List the Pros & Cons of Honda Fit in the USA
 

List the Pros & Cons of the Honda Fit in the USA...

You start :)

I will be involved in this thread once I get mine... I guess that is a Con about Honda I have right now... Failure to come thru on their delivery dates...

CON:
No locking gas cap.
No armest option.
No coin holder thingy.
No moonroof option.
Rear drum brakes.

PRO:
Six Airbags.
ABS w/ EBD.
5AT + paddleshifters
Decent price..

Mine are minor, but this one is weird: They put the turn signals below the gauges, so that visibility is blocked by the steering wheel. I can't recall ever seeing them down that low. Typically they're in the far left and right corners above the tach and speedometer. They put in nice big green arrows, and a driver's seat that can't be raised (2nd complaint). Maybe it's just us short people who have this issue, but I don't think Japan is known for tall people. Third drawback, and I'm guessing this is true of the Jazz as well: Seat is too firm. (An aside about watching what you pay for stuff: I stopped off at Mattress Barn, where I remembered they had small memory foam pillows, but they wanted $99 for one! Went to a local home decor outlet and paid $14.99) for one made by Beauty Rest -- looked and felt like the same thing. It solved the problem of the firm driver's seat, and also boosted short little me a little higher (but I still have trouble seeing those turn signals!)
My earlier negative comment about the Fit was the road noise (road surface), but I have to say it's not as loud in the Fit as it was on my Accord or the two CR-Vs I've driven recently. Neither the Accord nor the CR-V shut out the traffic noise and the wind noise from the CR-V was pretty bad.

I already went over the pros -- quick acceleration; very nimble, but stable, handling; good gas mileage; easy to park (and it doesn't hog my garage); Magic Seats; Honda reliability; easy to load cargo (and an arthritic old labrador); good sound system; and I don't care what anyone else says -- it is a good looking little car, inside and out! The "cons" of this car are minor and I feel like I got my money's worth, even at MSRP. Buying the Fit was one of my best decisions ever.

Not to be rude FondaFit, but how tall are you? I am realitively short myself also.

Pros:

Nimble
Smooth Shifting
Turns on a dime (I overshot a parking space somewhat this morning and still managed to turn into it)
ABS
Magic Seats
Tons upon tons of airbags standard

Cons:

Lack of Aux port in Base model
Stiff ride - Will probably improve over time
Lack of floor mats standard (Is it really that hard to throw in mats that cost the company maybe $20 to manufacture?)


All the complaints about seat height baffle me a bit too. I can see it being a problem for someone under 5', but the ones complaining on Edmunds talk about 5'2 this, 5'1 that. I'm 5'2" and the seat height is just right.

Had the same indicator blocking problem with my daughter's JDM model in another country. Adjusted the steering column to the lower position and problem solved. JDM version comes with locking gas cap, coin holder and knob on driver's seat to raise it, by the way. Wonderful car.

I'll second that and raise you a FORMER lying evasive dealer....:rolleyes:

Seat height is ok for me (5' 3"). Adding the extra cushioning is to make the seat softer, but I like that it raises me up about an inch -- seems to improve visibility. Guess I'll keep messing with the wheel adjustment and see if it helps with the turn signals. Since the wheel doesn't telescope, the seat adjustment is limited. I like to keep my elbows bent and sit well back from the dash, especially on long drives. I'd like more ergonomic features, but I realize that if the car was set up exactly the way I like it, I couldn't afford it! Considering all that you get, this little Fit is a bargain! By the way, all those great safety and security features made it relatively cheap to insure. Love it!!

Cons:

• No CVT available.
• No gas economy gauge.

Both of these are available to the rest of the world (Non-North American Fits).

PROS
- great gas mileage
- cool seats/lots of space
- handling
- price
- shifts smoothly and effortless
- so far i'm the only one in my city driving around in one:)
- peppy peppy peppy
- everything that comes standard with the sport, from the leather steeling wheel to the fog lights

CONS
- dealer mark ups are outrageous
- no temperature gauge
- no locking gas cap
- seat fabric
- ipod capability not standard... such a bummer :mad:

As if you guys find the seats too hard? Good thing you guys haven't driven any Integras. Also, the seat is quite a bit higher off the floor than the Civic.

Yay for the 6' 1" "I can that box off the top shelf for ya" tall guy. ;)

My cons:

*no passenger side power door lock switch
*gas and brake pedals are a bit too close when I have the seat adjusted to reach the wheel comfortably
* clutch throw is a bit long
* interior and engine are too quiet -- I prefer having more feedback when I drive
*headlights are a bit too low and don't project as far ahead as I like

I thought the point of this thread was to describe pros and cons of US models versus other worldwide models?

Thanks...


I'm seeing alot of cons for the turn signal indicators, rough ride, and lack of floor mats... I think the floor mats should have definately come standard or at least the carpet style ones. Road noise might be able to be reduced if you take your Fit back to the dealership and have them perform the Front Window advisory that Honda released last week... They pull the top front window seal and treat it for reducing the road noise...

