So I used to have a Honda Element, and about eight months ago I sold it and got a Mazda 3s Sport 2.3 5-speed. Despite getting an initial low quote for insurance, my rates jumped over $130 at my next six month renewal. I have no points, 29 year old single male, but they said it was due to the way they rated the vehicle, apparently it had been in a much cheaper bracket but got moved up quite a bit. I've got just under 11,000 miles, and have tracked every tank of gas so far, with a poor 24mpg average. Best tank was 31mpg of all highway driving coming down from southern Oregon in northern California (lots of downhill).

I didn't put anything down on the 3 when I bought it, and got a good deal, so I can sell it on my own and be able to pay it off, though a trade-in offer would be too low to take.

I've really started to like the Fit, as it seems to still have a fun factor about it despite the low power of the engine. I previously had a Scion xB as well so I'm used to that as well. I've also had a couple VR6 VW's, Subaru WRX, 5.0 Mustang, Eclipse GSX, but the combination of being older now and the gas prices constantly rising is making me look for fun in an economical package.

I did some math today, got insurance quotes, etc and it looks like if I just sold the 3 and bought a Fit, I'd save over $125 a month between the payment ($50 savings), insurance ($25 savings) and gas ($50 savings). Since my fiancee and I are putting away money every month towards our wedding next year as well, lowering expenses where I can definitely helps.

Hoping to go drive a Fit soon, but I'm wondering how many people came from faster cars and really still find the Fit fun to drive? I keep seeing comments about the handling and such, but nobody really says what specifics make the Fit fun to drive compared to other cars they've had. I'm not trying to knock the car at all, I'm just curious what other people think. I'll be buying a ScanGauge and working on getting good mileage if I get a Fit as well, hoping with a smart choice in cars and good driving habits I'll be ready for $5.00/gallon and up gas before it gets here. I'm shocked how many people I know who are single and drive SUV's without ever having a passenger or cargo, and don't seem to be bothered by their poor mileage.

Anyways, this turned out longer than I thought, basically I'm looking for people to tell me why they enjoy driving their Fit, especially in comparison to previous sport compact or performance cars they may have owned.

 

before my fit i drove a 95 hatch... cf hood,trunk,lip, and rear spoiler... no turbo... d16 single cam vtec. gutted. 2 carbon fiber racing seats with takata harnasses... 12.9 at the track consistent... i took you cocky wrx guys by suprise ... to this day that was still my fav car... this car is a very close 2nd. mine is still stock power wise... It is fantastic, slow yet still fun to drive. actually. amazingly fun to drive.

 

haha sorry i forgot the lol before the vtec guy... the cocky remark was made in poking fun lol

 

I came from a long line of V8s with gobbs of power, and my last car was an XJR. In comparison the fit is slower than a turtle. The only reason I purchased it is because im working on restoring another V8 car, which will be my salvation from this small 1.5 liter.

With that said, its a great daily driver and the gas mileage rocks compared to V8's. Its kind of an apples to oranges comparison...two completely different things.

The Fit however is fun to drive with respect to steering and suspension. Its a pretty nimble little car. If you are looking for good transportation thats easy on the wallet its a great car. Dont expect fast though.

 

sometimes i kinda wish i got a mazda 3

 

me too. but seeing as how the cost to own was not really all that different than our rabbit, my wife and i opted out.


to the op: while i've never own a rex or a v-8, my rabbit was particularly gutsy and had none of the sometimes 'slow' tendencies of the fit.

it was more...um, 'comforting to drive' than the fit, but not more fun.


the fit is a great, fun little car, and its this factor that keeps smiles on its owners faces and totally counteracts the desire to have a more costly to fuel vehicle.

 

its like a 5 speed go-kart, thats superisingly zippy around town. thats what makes it fun for me.

 

haha go cart was also my 2nd choice of wording

 

Like you, I am an "older guy" and come from a long history of V-8's (in my youth, I did a lot of street drags!) and I still own some classic muscle machines. When I drive my Fit, it makes me smile as I zip through traffic, curvy roads, entrance/exit ramps etc. all the while inspiring me to think/drive economically. I just completed a 320 mile highway trip today, and got 40+ mpg @ 65 mph w/ ac, fan on low setting! This Fit is my first totally new car, and being 6'4" I had to do a lot of researching before I settled on it...having said that, let me say "I LOVE MY FIT!!!
'07 VBP Sport 5MT w/ minor appearance & comfort mods!!

