Hello all,

Long time lurker first time poster here
I'm in the process of purchasing my first car and am debating between the following

1) 2015 fit LX automatic
2) 2012 fit LX automatic (used obviously; 98,000 miles on it; work done on the car, other than the regular brake pads and things like that is the ft sway bar and sway bar inks replacement; one minor accident reported that supposedly a minor fender bender that cost less than $500-800 dollar worth of repair according to the salesman)

3) mazda 3 hatchback, either isport or touring - compared to the fit LX the ride feels smoother and more stable on the highway but wasn't sure if there are any other good reasons to go with this car vs. the fit.

my other question is... between a new, made-in-mexico model, vs. a 3 year old but made-in-japan model (cost about $6000-7000 USD less), which one would people recommend to go with? or maybe the mazda?

any suggestions/comments are welcome!

thanks all.

 

Why not a 2012-13 Sport. btw there was no LX in 12-13MY. Mazda 3 is compared to a Civic. Not Fit. Mazda 2 is. You never said the prices vs your range. The sport is a lot more stable due to the fact it has a rear swaybar vs the base 12-13 or any 15 Fit. There is a lot i could mention if you posted links for every car you were looking at. Or what you want a car for.

 

My bad! I thought the 2012 was a LX model as the salesperson told me its the lowest trim (and i only knew of the diff trims from the 2015 models).

the 2015 LX is about 16,700 USD
and the used car I saw (the 2012 fit; lowest trim) was listed for about 10,400

my budget is about 20,000 but I am comfortable going +/- 2000 either way. I figured if it's a good car it should last me a good solid couple of years, and if i end up getting something cheaper i'll just pocket the money for things (i remembering reading on the fitfreak forum that lighter alloy wheels are a good investment?)

I'm looking for a car that's relatively fun to drive back/to from work every day (in the city mainly) and will doing a long cross-country trip in a year two. After that I'll end up relocating and doing more highway driving to/from work. I've heard of honda fit being not that stable at high speed on the highway when there's lots of trucks nearby, hence the reason I started looking at mazda 3s.

but then again, it could all be in my head or my lack of experiences with cars.

btw- are there any difference between the 2015 models in terms of stability? i.e. particular trim has rear sway bar but others not?

thanks again for the replies!

 

actually if u are in canada there is an LX 2012

 

The 2012 is presumably a "base". The trims were Base and Sport (and Sport with Navigation); sport added a bunch of mostly cosmetic upgrades (alloy wheels, different skirting, spoiler thingy on the hatch) but a few more useful things as well (map lights, rear sway bar, paddle shifters for the automatic, dinky armrest, tweeters...)

IMHO the 2012 is somewhat overpriced. It may well be the going price, but paying about 2/3 of its price when new for a car that's out of warranty and has close to 100K miles on it seems rather silly to me. If you were to get to 300K miles, you'd just about break even with the savings vs. a new car for the same ending milage.

The Fit is certainly more at home with city or town driving than highway driving, though it's certainly quite capable of either one. I've made some long highway trips with mine, including a transcontinental round trip, and never though it was ill-behaved. Wind does of course have some noticeable effect on it—it is, after all, a pretty light car with a fair bit of surface area exposed. However, it's not in my experience unstable in any even remotely reasonable maneuvers. The automatic is probably nicer on the highway than the manual because the top gear is considerably better; the manual cruises at a pretty high RPM, in both the older and newer versions.

On the whole I've been quite happy with my '12 Fit base. The Fit's interior packaging is remarkably adaptable; the large (and highly configurable) cargo space really is unmatched by other small cars. As an only vehicle that has to do everything, it's a solid choice.

 

Hi Rooki. I just recently got a 2009 Fit Sport, and like you, I was also considering a mazda3 hatchback! I know people say you're supposed to compare the fit with a mazda2 because of their class, but honestly I feel like the mazda3 hatch and Fit are a very good comparison.

They definitely are both good cars. I test drove a mazda3 and the handling was pretty good, but I definitely prefer the Fit's handling, which I find to be more direct and sensitive. The big thing that got me to ditch the Mazda and focus solely on finding a Fit was the fact that the Mazda somehow felt a bit cramped inside, like the whole interior was creeping in on my space, despite it being a bigger car! It just makes it seem like poor design by comparison.

I feel that finding a 2012 or 2013 Fit Sport that is fully equipped makes more sense than a brand new one that is less equipped. But that also depends on which generation you prefer.