Thanks for all your advice! We would probably choose the manual transmission because it's less expensive (and fun to drive!). We're still debating base vs. sport.

My husband drove one of those two-speed semi-automatic Accord wagons from the late '70s when he was in college, and he had a 1990 MT Accord DX. For the past decade, he's been in the Volvo, but he'd love to get back to a stick shift car.

I hear what you're saying about the competence of the driver in terms of avoiding accidents, but the small size may still be a factor. I can't wait to test drive one!

 

Prior to the fit I drove a lemans hatch, a comanche, a jacked explorer, and an astro van. I feel safer in the fit than in any of these vehicles. If you get slammed into at a light or some such in the fit you're probably boned, but the nimbleness and agility of the fit has helped me avoid more than a few "sure hits". It is as good in the snow as any fwd I have ever driven, I have no problem in the snow, provided the wheels can touch the ground haha. I'm running the stock all seasons, I'm sure it would be a beast with some good snows. Instead of renting a car, why not just keep the volvo for long trips?

 

The Volvo is getting less reliable and repair bills are starting to pile up. On our last road trip, we ended up with a massive oil leak in a teeny tiny NC town on a Sunday morning. Finally found an open Auto Zone and were at least able to fill the pan and get home. We're both hesitant to take it on the 400-mile stretch of I-95 that takes us from PA to NC. We may end up keeping it for his daily commute for a few more months while we test drive the Fit and a couple of other (read: larger!) cars.

 

As far as safety goes yes I feel safe in my Fit. In town, on country roads or just about anything thats not an interstate, I feel safer in it then a larger car because of its superior handling and maneuverability. On interstates I feel safer in a larger car if for no other reason your much more aware of how fast your going in a small car. In my Mom's old Olds 88 going 80mph on the interstate felt like sitting in your living room.

As much as I like to recommend the Fit to everyone I'm going to suggest that your husband get a good highway car. I get the impression that he doesn't rack up a lot of miles so a car with less fuel efficiency isn't going to cost that much more to drive(assuming you don't go nuts and get a Hummer, suburban or something like that.) It shouldn't be too hard to find a car that gets reasonable gas mileage and is comfortable for long trips. If your husband racks up a lot of miles locally getting a Fit and renting a car for trips might make sense.

Of course what your husband is comfortable with might be a consideration. LOL be sure he test drives whatever you think of buying as much as possible.

 

Well, my mister is 6'3" and long of leg, so the fit of the Fit is something else for us to consider. We started this thinking-of-car-buying process with our eyes fixed on an Acura MDX, probably looking at a 2008 or 2009 with anywhere from 30K- 40K miles on it to get it within reach of our budget. My brother has one and it's a terrific road-trip in terms of comfort (gas consumption, not so much...). The Volvo XC60 is also appealing, but WOW they're expensive, and we already know that Volvos are expensive to maintain and repair. OTOH, we also know that Volvos are 1) safe and 2) crazy comfortable for long trips. *SIGH*

I wonder if the newer CR-Vs are more comfortable on long trips? I love mine, but we both get numb butt after about 200 miles...

 

Hello! I am new on these forums too and earlier this week I just purchased a new 2010 Fit Sport (auto w/ paddle shifters). I live in the Bucks County area and I certainly feel your pain with this crappy weather!

Regarding safety...my previous cars were a 93 Ford Taurus GL and a 2005 Nissan Altima 2.5 S. I feel much safer in my Fit than I ever did in those two (much larger) cars. That includes my commute to and from Center City along I-95 during the week.

As far as the size of your husband...I am 6'2, around 250 pounds, and I have plenty of room in my Fit. I wish I could raise the steering wheel about a half inch more, but honestly, he'll be fine.

Oh, and get the Sport. If you like to drive, you'll appreciate the crisper handling.

Also, go to Keenan Honda in Doylestown. I bought my Fit there, and my wife bought her 2010 Civic coupe there last year. VERY friendly, truly no pressure, willing to work with you on getting the payments you want, and an overall extremely pleasurable buying experience.

Hope that helps!

 

Here are my thoughts...

"Feeling Safe" is subjective.

What are you REALLY asking? Is The FIT a safe car? Yes, for what it is, which is a sub-compact, I think The Fit is well built and well designed and employs construction and airbags and safety equipment that makes it a safe vehicle.

But...it IS what it IS...it's a sub-compact. No All Wheel Drive, No 4 Wheel Drive and one of the smaller vehicles on the road. All 2011's will have Vehicle Stability Control, so if this is an issue you might wait for the 2011's...currently VSC is only available on the top of the line equipped Sports with Navigation...

