I would agree about the air conditioning, it's a common complaint, and the overall light weight feel of the car, but as for the body damage you have, all I have to say is, 'what the hell did you do to your car?!' I had my xB for two years and not one scratch, swirl, ding, dent, crack, broken body part/latch, etc. -- nothing. You can't fault a car for not holding up to an accident and say it's cheaply made. And any car these days has plastic bumper covers, side sills, etc., Fit and Versa included. Also, having done 100+ in the xB, and seen others hit 120+ with FI modded xB's, it's more than stable at high speeds, in my experience.

BTW -- not meant to come across as being a jerk, I'm just amazed at the amount of damage you have considering it's very rare to hear complaints about body work/finish of the xB, aside from the usual paint gripes most cars get.

 

Like others have said, the xa is a better comparison due to the body style.

But if you wish to compare the xb to the fit..
Handling: Stock for stock, the fit will handle a little better than the box. Not due to the shape of the box, its really not top heavy (i autocross), but the Fits set up from the factory is a little more suited for corners. Mod to mod, its really hard to say. Aside from some Spoon videos, i haven't seen the Fit in action yet. I hope this year i get to meet a modded Fit owner at an event and see what happens.

Price: Both are excellent prices. You really can't compare so much because it just depends on what you are looking for. The xb might be more practical for some, and for others it might be the attraction that its a Honda. Personally, i love the Fit. But when it comes down to a tight budget, someone might feel the Xb wins this comparison.

Performance: Stock for stock, very close. The Fit weighs slightly more than the xb, and has only 1whp more than the xb..Unless you go by SAE ratings alone. Have to see a Fit vs. Xb to really say.

Interior: Personally, i think i like the Xb's dash better. But overall, both are really good for the price your paying. The Fit definitely feels more expensive inside than the box does, i don't know about rattles but mine does with the set up i have. Doesn't bother me too much though, again, all subjective to opinion.

In the end, both are great cars. But until we see some Fits vs. Xb's or Xa's at the track, its really hard to judge in terms of performance.

 

Thats the only compaint i have in terms of body, very cheap clearcoat/paint. The paint itself is great, its mostly the ultra-thin layer of the clearcoat used. But, what can you do. And yes, xb is very stable at high speeds. I've had mine up to 118mph (n/a) at a road course once, very firm.

 

Yeah, I'd love to see this myself. Don't know if any boxes autox/track around here, but the one day I took mine last year I got the VIP treatment, so I assume not many, if any. With a baby on the way and a new house, too, my chances for track time are nil this summer I think, so no chance to run against one even if there was.:(

 

Well thats good and sad! Congrats with the baby, haven't gone down that road yet, don't think i will be for a while but a new baby is definitely higher up on the scale than autocross...Unless you can do both. :cool:

Hopefully i will have a chance to run a fit this year in the autox season, i'd love to see how the two cars compare head to head, especially being in the same class. First time i took my xb out to the course, i was made fun of till i came in 2nd in the class. 6 out of 8 wins later, i think i've earned some respect in the Atlanta/Gwinnett area. heh.

 

so at lunch i was able to test drive a base auto fit and then an auto xb on the same loop... here's my observations.
base auto fit: seating position very similar to my subaru forester which is fairly upright compared to most vehicles but not as upright as our element. out of the dealership i noticed the peppy off the line pick up (similar to our auto element too). it's a very rough road before we get to the highway but the fit seemed to deal with the bumps and road noise very well. up the long ramp onto the highway the throttle response seemed to be average as is i didn't really notice any severe lag. merging onto the highway felt very similar to driving our element, when you step on it there's some get up and go. i noticed the rpms and wind noise at around 65-70 and it was they were definitely acceptable (around 2500-2600 rpm). on the corkscrew off ramp the car definitely hugged it... i could see where the fun factor comes in here...
so then off to the scion two dealerships down. i was able to do the same test drive loop for comparison and i highly recommend doing this if possible...
so yeah the xb sat upright like the element. the seats seemed to be more supportive too and then of course there is the illusion of more room due to the corners being pushed out... so out of the dealership this time i noticed the lag of the auto... it didn't "jump" off the line like the fit. the xb handled the bumpy road similar to the fit. now on the long ramp to the higway is where i really noticed the different throttle response of the xb... half way up the hill i checked to see if the ac was on because that's how it sort of felt power-wise... i was pushing the accelerator more towards the floor than in the fit and when the gears finally did shift it didn't seem to help. getting on the highway was actually a little scary... i didn't have as much faith in this as the fit. when on the highway i noticed more road noise along with higher cruising rpms (around 3000 at 70 mph). the other thing i noticed at this point was that it was windy. i guess i didn't notice the wind on the highway 10 minutes earlier with the fit. getting off the highway and onto the offramp the xb cornered almost identical to the fit, no big difference there... after the drive the sales person opened up the back and folded down the seats... i don't know but now that i've seen how clean the seats fold in the fit everything else looks like an after thought as with the xb.
so what was my conclusion?
that test driving is fun.
also that the honda fit is the way to go for me.
suprised?
i didn't think so.
have fun out there everyone and test drive cars at lunchbreak!
HONK!:)

 

Thanks, it's my first! I know exactly what you mean about waiting, and definitely advise to do it at whatever point it feels right later on. As for autox, yeah, it'll be there next year, and I got GT4 in the meantime. :o BTW, the track here has a sweet new karting setup, so maybe in a few years we'll start a new future karting champ.