 

I was thinking it must be that go-kart feeling of a small car that handles well. The xB exhibited a little bit of that, but it was too tall and the suspension was too soft to really get the full effect.

As to those who said they kinda wish they had a 3, I can't say that there's anything ~wrong~ with it really, handles well, looks nice, would probably be more inclined to keep it had I purchased the 2.0L rather than the 2.3L. I expected better gas mileage and that has been the biggest disappointment. I could get 20+ in the Element without really trying that hard and one of my motivations for downsizing was better fuel economy...guess that didn't work out so well.

My other hurdle is that my fiancee generally doesn't like hatchbacks. I personally don't like the look of the '09 Fit so I'd want to get an '08 while they're still around. She's starting to come around on them, and even commented that a Suzuki SX4 crossover that I pointed out yesterday "didn't look too bad, for a hatchback". Since we generally take my car everywhere, I'd like for it to be something we both are happy with. She'll probably inherit it down the road when her '99 protege dies, unless I end up deciding after paying it off to do something silly like a K20 swap.

Back to scouring the gallery forum to find good pics to show her before we go look at them. I generally can't keep from getting into the mods on whatever I have, so lowering/rims/tint/etc would be happening pretty quick. I want to make sure she has a good idea what it will look like when I'm done rather than having her turned off by the stocker.

 

just go test drive it. thats the best thing i could say. and make sure you and your wife get to test drive it alone... now dont go crazy on the turns and flip that bitch, but take some turns. and enjoy ze gokart

 

I had a 2004 Scion xB and I have 2008 Fit now, I also used to live in Southern Oregon, so I'll chime in!

I LOVED my xB but I will say the Fit is the better car. Its similar to the 1st gen xB in a lot of ways. Very close to the same size and weight, same size engine and power/weight ratio and same basic suspension set-up. As much as it pains me to say it as a former Toyota fan-boy, Honda just did it so much better.

Imagine your xB but aerodynamic and quieter with a much better shifter, smoother engine, better handling and less tinny with a much nicer interior and you get the idea.

If you liked your xB, you'll love the Fit!

It's just an amazingly great car for the money. I test drove a bunch of cars but I could not get the test drive of the 5-speed Fit out of my mind, it was just so much more fun than anything else I drove.

I feel like I am in a real-life version of Mario Kart and I am loving every minute of it.

 

haha +1 for a great description lmao

 

Came from a 5 series BMW, missed the 5 for the first day. Actually it was the sunroof I missed most of all and not the fuel costs nor the a$$hole factor. No one gives any room nor way to a BMW driver, you will sit with a signal light on for ages at a merge. Bye to all that, I get waved in like I am in a SMART or Mini Cooper these days. Nice people drive Hondas seems to be the rule, I really think it is there are so many Honda drivers period. Oh and my car is not trashed on a yearly basis by vandals, the BMW it was a couple times a year. Again the A-hole factor at play. Honda = nice person I guess.

I can go for one or two days without driving my Fit Sport, it is then when I am reminded how wonderful this car really is to drive and haul stuff around in. The front magic seats, FLAT fold down rear seats and fold up rear seat bottom which hold the key to the Fit's interior. I haul two mountain bikes in the back weekly, front wheels removed and sitting upright. I have yet to not be able to fit a ton of IKEA trips into the back of the Fit. Nothing has been left at the curb.

As for the highway, I just returned from a 900 km each-way road-trip, stress free and stopped for fuel only once each way. Fuel economy is best at 100-110 km/hr, I at times dove at 125km/hr. With the cruise, stereo and A/C it was a pleasure....oh and the fuel economy was nice as well. My brother did basically the same trip in his half ton Ford, he spent 3X the fuel costs. A fool and his money I say.

Go for the Sport with 5-speed over the base model, get the optional rear area cover and all season rubber floor mats. As well, a full window tint all around would be nice, include the front windshield banner. Better security, cools the vehicle, looks tons better as well. Call around, other dealers sell these things for perhaps less than your dealer. There are postings of where to get all these this on this website, all ordered online at very good prices.

