Hi All,

I bought a new Honda Fit back in 2008 LX as a daily commuter. I even drove it cross country & back & relative comfort, However, I remember not being able to generate enough power to break out of 4th gear going over Vail Pass in Colorado. Now , my job has changed and I'm looking at a 3 hour round trip commute, so I've been thinking about buying a Fit again. This time a 2018 Sport.
Just a couple of questions for anyone who knows.
1. Has there been any increase or decrease in interior room within the last 10 years? I'm 6'2' and just fit in the Fit back in '08.
2. I see it still has the 1.5 L engine, but HP has increased to 130HP (from 117HP in 2008 model?)
Thanks for any insight.

 

We still have our GD, but I've been around the new GK's. They are larger inside, but not by a ton and they are faster, but not by a bunch. They also get better fuel mileage, but not by a whole lot.

In other words, they have evolved, but are still true to the original in most ways. The sporty side has partially been traded for a smoother ride and they are nicer overall.

When it came time to replace the Fit for daily use, we chose a VW Golf instead. With that you give up space and fuel economy for more power and a better driving vehicle compared to the GK. Considerably quieter and more solid feeling, but it does come at a price.

For your use, I would cross shop the Corolla iM as well.

 

GAFIT,

Thank you for your reply. I drove a Sport today & it seemed more "refined" than the LX I had in '08, a lot quieter at HWY speed too. However, there is a whole heck of a lot of plastic around the front & rear bumper on the new ones. They only had a sport on the lot but I'm told all the new models have gobs of "plasticy" do-dads.
Good luck with your Golf, they are great cars!

 

That could probably be said of any new Asian (Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai, etc) car in the under $30k category.

 

3 hours is a long time out of your day. i would get something you can enjoy.

i would not want to be stuck in a GK for 3 hours a day. it's not a bad car but i would consider something better if budget is not too much of a concern. if budget is a concern then i would also consider the current gen civics

 

The 1st gen Honda Fit with 1.5 L engine produced 109 HP and weight was 2432 lbs.
So weight to power ratio = 22.3.
Front Headroom = 40.6 "

The 2nd gen 1.5 L produced 117 HP and weight was 2,496 lbs.
W/P ratio = 21.3 so about 5% better.
Front Headroom = 40.4 "

And the 3rd gen 1.5 L is rated at 130 HP and weight is 2,522 lbs.
W/P ratio = 19.4 so almost 15% better than the first one.
Front Headroom = 39.5 "

I've read that many reviewers have complained the 3rd gen Fit steering lost all feedback and it's not as tight/nimble as before...less Go-Kart feeling and more Civic/Corolla like. However for long highway driving that may be considered a benefit.

Also the 6th gear in the new Fit is apparently the same ratio at the 5th gear in the previous models, so keep that in mind.
3rd Gen with 6 MT:
Sixth Gear Ratio (:1) : 0.73
2nd Gen with 5 MT:
5th:0.727
1nd Gen with 5 MT:
5th:0.757

Even if you get the 2018 Fit 6 MT, you will likely still have to drive over big hills in 4th gear.
And even though it has a 6th gear, driving at fast highway speeds in top gear, your engine will still run at around 3,500-4,000 rpm.

Anyway, since you've already owned a Fit you know what they are all about: amazing reliability, versatility, great fuel mileage and low cost to own/maintain.
There aren't many other cars that have all these benefits.

What other car has cup holders in front of the air vents so that you can cool or heat your drink?

 

I like the nimbleness of our GD, but I do believe the numbers you posted above show that the GK should be roughly 10% faster. Each horsepower is responsible for ~3 lbs less weight.

The quarter mile times seem to reflect about that advantage.

My Mom has a GE auto and a friend has a GE manual. I can't really feel much difference between any of the 3 acceleration wise. All 3 are pretty slow.