 

Here's the latest Google Alerts for the Fit. Some of these writers are sounding like political pundits. Stodgy Bloomberg article doesn't think small cars will go over with the younger crowd or pudgy Americans in general. As usual, though, the Fit stands out from the competition.

Google Alert for: Honda Fit

A Fitting Spot for Honda
iMedia Connection - Dana Point,CA,USA
In this Creative Showcase, RPA's synchronized roadblock ad campaign for the Honda Fit lets users toy with the car's insatiable appetite for cargo. ...


Kids Will Say `No Thanks, Dude' to Subcompact Cars
Bloomberg - USA
... Those who study generational trends in the auto market say they think new models like the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris, selling for as little as ...


This Honda's especially Fit for an era of high gas prices
Boston Globe - United States
... But don't mistake small for cheap and boxy, particularly in the case of today's test car, the 2007 Honda Fit. It is priced at $14,000 ...

 

what's bloomberg smokin' considering how well scion has done.

 

Look at these crash test results.... I know the bB and JDM FIT are
not the same as xB and USA FIT, but still....

Just another thing to consider....

http://www.nasva.go.jp/mamoru/english/2005/as105.html

 

wow - very cool list. good way to see what's on japanese market too. of course the fit in that test lacked side airbags but i'm still surprised at how much better than fit the totota ist (scion xa) and Bb (xb) performed. of course, in america the insurance institute's side impact test simulates being t-boned by a big suv, which obviously is not the method in japan.

 

Which is exactly why I bought one =) But then again, it's always a matter of opinion.

I didn't like the Fit at first, but it grew on me. Eventually, my gf and I took one for a test drive. The material quality and construction is a bit higher than the xB, but its not as spacious as the box. The one thing I did notice is how solid the car was, it felt like being inside a mini-mercedes. You guys out there will def enjoy this ride. I just hope the gf will get one soon...

 

Naw, I'm not offended. heh heh, that is cute you could be a concerned social worker for abused Scions. My car DOES need more nurturing and I'll be taking it in soon for some work. Meanwhile, I need to buy a second car for our family.

Let's see damage report on my ScionxB:

• my scion had a nightime break in and the would be thief broke apart the area around the ignition, now the turn signal doesn't work

• after parking in a public garage I found a one foot long x 6" wide sideswipe and 1" deep dent along the lower right side from a driver who must be a bit parking challenged

• in fact, I had the entire back was replaced after I stopped suddenly for an elderly couple crossing the street and the van behind me rammed into the Scion at around 45 mph

• now the back handle is broken, not sure why, but, my partner knows more about that than he is telling, ...something about loading a heavy object into the back

You are totally right. None of these I consider problems particular to the Scion. Damage happens.

But, the outside panels not fitting together, now that just seems odd to me. Maybe that isn't the best description. It looks like if I pushed they would snap back into place, but this hasn't worked. As the car looked like this from early on I assumed it was a problem common with Scions, (but, maybe I just have a cursed vehicle that answers to the name Lucky)

I did suspect that affordable cars were now all plastic, thank you for confirming. tch-tch, sigh.

I do find that it is easier to scrape the bottom sides of the xB as the car body is lower than most. But, as to all the other dings and scratches, what you call paint gripes; I agree, they aren't unique to a Scion.

As to my test drive on the Fit, the only thing I really didn't like was the back windows were heavily tinted, so it was hard to see traffic in the rearview mirror. I guess I could change my driving style and rely more on side mirrors. Or find a car without a tint, if possible. The salesman didn't respond to this. I would love for the drivers seat to be adjustable.

I am, however, finding I want a peppier car. It kinda of spoiled the experience that I was driving a fast accelerating Saturn Ion rental just before the test drive. So, I will be heading over to Mazda or Kia next.I'm taking recommendations if anyone has any...

 

sorry but xB does not get the airbags... ive been wanting the xB for sometime now... but the fit really caught my attention due to more flexibility and while i love the center cluster most of u dont i find the guage area of the fit much nicer. however the radio looks very complicated which looks nice but might become a hazard like on certain high-end beamers. they are both good but the fit wins in many more catagories while the xb although rated with the same interior space as the fit seems to have much easier reach around, in the sense of open rear hatch! im voting fir for now... but to compare u must take in maintanace... the fit if im not mistaken usestiming belts, the xB uses a timing chains, which by personal experience dont need service unless u can hear them ready to break. the timing chain could last 200,000 miles yet to be proven by personal exp. beacause my toyo truck with 100,2** miles has a timing chain and the toyota maintanance depo. doesnt even have timing chains on any schedualed maintanances. so the maintanace may become expensive on one or the other which may come into consideration. how much would a timing chain cost to replace i dont kno. maybe it breaks even with the times it took to swap the timing belts? after this u must take into consideration that most toyota engines last at least 50,000 miles more than the average honda... beacause my truck has a predicted life time of 300,000 miles while an accord may be predicted to last just over 200K miles.. any thoughts on my thoughts are welcome

 

The Fit's VTEC engine uses a timing chain, not a belt.

 

wrong its a belt, honda doesnt normally use chains.

 

I thought honda was moving towards chains and the Fit had one.

 

no honda from what i understand prefers belts for the quieter ride and easier maintanance, such as the front wheel drive, which is also an easy maintanace way to go.

 

plus its easier to tune up a timing belt driven engine. such as the spoon racing fit.

 

Look in the JAZZ/FIT Shop Manual, the VTEC L15A uses a chain for timing the cam. What is refered to as a timing belt is outside the engine (the fan belt).