Family Man: Thinking of a Fit? Few questions for owners
 

Im a 26 male from the chicagoland area thinking about a honda fit. Me and my wife just had our second child last month and my 2 door 95 honda civic coupe is not going to cut it anymore. I wanted something that can fit the family in there and my 6'2" frame. I know this car has room even though it looks small, im sure. But can a family of 4 do good in this car? Another reason is I wanted something I can work on as well. Thanks

I have to preach here! I am 5' 11", 200lbs, and my wife is 5' 8". I have 3 kids; 10, 7, and 23 months. We have an 03 Expedition that my wife drives to work but to go out, we go in the Fit. It is gas friendly and there are TV's in it now! :) But in all seriousness, 2 kids and 2 adults will fit just fine. We regularly go on 3 hour trips to Orlando with the whole family, the trunk filled with luggage, and a dog in a crate! No one has whined yet!

And I know you're talled but being 5'11", I have about 8 inches of headroom! So you are safe!

Good luck and if you buy one...Tell Honda I want a finder's fee! :D

Kris

the fit is perfect for a small family, we're so comfortable in our fit. It has tons of room which is odd. def a comfortable car, great investment

What amazed me was the head room. I'm 6' 3" and I have plenty of headroom space (2-3"). My old Accord and Prelude I had very little head space or was touching the ceiling. I would definitely recommend getting the fit. I've had a blast driving mine around. I can't vouch for the family yet (first one is on the way any week now) but as for storage, gas mileage and fun, the fit is the way to go.

I wanted to go and see one this weekend but the lots I went to did not have any.

family of three
 

Hi,

Had the car a week, and am finding out that 5'9" self, 6" husband and 2'6" little one (in car seat in the center back) fit ( -groan- ) just fine.

My brother-in-law and his wife (in Australia) have a white MT Jazz and she comfortably carts their almost 4 year old and 2 year old around in it. Not sure how many times all four of them are in it - their other vehicle is a Toyota Crew Cab with a tray back.

There is so much more of a choice elsewhere in the world when you are looking for a small five door car with reasonable MPG. ( -sigh- ) After 20 years with three Accord Coupes in a row a new Civic Hatch or Wagon would have been our first choice - if we could get one. :( If a Mazda dealer in Tampa hadn't messed up and sold the Mazda3 Touring I had signed to buy, instead of sending it to Orlando, I wouldn't have another Honda now. It came down to a choice between the Fit or a used Elantra hatch (because - no surprise here - Hyundai stopped selling new Elantra 5 doors in 2006 in the US). I wasn't thrilled with the idea of a used Elantra, even though my husband loves his 2005 GT hatch and it is quite a nice car.

There are a few things I wish it had - an armrest (hope to get a JDM one in the future), hidden cargo area standard, door sills (just ordered the JDM ones), the smaller AP and Euro market engine with the CVT - but I am very impressed so far. I do not feel at all like I am driving an econobox. I feel like have upgraded from my 2001 Accord LX in every way except size.

They do have alot of headroom, and alot of space.. My dads 6'2" and he finds it pretty comfortable. He just wished the wheel telescped toward him..Ohh and a dead pedal is a must for comfort(at least for me)..

My brother has a 95 Civic Sedan he bought brand new, so I understand your situation. I drove his car a few times when it was new, and that car is still running strong. He has driven my Fit as well, and likes the roominess. My brother also has a 1980 Civic wagon which my dad bought brand new when we were teens. We put all 3 cars side by side to compare the size. When I went shopping for the Fit to replace a 1978 Honda Accord Hatchback that broke down on me due to an overheated engine, I looked at a new 2008 Civic DX sedan with no options other than Air. The sedan had no radio, manual crank windows...which is fine with me, as I'm used to them, but the rear seating was cramped and it cost $1,000 more than the Fit Base with no options. The Fit is basically a wagon, but because the back storage area has a drop down floor, it's called a hatchback.

I found the Fit Base to be a decent car. I plan to install the factory foglights on the car; the Sport comes with it as standard. This is the last accessory I'm installing on my car, for a while. I purchased optional factory floormats, cargo liners, cargo cover for the hatch area, cargo net, mud flaps...I highly recommend the mudflaps, and an aftermarket cargo roof rack and cargo carrier. I often see Honda Fits equipped with either Thule or Yakima cargo racks and clamshell type cargo carriers. You can carry lightweight bulky items in the carrier, as long as the total weight is less than 120 Pounds.

Some of my friends who own a Fit recommend the factory fog lights. I noticed a huge difference on my brother's Civics when we installed factory fog lights on his 95 Civic sedan, and an aftermarket fog light on the 80 Civic Wagon. Big improvement!

I'm happy with the base model Fit. I saved over $100 when I replaced my tires last December. It's lighter than the Sport model, and I'm happy with the looks.

As for the aftermarket cargo carrier and roof rack, I bought a Thule. If you decide to buy the Fit, and a rood rack, I recommend that you also buy the wind faring that Thule or Yakima sells for their roof racks. It helps maintain the aerodynamics the Fit has. I don't think Honda has a factory roof rack option for the Fit; they didn't have one when my car was new.