Do I feel safe? Well, I've driven numerous types of vehicles over the years. Trucks, Vans, Small Cars, Mid-Size..larger vehicles....

I look at it this way, driving comes with risk. Vehicles are tools of transportation. Every design has it's strengths and weaknesses. I have driven small pick-ups from the 90's....without Anti-Lock Brakes and without Airbags....on paper they were incredibly "dangerous" vehicles to be riding in. They did poorly in crash tests.

Did I feel safe? Yes, but mostly because I trust myself. Was there increased risk driving those small pick-ups in comparison to other vehicles? Yes. That's the nature of driving anything.

I'd say The Fit is "safe" for what it is. If you are worried about extreme Winter Driving, or simply the physics of being one of the smaller vehicles on the road? I'd advise getting a tool better suited to put those fears to rest.

I think The Fit is an excellent vehicle. BUT in specific situations are their vehicles I would deem potentially "safer"...yes...

But in general, I feel safe driving The Fit....

 

Hey Tex, I do drive safe and keep my attention to driving instead of paying attention to all the gadgets other drivers play with instead of watching the road. My wife even complains that i don't talk with her enought on trips as i tell her that i am concentrating on driving. I do like your advise about knowing the difference in handling characteristics between small and big cars as we have both small and big and yes they do handle very differently.

 

Does size correlate with safety? I think that's an assumption that might not statistically bear out in typical passenger vehicles.

I was was hit by a large car going 50-60 MPH while in my 3 month old Fit. I know I was lucky, even in a big car an accident like that isn't always going to turn out well... But I went right back out to buy a new fit. Fortunately for me, a manual Fit that is nearly new is valued above what I paid for it brand new! I feel quite safe in my Fit, and the active/passive safety argument is also a good way to think of it, if you are a competent driver.

 

I suppose at some level it is an assumption, but I don't see how the physics of mass can ever be totally overcome. Smart Cars aside, The Fit is among the smaller vehicles on the road. Car manufacturers can and have improved everything with Air Bags and frame construction but I still think there is an undeniable truth to most outcomes when Bigger Larger Heavier meets Smaller and Lighter...

However, "accidents" are by definition unpredictable. So I also look at it this way. How many accidents could I possibly avoid or be avoiding as a result of being a smaller vehicle? There can be advantage in any given situation to being a smaller target...easier to get out of the way.

Also, IMO The Fit is a great cornerning vehicle. Really stays stable in turns.

I guess bottom line to me? I think it's good to know your vehicle. And I believe every vehicle has strengths and weaknesses.

 

Mass can't be totally overcome but the specific design of a vehicle makes a big difference. Lots of airbags, crumple zones, etc. I'd rather be in a new Fit than a 4000 lb SUV from the seventies. A few years ago I looked at the gov't and IIHS statistics and some big vehicles did rather poorly in crashes.

Plus, everybody here is assuming it's a head-on collision with another vehicle. How about crashing into a tree or rolling off a road into a ditch? I know, we're all perfect drivers so any accident is going to involve somebody else and it'll be that guy's fault... but even so, if you're sideswiped you could still end up hitting a tree when it's that other guy's fault.

 

There's a bit of truth in the data. Smaller cars typically have more injuries/more severe injuries than larger sedans. Of course, there's some causation/correlation mix in here as well. Smaller cars are typically driven by young inexperienced drivers and so of course the cars driven by that demographic do worse.

As near as I can tell, the way the current fit is designed is basically to use the whole car as a crumple zone, specifically in response to that IIHS video of the fit vs the accord. What that means is that really the car should be totaled in an accident rather than repaired, whereas with a larger car could more easily be repaired. So in that respect, the fit definitely loses in a collision. What's important to me is not if my car is ok though, its if I'm ok.

 

My biggest concern with the fit, or any other small, low car is a side impact, such as if someone ran a light and t-boned you. My concern is that my head/neck/chest is right about level with the bumpers of larger suvs and pickups :/

 

Just be wary of the idiots that drive those things, it is obvious that they have fears of being hit by something larger than what they drive and are concerned with comfort and safety more than driving... It is the American way, sacrifice your soul for comfort and safety and screw everybody else while talking on their cell phones.

 

Pictures like these from FF member "dsmwookie" showing the damage from a 50mph impact make me pretty confident in my Fit's ability to save me in a crash.

The car is so rigid that none of the windows broke, all the force was distributed so well that none of the body panels that were not directly involved even show a wrinkle or flaw related to the carnage up front.