Cheers.

 

mazda 3's are very nice cars. I've owned two hatchbacks. Both cars did not get the best fuel economy. I have nothing bad to say about the 3 except for the bad fuel economy. I got my Fit in April and do not regret it at all. I do save money on gas. The insurance only dropped about 4 dollars a month. Go ahead and get the Fit, you'll be fine.

 

I've had an Integra Type R and a Honda S2000. Much more powerful than the Fit. Fun factor - I liked them all for what they were. They're all different kinds of fun. ITR was a raw, race car that had great balance and outstanding brakes. So much fun tossing that thing around. The S2000 was a semi-F1 open cockpit racer screaming all the way up to 9k.

The Fit....okay, I went in with the mindset that it is NOT a powerful car. It's not going to give me the "VTEC kicked in, yo!" when I hit ~6k. With that in mind, it is a TON of fun. Gives you that go-kart racer feel--not as fast as the big boys, but so much fun tossing it around. All the while, getting 15-30% better gas mileage than the above mentioned cars, not to mention the practicality of the thing (ever try fitting anything bigger than a golf bag in the S2000? Not happening). It's not going to be a replacement of a true sports car (and it wasn't ever intended to be). It is fun for what it is--fun to drive, practical, economic vehicle.

BTW, I am still planning to get another S2000 (CR, this time), and hopefully an ITR.

EDIT: Forgot to mention: GET THE SPORT-5 SPEED!

 

I'd definitely get the 5-speed...I've only ever had one automatic, and that was in a '69 Ford F100 shortbed with a 360 V8.

My local dealer doesn't have any Fits, so I'm going to have to find another one around here to drive. The closest 5-speed I've been able to find is about 75 miles away so I might have to make the trip this weekend.

I need to get the 3 cleaned up and posted for sale this weekend too, I'm hoping there's enough people downsizing these days that it shouldn't take too long to sell. We've got a local weekend park and sell here that I might take it out to, otherwise I'll just have to see how Craigslist and Autotrader go.

If I do manage to sell the 3 quickly I hope it won't be too hard to find an SSM Sport MT. Then again, I've taken two one-way plane flights to Southern California to pick up cars before and drive them back, so if I can't find one around here I'll just go somewhere else.

 

I had an automatic Fit Sport as a loaner while my Fit Sport 5 speed was in for servicing, and it was not as much fun to drive. Now, if you are stuck in a parking lot traffic jam for hours at a time, an automatic might be nice. I am in traffic, stop and go for 30 minutes each way to work, not an issue.

Frankly after five minutes, I left the car in D mode. The automatic also jacks the price up greatly. Better spent on the floor mats, rear area cover, window tint and new iPod for the stereo, and still have plenty of cash left over for a nice weekend away.

 

I was looking at a used Mazda3 and the new Fit at the same time, and was torn between the 2. Few things that made me choose the Fit, better gas mileage, more rear seat room (2 car seats back there), and the fact the Fit was new. I came from driving a modded Durango, which I totally loved, and I certainly missed it at first, still do a little. That V8 rumble is really hard to beat, but with the gas prices every time I fill up I feel a little less disappointed that I dont have the Durango anymore. Plus the long term goal is to get myself some sort of project car, and that never would have happened with a 10mpg DD. I'm in the same boat at the OP, I can't leave well enough alone. I had all the mods in my sig with only about 200 miles on the clock, but I am just about done.

 

I picked up my Fit about a month ago now. I heavily tested a few cars such as the Mazda3 hatch and Civic and such. I actually like the looks of the M3 better then the Fit but there was no question that the Fit was a much funner car to drive. I did think the rear bumper was kinda screwy in the M3. I also felt like the Fit was much higher quality all around (I think it was a Ford influence if you ask me, felt like my old 85 Escort). The M3 I was looking at was the fully loaded model (was it Touring?) that had an MSRP of $22K (5K more than the Fit). I was also sold on the functionality of the Fit and the inside space. Mazda has never been very high on the reliability rankings and I was worried about it. I know the Fit will probably run 250K miles with no problems and this car will be my Dailey driver for some time. So in the end the M3 was a close second. I did feel like the M3 dominated the Civic.