The suspension is stiff compared to a Yaris (which has springs made of warm butter), but it rides like a Cadilac compared to 80's era subcompacts. It's rommie enough for 2 adults and 3 (pre-teen, post car-seat) children to ride in comfort. I've had 2 car seats (thankfully not mine) in with no trouble. I wouldn't take it on a long road trip, but for the $ you save (purchase price and fuel), you can rent a minivan for a weekend every month. When my brother's wife popped out their first baby, they immediately went out and bought a 4Runner (for safety...). I save enough $ every year to pay for a family vacation. IMO, it's the perfect family car.

 

I actually think the Fit is pretty smooth. One of the reasons I bought this car was because I had a 2 door and getting my 3yo daughter in and out was a pain. My wife and I are planning on another here soon so the car better work. We bought a Britax car seat which still works well, even though I still want one of the Recaro's.

 

Granite? Granted.



The Fit is a horrible family car. Very safe, economical, roomy and reliable. None of the desirable traits of a family truckster.

 

We just bought a 08 sport m/t and my daughter is a couple days older than a month and we've been using the fit for the past couple days and as soon as she gets in it she's asleep. We have a 07 Pilot that we bought as the family car and it's great, roomy and comfortable but the Fit is a great family car in my opinion that was the main reason i purchased the car was to be able to zip around town with my family and maybe some 4 hour rides to Miami.Good luck

 

i have really been talking to her about cars the last couple days and i think i got her but with that said here comes the bad news. her insurance company is denying some of her hospital bills when she had her daughter so now she got slapped with a $14K hospital bill (she had a lot of complications during her pregnancy). so in other words a new car moved to the bottom of the list for now . thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and thoughts though. when things get better im gonna try to get her into a fit and if she changes her mind and wants something bigger then its gonna be a crv. its looking like im gonna get deployed to the sand box again here soon anyway so if that happens i will pay mine off and get her one so we will both win

 

Hey take care...
and hope everything works out...

 

And JD, THANK YOU for your service to your country. We don't take lightly the danger you guys are put into. May God bless you.

 

Thanks Steeldog for your comment. I typically try to keep the military stuff off the forum(sometimes people can get pretty negative) but i love my job and i love the good that comes from it.

 

The Fit is a great family car. It's the car we use for most of our around town travel. We also use it for trips up to the lake in the summer. That's a 200-mile trip with two adults, two kids, and a small dog, with the back full of stuff. The fit rides well, and I've hit 37 MPG on some legs. It's hard to get all the winter stuff in that space though, so we have to shift to the minivan for the winter.

 

I have two boys age 3 and 6, plus with my wife and I there are no problems the fit works great. We have taken several 2-3 hour trips with no complaints.

 

Heh...I knew a guy who flew helicopters back in the 90's in the no-fly zone. With the extra hazard pay he was pulling, he bought a new Jeep Wrangler and basically built it up in every way imaginable. It was the sickest thing I'd ever seen, and people on Jeep forums totally hated him for the fact that he had built the ultimate off-roading machine.

Good luck!!!

 

Well I have 2 daughters, 1 is 2 and a half and the other is almost 3 months old. With the wife, the 2 car seats, 2 strollers and me in the car, it's pretty packed but we are all fine. Head and leg room is great for everyone. I also like it more than my 2006 Accord in parking lots because the doors are smaller and it's easier to take the kids out of the back. In the Accord because the doors are bigger, you need more room on each side of the car to open the door fully and have enough space to take the kids out.

The only thing is with the car seats in you lose the magic seat capability but with only 1 child you could still retain most of that.

On a stock suspension I would not worry about any issues with my children even if my youngest was born yesterday. I think for the first couple weeks a newborn might not do to well in a really stiff lowered car but after that kids aren't made out of porcelain, they would have 0 issues with the harshest ride quality.

For the money and if you want reliable and new, I don't see what can beat it out there as a family car.

 

yea my last trip over there i made almost enough to buy the fit outright but instead i threw all the money into bills and a house. My next trip will be to finish paying off bills and then either the pay off my fit or else get her a new car. Maybe both i havent figured out what im gonna do with it yet. I may get lucky and have a chance to reenlist over there. If that happens then im set and will be able to pay mine off and throw down a huge down payment on a car for her. It sucks over there but it really helps out when you come back and have some extra change in your pocket.

Thanks everyone for your real world comments and experiences with your Fits. I have gotten a few chances now to drive the baby around in mine with the car seat and all the gear and it seems to be working out pretty well and im very happy with my findings thus far.