regarding the Fit's AC. i dont think it's that good. But compared to my neighbor's Yaris it's way better. If you are going to get A/C, try and get a tint also so heat doesnt enter that much.


and regarding the seats, my dad is 6'5" and he has no problem sitting in any of the seats. There is plenty of headroom/legroom everywhere.

 

hmmm ok. so the A/C is not that great. how are the creature comforts? (dunno what they are, so if you may list them.)

eg- cupholders, armrest?

 

hmmm, well there are like a million cupholders in the Fit. Armrest is non existant but you can get an aftermarket one. Same as a dead pedal. Highly recommend you get one from zeta or something if you drive a lot.

 

I went and test drove both cars, although I haven't had a lot of luck finding a MT Fit to try out yet. If all you care about is MPH then I'd say the Yaris is probably what's more right for you. However, if you also care about versatility and the overall enjoyment, then I would go with the Fit.

Granted, both cars are pretty tiny and boast an interior volume that defies the exterior dimensions, but the Fit is king when it comes to clever packaging that makes the most of the interior volume in a *very* well thought out way. I have been waiting for the new Fit for almost a year and a half now, so I've been doing research about pretty much every possible competitor in terms of efficiency, versatility, and style.

I've looked into all of these vehicles as possible buys instead of the Fit. And in the end the only choice that made sense with my criteria was the Fit. Close runner ups were the 4dr GTI and the Mazda3. The new Impreza/WRX is also very good, if only it hadn't been beaten with an ugly stick.

Chevrolet Aveo (4dr hatch)
Dodge Caliber
Hyundai Accent (2dr hatch)
Hyundai Elantra Touring (avail in 09 as a 4dr wagon)
Mini Cooper and the Cooper Clubman
Mazda3 wagon
Mazda5 (those looking for a non-minivan minivan, give this a serious look)
Nissan Versa
Scion xB and xD
Smart Fortwo
Subaru Impreza/WRX wagon
Suzuki Reno (4dr hatch)
Suzuki SX4 Crossover
Saturn Astra (2dr and 4dr hatch)
Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe
Toyota Yaris (2dr hatch)
Volvo C30
VW Rabbit (4dr) or GTI (4dr)
VW Rabbit TDI (not available in MKV body til 09 or maybe even 2010)

 

Glad you made a decision to go with the FIT. The list you have provided is pretty good. IMO I would have narrowed the list down like this;

Both Suzuki & Hyundai...unproven manufactures till this point with not a very good trade in value on either....reliablity is unproven...pass on these two.

Saturn...they have turned the cornor after a bumpy start, they still lack something though in my book....they still have a long way to go....pass on the Saturn

VW....owned (2) prior GTI / JETTA.....both were "Check Engine Light" happy. Lots of time wasted bringing cars to dealer to fix issues....my motto is burn me once, burn me twice.....you aint burning me again!!! lol

Chevy & Dodge....you either like American or NOT...rules this one out for me.

Scion's....I have always thought of them as a ladies cars.....pass!

Mini's....overpriced euro cars.....couldn't see spending the money on one of these...pass

Mazda3/5....well it's still a FORD....so that American thing kinda rules this one out for me...lol.....pass on both

Nissan Versa.....I like Nissan! Quality name, dependability, good gas milage....I would not rule this one out!

Subaru Impreza/WRX....my parents had one for a long time....great car, they have come along way! Not a bad choice.

Toyota Yaris/Matrix....when it comes down to it.....extremely well put together cars. They may not be the best looking...but for me the MPG & reliability is what wins me over....good pick.

Pontiac Vibe...not a fan....little known about them...to risky. Pass!

Volvo....u cannot go wrong!

That's my 1 cent

 

Thanks but I actually don't have a Fit yet. I don't even drive a car right, by choice, heh. Waiting for the 2nd gen.

Suzuki maybe... Hyundais have actually been improving greatly. However, none of the Hyundais or Suzuki I checked out left me feeling anything but "blah" after. It's important for me to be in love with the car I drive.

The Saturn was very disappointing actually. The interior was very cheap (especially the center column) and the back seats fold down as uneven planes. I am actually surprised and disappointed considering that Opels (upon which most of the Saturns are based on now) are quite nice cars. My fav is the Opel Calibra coupe from the 90s. Anyway, siting in the Astra's driver seat for about 10 seconds was enough.

I had a GTI too. The check engine light seems to be related to moisture, as it typically comes on when I parked the car outside during heavy rainfall. Overall though I had a pretty positive experience with it, in addition to the usual inexplicable issues that seem to plague VWs after a certain amount of time.

I'm pretty country-of-origin-agnostic, but both of these cars were pretty forgettable and didn't offer anything other than basic transportation.... the equivalence of automotive wallflowers I guess.