Do we have an international thread? Hard to compare if only the NA owners are talking amongst themselves. I'm guessing the Jazz has the same tiny gas tank. I have a long commute every day. Although I go further on a gallon of gas, I'm filling up as often as I did before. (Accord held 13.9 gal, Fit only 10.9).

i don't think the price is very decent with all the mark ups

Wish the rear view mirror could fold up, so you can go to the drive-in movies and watch with the seats in refresh mode. Yes, we still have a drive-in theater here. It rocks!

Pro: I looks good going down the road.

Dislikes
 

No locking Gas cap:eek: You guys don't remember the 70s:( Opps just let out my age:D

A center console would be nice.

I think some sort of center console would be nice and I would like to have seen a locking gas cover... But that is because people are thiefs

the center console has a solution: follow link
http://www.woodcompany.com/hondapage.htm

It is am aftermarket item to provide an armrest. I do not know if it is fully compatible with the 2007 model. From the pictures it looks like it will work. Also if you contact the company perhaps they will have one for the 07 model.

The JDM version (with options) has central locking and the gas tank door lock is integrated into the central locking mechanism. It also has a very clever collapsible cup holder built into the back of the armrest for the rear passengers. The dials are white with orange lighting like the 2002 civic. Nice dark tint on rear glass an side windows at reat but could still benefit from a cargo cover as standard. Can't understand why the NA versions don't seem to have these available.

cons:
rear drums
temp gauge
center console/arm rest

pros:
alloys on sport
price
well everything else

I thought about the gas tank siphoning, but then I figured -- with all the big vans, trucks & SUVs out there with huge gas tanks (and many without locking caps), who'd bother stealing gas out of a Fit? The big worry would be stealing the whole car! I remember one poor lady telling me her Corolla was stolen from the commuter train station 3 times!

People really siphon gas still? I thought that was some kind of urban myth.

I have had my cheapass Mazda hubcaps stolen before, but that's all I've had taken off a car. Oh and my Darwin fish ripped off...but I chalked that one up to some crazy Christian group on my college campus.

Pros and a Few Cons
 

Pros:

Huge interior Space
Honda Reliability
Turns on a dime
Good Gas Mileage
Decent Price minus all the mark-ups)
Peppy, Peppy, Peppy
It's one cute little car

Cons:

Floor mats and cargo cover not standard
No coin box
No temperature gauge
No where to store my garage door opener out of sight except on the visor

if scion xa came w/ some freakin side-impact airbags (and maybe a 5-speed a/t and a little less ugly factor) i wouldn't even look at the Fit. I think I'm waiting until next year - Honda will probably put in a locking gas cap at least!

cons
 

pros as listed by many

cons

my additions: 1. gas tank under driver's seat does not allow you to kick
heels back.
2. No rest pedal for left foot.

If you've seen the Toyota Ractis "tall wagon" now sold in Japan:

http://www.caradisiac.com/media/imag...-ractis-60.jpg

You'll notice that this car bears a LOT of resemblence to the configuration of the Honda Fit! It really makes you wonder if Toyota is seriously looking at selling the Ractis here in the USA as the successor to the current Scion xA model. :confused:

About the gas door, just get a locking gas cap. You can get one off ebay for about $20, just search for "honda locking gas cap". I've only test driven the fit, but the main problems I had with it were the no dead pedal, no moonroof option, and the area around the hatch handle seemed a bit flimsy. Of course all the wonderful pros people posted heavily outweigh those few cons.

No CVT option and rear drum brakes head the list of cons for me.

Too many pros!
Cons: It understeers too much for me and not easy to induce throttle-liftoff-oversteer.
Needs a 6-spd. MT
Needs a dead pedal in plane with the clutch pedal
A telescoping wheel would be cool for us meter-long leg guys.
XM radio option. Fungus on 53!!!

I have a question, can we consider things cons if other cars in a similar class don't have that option either?
How can we say a con for the Fit is anything if it is not compared with some vehicle that has it?
Why do we seem to have luxury/sporty items in our heads as cons that the Fit is missing it. It is not a sporty or a luxury vehicle. In fact it is one of the cheapest cars to buy. A con is not something you wish the car had it is something that cars in a similar class have that the Fit does not.

So let us be careful in defining cons.
Of course pros are easier because the Fit has those options already.

Amen. The price to value ratio is unbeatable. PRO, PRO, PRO!

Fortunately, Honda's decision to use the five-speed automatic from the 2006 Civic nicely compensates. Everyone who's tried the 5AT Fit have said this transmission shifts very smoothly and quickly up and down gears, something that can't be said for many five-speed automatics from other automakers. :)

My indy mechnic (who I do really trust) told me the latest Civic 5 Speed Auto trans had TONS of problems in the last few years - I hope they have worked out the bugs...
I might go with the manual myself, but California traffic has taught me the value of a good automatic and my wife has burnt out 2 clutches on my previous Subaru.

Pro:
Room
Efficiency
Handling

Con:
Efficiency could be better
Revs too high with manual (see first con)
Skirts are part of the sport package, when they could just have easily been an accessory.