.

 

We are not discussing sidewall height, we are discussing the rolling dimensions of the tire and this is calculated from tire diameter.

A 185/55/16 tire has a greater diameter and therefore a greater rolling distance per revolution than a 185/60/15. This will have an effect on reported fuel economy.

 

Hey, for once the high-mpg model is the cheap one! That's a nice change.

 

Point taken haha!

(For any super-noob car people, there's been a trend to charge extra for better fuel economy recently.)

 

From what I remembered at the press release, the EX models and above have better material covering the underside of the car. So it's still covered, but with "better" material? I didn't really understand what made it better to be honest.

 

So will the LX under-body kit be available for purchase by EX owners? I know BRZ owners ordered the under-body kit that was only stock in Japan or maybe the US FRS had it, whatever, it could be purchased separately and installed by hand.

 

Sorry what I meant to say is that the EX and EXL models are covered as well, but I believe the material is different than that of the LX model. It is "upgraded" from the LX, I just don't know in what way exactly

 

What happened to the Aero Kit that past Sport Models had to distinguish between Base and Sport models? In the 2015 case, visual distinction between LX and EX.

 

Crunching through numbers really quick and here is the result..


Size: 185/60-15 ... Sidewall: 4.37in ... Radius: 11.9in ... Diameter: 23.74in ... Circumference: 74.58in ... Revs/Mile: 849.54
Size: 185/55-16 ... Sidewall: 4.01in ... Radius: 12.0in ... Diameter: 24.01in ... Circumference: 75.44in ... Revs/Mile: 839.92

 

To advance this tire size/ fuel economy discussion further, it appears that the OEM tire for the 2015 Fit EX remains the Bridgestone EL470 as listed by Tirerack and photographed on some of the press vehicles used last week.

This tire is also used on the CRZ as an OEM tire, but what I find interesting is that in the 195/55/16 size used on the CRZ, this tire is listed as a low rolling resistance tire. but in the 185/55/16 Fit size, it is not listed as an Ecopia Low Rolling resistance tire.

The tire rack site does not specifically list the OEM tire for the 2015 Fit LX, but one tire available in the 185/60/15size is the Bridgestone EP422 Ecopia. This tire is a low rolling resistance tire and was rated highest for fuel economy in a tire rack test against other low rolling resistance tires.

So I would bet the 2015 Fit LX will come equipped with the Bridgestone EP422 and this tire could account for at least 1 mpg of the additional 3 mpg Hwy that the LX is rated for.

I also note that the track dimensions of the LX are 0.2" and 0.3" wider than the EX track. I think this MAY be a result of different alignment specs. Sometimes you can get better fuel economy by reducing toe in, at the expense of better handling. So maybe Honda is going this far to obtain that 41MPG rating.

 

Apparently it is gone. Thought this a bonus for the sport, but apparently designers saved some money and got rid of it.

 

How about the sway bar, LX vs EX?

 

no more, none of them have a sway bar. They improved the suspension so it no longer needs a sway bar

 

Awesome thread and thanks for this post in particular. I was trying to find out which model CVT was the lightest since I saw the curb weight range differnce of about 100lbs between the different models. Since the standard features of the LX is enough for me, this is all the info I needed. Big thanks!