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There’s a good and a bad story when it comes to Honda’s technology in the Fit. Let’s get the bad out of the way: its rinky-dink five-inch HondaLink touch screen. It’s understandable that consumers shouldn’t expect a giant screen from such a small car, but Honda must put more effort into graphics and style if they hope to lure younger crowds into dealerships. Adding the volume knob back on the screen just doesn’t do the trick.

As for the good, starting at the second-tier LX trim, the Fit comes with heated front seats and is loaded with safety technology as part of its Honda Sensing Suite that’s sure to make every parent feel content. For CVT versions (not sure why manual buyers get the short straw), the Fit provides adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning, collision-mitigation braking system, road-departure mitigation, hill-start assist, vehicle-stability assist and a rear-view camera...

In the end, personal preference and comfort assist many buying decisions, but the biggest factor of all typically comes down to price. When comparing apples to apples in five-door hatchbacks, the Fit starts at $16,872 but only with a manual transmission. The Yaris’s manual transmission model is similarly priced at $16,800, but the more popular CVT starts at $16,470 and this is where the Yaris gets those extra sales, as the cheapest-priced Fit CVT rings in at $20,372. At that price, consumers can already opt for a Hyundai Elantra, Mazda3 or get close to its larger Civic sibling.

If you’re a stick shifter, the Fit has the upper hand over the Yaris, but for the majority of automatic buyers, they’re left to weigh price versus performance and cargo – a tougher decision than it would first appear.

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