Scions are/can be pretty nice. The xD uses the same back seats as the Yaris, and when the seats fold down there is a giant chasm, to which their solution is to give you a carpet-covered cardboard mat to cover it up. The rest of the car is pretty decent. The xB is pretty nice and has a lot of room, as well as a gigantic blindspot. One reason I took Scions off my list is because they seem pretty overpriced for being tiny econoboxes, tries too hard to market "cool," and because their gas mileage is actually not that great considering how small the cars are.

They can be, with all the customizations. I went to check out both the Cooper and Cooper S, and sat in a Clubman. I'm not image-conscious enough to care, and I care too much about versatility to deal with the stupid interior with its cheap materials and gauges with horrible usability. I also do usability for a living so that interior irks me to no end.

It's not a ford in what you might think. It's actually a collaboration with more contribution from Mazda. It's the same (more or less, I'm generalizing here) as what's underneath the Focus, the Volvo V40 and C30. The current gen Mazda3 scores quite well in the reliability dept. My parents just got a Mazda3 wagon. It's pretty high on my list as well. I almost bought a Mazdaspeed3, but in the end because I'm not the only one driving the car and my other half doesn't really appreciate all that power and will probably drive it more than I do it just didn't make sense.

I hated the Versa as soon as I sat in one. Same reaction as I had with the Saturn. In less than 30 seconds I was outta there.

My last car was a 2004 WRX wagon actually. My parents also have a Forester. They are good cars. I can get about 29.5mpg out of the WRX when I want to. I would consider getting it again if it weren't for the ugly stick that the new ones were beaten with. I haven't test driven the new ones yet, but I hear that they have resolved the low-end torque and turbo-lag issues, which is huge since those two things are the things I hated the most about my WRX.

I actually really love the 3 door Yaris in a 5MT, but man... what is with that interior?? The Matrix didn't feel like it's a Toyota. I forget who said it in another post, but man the sea of craptaculous plastic. I haven't looked into reliability yet, but when my parents had the 2nd generation Geo Prizm (another Toyota/GM joint venture) it was very reliable and well-put together.

The Pontiac Vibe is the GM twin of the Toyota Matrix. Just like the Geo Prizm was a GM twin of the Toyota Corolla, and was built at a plant in Freemont, CA. Everything that's true of the Matrix is also true of the Vibe.

I took a C30 out for a spin. Overall it's a pretty nice and unique looking car. So-so on the versatility due to said "unique styling." The interior is interesting, because it's a weird mixture of high & low quality. It photographs really well, but unless you opt for the nicer options, the basic interior is pretty spartan. There are some very nice scandanavian (obviously) inspired wood inserts that are very very nice.

--

Overall, though, I am pretty sad? angry? pissed? at the state of cars in general, that are available in the US market. There really aren't that many good choices when it comes to small, efficient, sporty hatchbacks/wagons. The list I've researched may give the impression that there are a lot of choices, but honestly half of those are so craptaculous that they're nothing more than glorified rental-grade transportation. Europe and Japan get all the cars I want to own. Grrrrr!!

 

"And in the end the only choice that made sense with my criteria was the Fit"....quoted from U....thought you had purchased a FIT!

Still a good option, ttyl tonyd

 

I'm currently half way through a lease on a 2006 Accord (2.4) and already planning on the next car. My weekend car is a '93 Miata, so I thought I could live with an AT family sedan as a daily driver -- I was wrong. That list is very comprehensive, and many of the cars on it have been on my short list as well. The 2009 Fit is currently at the top, but I could easily be swayed to a Civic Si if the 2009 refresh on the Civic looks great and there is no sunroof or panoramic option on the 2009 Fit. Here's my short list:

2009 Fit Sport
2009 Civic Si
2008 Acura TSX (will not consider the 2009)
2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman
2009 Volvo C30/S40

The Fit wins out for now despite the HP gap with each of the cars below it primarily for its fun-to-drive reputation, much lower price, and better MPG. Besides, the Fit Sport strikes me as a modern version of the old Abarth Fiats -- a solid compromise between size and tunable performance. I test drove a 2007 Fit before selecting the Accord. It was far more fun to drive than the Accord, but the Fit was just a bit too small (6'3"), the interior materials were just too cheap looking, and (of interest to the OP) the A/C was comparatively weak. The 2009 Fit looks like a better option this time around.

PS - the GTI would be at the top of my list if VW's notorious reliability issues weren't a problem.

 

I work for a rental car company, so I can tell you that the Dodge Calibre, Chevy Aveo hatch, Pontiac Vibe all can't hold the Fit's jock.

The Calibre is poorly designed, IMO. The MPG sucks and it costs more than the fit. The interior is all this hard ass plastic.

The Aveo doesn't even come with power mirrors, you have to spring for a CD player and it's half the size inside than the fit. Also, the MPG in the city is 23 and city is around 30. Fit is 27/34 even with the automatic transmission.

The Vibe, well just see the Calibre above.

And while the VW is nice, it's way more expensive and I STILL say the Fit is roomier, more comfortable and better designed inside.