I had a chance to drive a 2005 Scion Xa today. A lady I work with let me and another car nut drive the car. My impressions are as follows:

The Scion has a lot of room for a small car, not like the Xb, but adequate. I'd hope the Fit has a bit more room, but I had plenty of head room both in the front and back seats (I'm 5 ft 9" tall). With the rear seats up, not a lot of storage space behind the rear seats. This car was a 5 speed, and I liked the way the clutch engaged, plus, it was very easy to shift. I hadn't driven a stick car for some time, so I had to get used to it again, but was impressed with the clutch and shifter. I could feel the trans going into gear, "very solidly". The power was OK, not as much as I thought. There were 3 of us in the car and I didn't want to really nail it. But, I did nail it in 2nd gear, and noticed that while it was moving out OK, it really didn't feel that powerful, like the car was accelerating, but not all that quickly. I didn't press it further, but that was the impression I had. I'd like a chance to try it out at full throttle from a standing start; that could change my mind about the power. I'd say it is OK for city driving, but it's not a hot rod. The car would be slower with an auto trans. The outside mirrors have turn signals - I think this is a good idea, even a safety feature. I didn't like that you can't see the front end of the car when you're driving. The owner said you get used to it, but it feels wierd. Speaking of wierd, I really didn't like the center mounted tach/speedo - however, I found out that you do get used to it quickly, and then it seems normal. It's just a different dash layout. The car rode very nicely, even on some bumps in the road. Both the other "tester" and myself liked the car. I do think the styling is more aggressive than the Fit. Anyway, if the Fit will be similiar to the Scion, then I would be very impressed with it.

Any comments? Has anyone had a chance to compare the Scion with the Fit in another country? I'd be interested in your comments. Thanks!

 

I too would like to know any comparisons. If it helps, the Scion xA is the Ist in Japan ...

I own a Scion xB, and am looking at the Fit as a replacement for the 1998 Civic EX sedan we also own.

When I drive the Civic, I remember how fun it is to rev that engine. The Scion's engines aren't as "rev happy" as the D-series in our Civic. This ability to rev high and quick lends itself to the illusion that you are going faster than you are, too.

 

I don't think the Honda L series is quite as rev happy has the D series...
http://asia.vtec.net/Series/FitJazz/lseries/index.html

 

This was a long but interesting article. It makes me think that this engine would be a challenge to the tuners. How would you "hop it up"? Turbo? The way the engine is designed, seems that it is a low to middle RPM engine that doesn't like to rev, and when it gets to a higher RPM, it would "flatten out". I was on the Temple of VTEC web site and they were doing tests on the 2006 Civics, and they reported kind of the same thing, that when the Civic engine gets to a certain RPM range, it seems to "flatten out". Maybe that's just the design of the current Honda engines, due to smog and mileage requirements. Be interesting to see what the tuners come up with. Maybe they'd want to swap a Civic motor into the Fit. Hmmmmm.........

 

I just rented a Jazz in Bangkok for a couple days. It was fun to drive, despite not being top of the line. I didn't take particular note of what engine it had, but with the CVT-7 transmission it had no trouble cruising at around 140kph. I was most impressed with the cabin. I was able to fit two golf bags (smaller carry-type), and luggage for a weekend in the boot, with the back seats up. The back seats deserve special mention. Apparently Honda put the gas tank under the front seats, so there is nothing but air under the backs. When you fold the seatbacks down, they go almost all the way to the floor. So much so that with the backs down, the front seat cushions slide back over the rear headrest. That's good news for you taller types that loose legroom when you put the back seats down. Also, you can fold the back seatcushions up and lock them against the upright seatbacks. I did this and was almost able to fit a mountain bike laterally across behind the front seats. To close the door, I had to drop the rear wheel out of the frame and slide it forward a few inches. It really is a nice car, and after living here for six years, it will be what I buy when I move back to the U.S. I just hope they have an SI, or SI-R by the time I get there. Sorry, I can't make any comparisons to the Scion, I have never seen one of those here.

 

Thanks for your comments. I have a feeling that the Fit & Scion will be very close in size, inside and out; also powerwise. BTW, don't hold your breath about a Fit Si or R. From everything I've read, a car like that might take away from sales of the Civic here in the US. Too bad, cuz it would really be a pocket rocket. :-)

 

Uh, the Scion won't come _close_ do doing this:

http://www.honda.co.jp/dog/honda-car.../fit-p-004.jpg

 

You mean each Fit comes with a free dog? hahahahahahaha OK, OK, bad joke. :-) It does look like the Fit has more room than the Scion Xa. I do know that the car I drove didn't have much room in the back when the seats were up. You might put a suitcase back there, or a couple of bags of groceries, but that would be about it.

 

I have sat in an xA, although I've never driven one.

I can say that the xA doesn't have the copius interior volume that the xB does. In fact, I found the back seat of the xA to be pretty crampped, especially compared with the xB.

Free dog — ha! If you didn't say it, I was going to!

 

I saw that doggie in the Fit and I just could not resist. HA

 

If you like that, get a load of this. Honda has a whole dog section on their website, including the dog themed show car from the tokyo show:

http://www.honda.co.jp/dog/

 

I saw that section. Maybe you can say that Honda is going to the dogs? Ohhhhhhhh, bad pun....heh heh. Altho, I have to admit that a lot of the cars at the Tokyo car show were really one-off's, like the Mom's Car, and the Honda dog car. It's interesting to me the difference in cultures. You'd never see cars like that at an American car show. I'd like to visit Japan one day and see all the different kinds of cars they have.

 

I wnated to comment about the Honda Mobilio. When I saw the first photo, I thought I was looking at a Scion Xb! So why doesn't Honda import that car? I also liked the WOW, just because of the design. I guess Honda just imports the cars that they think will sell in the US market. Too bad.

 

I was re-reading these posts, and since Ginza Wagon has a Scion Xb, thought you might be interested that there will be a new Xb coming out, bigger than the present car, with the same 160 HP engine the Tc has. The new Xb will be based on the Corolla chasis, so it will be bigger. That might be an interesting combination, altho I could see the price being higher, say around $18,000 US. Boy, if all these great little cars come out soon, maybe we could "convert" all those SUV drivers. Hey, Bud, dump that Caddy and get into this hot little Fit....heh

 

All I can say is that I really hope my 14-year old Accord will make it til the Fit comes to the US in the spring. If it doesn't make it that long (it has issues), I'll likely have to go the xA or Matrix route...When, exactly, will Fits be available in the US?

 

Tulip,
American Honda told us that the Fit should be available Mid March 2006. Hope your Accord can wait that long!

 

I think this all stems from the WOW concept vehicle they made for the Tokyo Auto Show.

I think the L15 vtec should be rev happy. Simply because it has been designed for more performance, and also with the addition of vtec, and a full 16 valves. The L13 seems like it's just a fuel miser... which is good.

 

Again - it's a bore vs. stroke thing - same lower end as the I-DSI engine - just different head. i.e. NOT a Honda short stroke higher rev'ing configuration
http://asia.vtec.net/Series/FitJazz/lseries/index.html

 

any idea when?

 

Now what's the point of the xB if it's a big car? Just go get a Toyota Matrix if you want a bigger car.