i came from a 06CivicEX sedan AT... so FitSport with 5MT is better. :)

 

I too had an 06 ex sedan before going to the rabbit and THEN to the fit.


I could go quite a bit longer on a single tank of gas than i could on the fit for obvious reasons.

The fit does handle better though, if only a tad. The civc grips harder, the fit has better body roll control.

I like the interior of the fit better as well, (i had a black ex, and back in 06 you could only get the ivory interior. Looked nice when clean, but when it wasn't...meh not so great. Had it had the gray interior i would have liked it more.), and i like the fact that the steering wheel is leather wrapped. (the ex civic i have always felt should offer this.)

 

congrats on the pickup. i'm stuck on between the two (civic lx sedan vs fit sport both manual) and created a similar a while ago and am going to swing by the dealer to test drive both next week. i might make a move this month.

what made you choose the fit over the civic?

 

The Civic feels lazier to me. Bigger, less rev-happy engine despite more power. Also, you really can't beat the utility of the hatch and the Fit is a more unique ride.

Oh, and every part of the Civic just screams "trying too hard". The weird shape, squinty headlights, crazy dash, etc.

 

I drove an 08 Civic coupe and an 08 Fit back to back. Both were manual.

The Civic had more power and low-end torque. It's quieter. Otherwise, I came away with the impression that it's "just a car".

The Fit: Wheeee!!!

'nuff said

 

I'm out of the dorms ("residence halls" we were supposed to call them) for a while now, but while there I made tons of use of the storage space in my Subaru GL-10 wagon. If I was in your position, I would prefer the relatively cavernous and versatile rear of the Fit over the Civic, and for that reason I would recommend it. However, both are excellent cars.

Myself, I seriously considered a Civic SI - I thought I would like the coupe better, but it turned out I preferred the 4-door SI for normal driving. But in the end, not only was the Fit a better deal for me, and it can transport more oddly shaped things (it's our only car, so that is a priority), but it also turned out I enjoyed driving the Fit more than any of the Civics.

Ask Omar, now at Lucas Honda (last I heard) but then at Coggin ( I do NOT recommend shopping at Coggin, and I was very happy with Lucas). I drove him all over in each of the Civics and the Fit base and sport.

 

I'll go you one better... the 08 Sport Fit vs the 08 Civic Si Sedan.

First off, off the lot, the Si only costs $25 more a month on a 36 month lease. That's it. For $6K more car. This is due to the lease rate incentives in Canada right now (3.5 on the Fit, 1.5 on the Civic).

I drove them both last night, twice, as did my wife.

She wants the Si, I want the Fit. We'd both be happy with either.

Previous car history for me though is a 95 delSol VTEC, 98 Prelude SH, 97 delSol VTEC, 2000 S2000, 95 Integra GS Auto, 92 MR2 Turbo (heavily modified), 92 Civic Hatch (VX model, prepped), 97 Type-R, and a 93 BMW 318is. (Hey.. it was $1500) I do most of the work on my cars, I've swapped engines, full suspensions, etc...

I'm trying to be more practical now (as you can see by the car history, 4 two seater cars, well 5 the way the civic is setup right now). She misses the Type-R. As do I at times, it's a brilliant car, but ours was getting a little tired and I bought it used and during the engine rebuild before I bought it, a GSR crank was used in place of the ITR crank which impacted a hobby of mine and I didn't want to put more money into a 10 year old car.

The thing is, that Si is no Type-R. I found the Si pretty gutless. Keep in mind, I'm evaluating it on being the high perfomance Civic in a Honda lineup with no RSX or Integra anymore and it's disappointing. VTEC hits and I hear the sound but don't feel the "surge". The seats are great, I like the dash, but yeah it's no where near as versatile. Performance isn't anything to really write home about (anything over 7 seconds 0-60 is 'meh' territory). But I also know with a few bolt ons, this car would come alive for me. (I have a motorsport "background" so street driving does't turn me on much). But then I'm putting more money into the car.

I dunno, can anyone come up with an convincing argument for the Si?

This is Canada, Toronto, Civics are the best selling car here. They're made here (and it'd be nice to support the locals.. hell I have friends that work at the Alliston plant). But they're everywhere.

The Fit isn't as common, is better for the environment, the wallet and was fun to drive. Sure I can't just have fun with my right foot with it, but it corners like it's on rails, the steering was more direct and the braking was equal to that of the Si. Which actually wasn't all that great, but a decent set of carbon pads will fix that in 10 minutes.

At the end ofthe day, I'd be shocked if we put more than 12K on the car in a year. She commutes to work most days on the Go, I work at home. But still the insurance, gas at current rates, small monthly payment difference, lack of $1K Government rebate has the Si costing about $150 more a month to operate.

Meanwhile the Civic has no security system, no aux input on the stereo and is a high theft risk (though not so much with the immobilizer equipped civics). Both are 5 star crash ratings, both have 6 airbags and the passenger position sensor. But I can put a couple of bicycles (intact) into the fit. I can put all but 2 feet of a Kayak in there!

I had basically sold myself on the Fit before driving it (that was my goal.. to make sure the car made sense on paper first and if I liked driving it, done deal.. rather than using a test drive and that adrenaline or whatever to cloud the financial issue... more practical approach right? I didn't actually expect her to really care for the Si. I was more satisfying my curiosity and I expected to be a little underwhelmed (I mean.. it's almost 3000lbs people!) and she did enjoy driving the Fit, but she felt a bigger connection to the Si... But with the number of comments of people moving from 06-08 Civics (non-si) to a Fit... I wonder if they all had that feeling too in the beginning and then after a while discovered the car doesn't have much personality.

My wife is crazy right? (She says she feels more comfortable in the Civic (as it would be more similar to all our previous cars than the Fit)... and I admit, the vertical driving position is a little odd at first, but getting in and out of the car is easy (I'm 6').. and it wasn't bad in the Si, but it did require a little more hunching.

Thoughts? (We're talking the Si Sedan here!) Maybe I'm the crazy one?

 

Actually it's not...it rates a 0.49 on the SMOG INDEX where a new 2008 vehicle (AVERAGE) is 0.38...it doesn't even meet average smog standards. Which is not very good.

Interestingly enough...it does get a SmartWay rating on the EPA site though. So I don't really know what to say overall...they've made it SO confusing an issue that it's hard to really understand if you doing a good thing or a bad thing by buying a particularly "clean" car.

 

I'd go with the Fit...save the money and go on a nice vacation. The SI did nothing for me. It feels short on gears, too busy and will get tiring to drive after a while. It doesn't have that youthfulness of the Fit either. The Fit is, let's admit it, abit of a hooligan car. And it's for a younger crowd. I'm pushing 37 and while people are all getting TT's, G37s, BMW's and Benzes, I couldn't give a rat's ass about those cars. They bore me to tears.

The Fit reminds me very much of my late 1987 VW GTI...quirky, quick, snappy, very fun and youthful. That car re-energized me every time I drove it (well..most of the time).

Maybe I just don't want to grow up:) But seriously...I can't stand the cars people my age think they should...obnoxious, pompous cars.