I agree 100%. Sounds like your Scion did the best a tiny car like that can do. The FIT is a bit larger, but given that type of crash I would assume the damage would be similar. The point is to send the energy of the crash *around* the safety cage, or passenger compartment, of the car.


I don't worry about safety in my 2015 FIT. I see it as a huge step up from my last one (a 2010 base FIT that I felt safe in as well, but that did not have Electronic Stability Control standard)

 

Oh, yes, I do realize that! I wasn't hurt in the accident. It just had me wondering how it would stand up in a higher speed accident considering there is basically no front end to start with. That is what made me decide to go up a bit in size and why I like the Fit. Just need to wait until my lease is up!

 

I'm really not a troll and have been reading everyone's comments and thinking about what is being said. I wasn't just venting. I asked a very valid question: did anyone know if Honda had fixed the problem regarding the dummy's head hitting the steering wheel? I agree that the vehicle did very well in the small overlap test, as far as the occupants space being well maintained and low possibility of injury to the arms, legs and torso. But you can't completely ignore that part of the report that says the occupant would have suffered head injuries. How much head injury? A bump and scratch or a concussion or worse?
And to the person who posted the link to the IIHS site and said 'read the report here'....that is where I got the exact quote that I originally posted. I am not trying to bash Honda. I have a Honda Accord that has 120,000 miles on it and my spouse has a Honda Element that has 150,000 miles on it. We belong to the Honda Element car club and go camping with our Honda friends. I LOVE Honda's. That is why I'm considering another one but would like to enjoy better gas mileage and the Fit is so affordable. I love it's looks and how fun it was to drive (road tested one). I'm sorry to hear about the accident that Cole suffered and it sounds like the other driver was at fault. I can't control all aspects on the road and drive in S. Cal where there are 6 or more lanes of freeway to deal with. I haven't had an accident or a ticket since I was a teen and I'm in my 50's. Not a bad driver but a safe and careful driver trying to make an informed decision.

 

Hey FitFun, if you want a safe car and want to stick with Honda, I'd suggest you also consider the Civic. It has excellent crash test results. And, since you can get better discounts on the Civic vs. the Fit, it's not really that much more expensive comparably equipped. Of course, it's not a hatchback and is a fair bit larger, but there are always tradeoffs.

 

My daughter had a KIA. The worst piece of crap to ever be built, including Yugo. And they laugh at you when you want warranty work, and bald face lie abough known defects.

 

What year was your daughter's Kia? I also have a Kia, and it's an excellent car. Over eight years of ownership (and counting), it's been far more reliable than the new Honda Fit, if these forums are anything to judge by. A failed O2 sensor after 7 1/2 years, and that's it aside from routine maintenance. I've heard that Kia will try to deny warranty work if possible, but what company doesn't? All you have to do is read this forum to know that Honda is just as willing to play dumb.

 

Honda did not make any update to further improve the safety after it scored the acceptable rating.

The Fit's HIC-15 (Head injury criterion) in the small overlap test is 651. At a HIC of 1000, one in six people will suffer a life-threatening injury to their brain (more accurately, an 18% probability of a severe head injury, a 55% probability of a serious injury and a 90% probability of a moderate head injury to the average adult). A HIC-15 (meaning a measure of impact over 15 milliseconds) of 700 is estimated to represent a 5 percent risk of a severe injury (Mertz et al., 1997).

A value of 700 is the minimum score for an "acceptable" IIHS rating for a particular vehicle. The likely reason the Fit got an acceptable head rating despite being under 700 is the hard contact.

From Wikipedia

 

Thanks! That's fantastic information. Now I see why OP is worried. I quickly checked the HIC-15 numbers for a handful of other cars I'm considering, and they're all considerably lower--mainly in the 200-300 range. Even the Hyundai Accent, which has what I consider to be unacceptably poor crash results all around, is only 108 (and 304 in the moderate overlap test). The previous-gen Fit also had MUCH lower HIC-15 scores. How did Honda get it so wrong this time??

 

Umm, aren't higher scores worse? Being under 700 is on the good side of it. 651 is in the "just barely acceptable" range, but acceptable.

 

Yes

Under 700 would normally be "good" but the fit (probably) got the acceptable score for the head because it made hard contact with the steering wheel/dash.

 

It was an 03 or 04. Clutch went out, Kia denied ever having a clutch go bad.. Yet a teacher friend had 3 of them go out in 18 months, and she knows how to drive a manual. While at the dealer, I saw 3 brought in on the hook, all for bad clutches...in a 30 minute period. After the 2nd clutch replacement, one of their mechanics stated to me that they had a slew of bad throw-out bearings in Kia's, causing the clutch to fail, and that Kia was going to deny all responsibility to save the expense. It is one thing to have a bad part, and another to lie about it. The gear shift actually broke off where it connects to the transmission. Admitted defect, but they kept replacing it with the defective part. The left half-shaft FELL out of the tranny. Heater and A/C control knobs defective, and admitted by the dealer. Kept replacing them with defective parts. Was told they would continue to do so till the warranty expired...then she was on her own. You call this a good company? I have another description for them!