And fortunately his wife who driving the car at the time sustained only minor injuries. In a 50mph T-bone accident!

 

What bothers me about the most about large heavy vehicles that sit high off of the ground is even those of us that drive smaller vehicles pay through the nose to operate our cars because of them... Think about how much lighter and more economical our cars would be if they weren't required to be able to keep you alive if one of the land yacht/garbage trucks were to hit you... The government allow lower standards across the board for trucks and most of the SUVs made here are trucks... The injuries to people and damage to property by these things account for a lot of the reason we pay such high insurance rates... They also are more destructive to road surfaces... I know I am ranting but, isn't it the fear of being killed or injured by a person driving a larger vehicle the reason a person would question the safety of a smaller car in the first place?

 

Honestly? I have no idea where I would sit on the spectrum of "safe" driving. I'm a rules follower, so I don't speed. I don't talk on the phone or text while I drive. I don't drink and drive. I don't tend to get road-ragey when some idiot does something stupid nearby. My dad taught me to wait until a vehicle's wheels turn before pulling out, even if the other car has its turn signal on, and I always check at green lights before pulling out.

But I've also never taken a defensive-driving course or been tested "in the field", as it were.

I guess I'd say I'm mostly worried about getting squished in an accident that I either didn't or couldn't have avoided.

 

There is plenty of reason to worry or at least be concerned enough to stay focussed on what can likely happen in a split second... Right now I have a knee brace on from an accident 39 years ago when a woman in a brand new Pontiac made a left turn against the protected turn on green arrow as I was entering an intersection in a VW Beetle.... I went to court to be sure she got what was coming to her and felt like I was seen as the guilty one because I was driving a small car... A semi pulling a 40' trailer of steel to my left hit her car just as she hit the left front of the VW as he was just shifting into 2nd gear and yet the charges against her were dropped... Sometimes there is nothing you can do when some people think that they can do whatever they want and are reinforced by a judicial system that doesn't work.... I have no ideas how many hundreds of thousand miles I have ridden on motorcycles but after bouncing off of three cars, flying over the length of one of them and walking away one night as a teenager, I decided that I would assume that everyone behind the wheel of a car was out to kill me and otherwise assume nothing else while on the road..... The woman in the Pontiac taught me that just because the traffic to the left of me was moving it didn't mean that someone out of my view wouldn't do something stupid...

 

So two things.

I used to own a 2002 CRV as well and loved it. The all-wheel-drive feature was truly a life saver. While I love my fit I do miss this feature. With that said a new fit does have VSA which I have heard is amazing as well when you lose traction (although probably not as well since it is 2wd when it kicks in vs. the 4wd that kicks in with the CRV). Other than that I love my fit.

I am a confident in the fit. Nothing about it worries me any more than any other 2wd car. I am also pretty confident in my driving as I have been driving over 20K miles per year for the past seven years without one accident. With that said, if we know we are doing a long drive with bad weather, my girlfriend does prefer to take her car as she complains that the light weight coupled with the height of the car result in the car getting pushed around in high wind. For the record she drives an 06 accord. I personally don't mind, but if you are less confident in your driving habits, the buffeting from the wind could be disconcerting for some.

On another note, if you are considering another volvo, realize that the company that made your '98 is a different company now. They are owned by Ford and their dependability has tanked. While looking for the fit I looked into buying a used volvo and my research came back rather negatively. Check out kellybluebook.com. On their sight you can look up a specific car, year, etc. and from there see professional reviews, and more importantly in my opinion, thousands of reviews from people who have owned the car. Overall the reviews I read led me to believe that newer volvos cost more than they are worth in the long (and short) run, while there older, ironclad ancestors were, and still are great.

Hope that helps

 

Sorry one other note:

If you are looking at the Acura MDX why not the Honda Pilot. They are the same car minus a few luxuries, a little extra power and a stiffer ride. My mother used to have an MDX while another family member had a Pilot both were equally comfortable, plus you don't need to put premium in the Honda.

As far as the CRV goes the new one is much nicer. I am 6' 2" and the fit isn't the most comfortable on long drives. I am saving up to put some civic seats in at some point. When I first got the car I quickly hated the seats due to long (400+ mile) drives I do frequently, but with time I am beginning to warm up to them. It is very subjective though. If I were to rate the comfort between the three I would say you pay for what you get. Obviously the fuel economy gets worst as you move up in size with these cars. If I could afford a more expensive car and the extra fuel I would have gotten the new CRV, but I do love the handling and versatility of the fit.