What are you cross-shopping the Fit against?? Obviously the Xa and Xb, but what about the Mazda5 or Dodge Caliber? Are most of you older/younger/somewhere in between?? I'm thinking that with gas @ almost $3.00.gal, these vehicles will be pretty popular once they are "found out' by the general public. I'm concerned about HP/Torque and whether or not this vehicle will be able to handle longer road trips on the interstate w/ adequate power/refinement/ and low NVH. . . any thoughts??

 

Matrix, Corolla, Civic.

XA and Xb while being hatches are too buzzy and don't get very good highway mileage with the manual transmission. Hoping the Fit is much better (seems to be according to Daniel), and wishing there were more hatches to choose from. Do love the rear seat room in the Xb though.

Mazda 5 and Caliber use too much gas. The Mazda 3 is close, but you need a sunroof to get ABS, and the Hatch only comes with the larger engine. If the 3 hatch had the 2.0 engine that would be my second choice.

I don't think the general public will be too stunned when they "find out" about the Fit and see that it gets 2 mpg less than a Civic on the EPA hwy test.

HP should be fine for long trips, but the higher revving engine (with the stick - the auto is fine) and the lack of cruise in the base model may hamper things a bit. Driving it will be the test.

 

For me - Civic, Mazda3, tC, Mini Cooper, RSX, current-gen VW Golf.

Civic - nice, but a bit boring to me. The Fit is more unique.
Mazda3 - great driver, but Fit offers similar performance with better mpg.
tC - boooooooring.
Mini - great, but $$$ price and $$$$ to insure.
Golf - uninspiring performance, VW "reliability".
RSX - I wish I could afford it.

 

If the matrix 1.8 would be smoother I would have considered it. The 1.5 in the Scion Xb and Xa just stops pulling at about 5800 and the center dash sucks. These were my considerations until the Honda swept me away. The quick steering ratio sealed the deal. As long as the car drives like I hope, one will be in my driveway.

 

Toyota Yaris hatchback
Hyundai Accent SE

Maybe a Civic coupe

 

I'm coming from the opposite way --I have an xB, but I'm going to pick up my new Fit in about 30 mins. :) Coming from the xB, the Fit was the only choice that offered similar performance, price, and quality, and the only one I considered. I liked the xB a lot, but think the Fit will have more performance options available once they're on the market a bit. Also, the size is a bit smaller and I like that. Both are great cars, though, and similar in many ways -- definitely test drive both before making a choice.

 

It's a direct toss up between Honda Fit and Dodge Caliber, and I'm 21.

 

Before you buy that Dodge be sure and look at the Car and Driver comparison. The Fit beat it by a ton. The resale value will be nowhere compared to the Fit and if history holds you'll have a lot more headaches. Let's see Japanse made Honda that's in it's fifth year, number one seller in Japan last year weighted against a new first year model from Dodge. The sizzle may be with the Dodge, but the steak is the Fit.

Good luck, let us know what you decide. You'll look back on this decision in the future.

 

I'm 20, and decided on the Fit. I actually forgot to mention the Caliber, but that's because I haven't test-driven one. Agree completely with mauicedar - definitely check out that C/D comparo before you buy the Dodge. Definitely an eye-opening article.

 

I did read that, I bought it actually, but I make my own opinions based on my own test drives. Somethings could be argued not with just the Fit and Caliber, but also with the other vehicles. I have test driven 7 Calibers and waiting test drives on Fits. Both have options I want, but all don't occur in both vehicles.

Regarding Dodge and reliability, to each his own, all cars have their problems.

Things that are drawing me to the following cars, items listed in no perticular order:

2007 Honda Fit:
Price
Fuel Economy
Magic Seats
Reliability (Pretty much Given)
Electric Power steering

2007 Dodge Caliber:
Option:: Leather
Engine Temp Gauge
Color Key inserts
Option:: Driver Convience: Tire pressure monitor, Auto dimming rear view, outside temp gauge, compass, universal garage door opener.
Option:: UConnect
Heated Seats
Chill Zone: seems cool
Option:: Music Gate: seems cool

Now I need to stop by the Honda dealer and see what they have for a test drive...

 

I would say if there was any other car I would buy would be the VW Rabbit once it hits the US Market...

 

Another source you might like to check is Consumer reports best and worst used cars to buy. On Best used cars to buy there are nine Honda's listed and not one Dodge. On the Used cars to avoid there were 15 Dodges listed and one Honda the 99-02 Passport. If your car makes this list it's money out of your pocket, not to mention the extra trips to the service deptment.

Gotta question your comment, "Regarding Dodge and reliability, to each his own, all cars have their problems." Well Dodge seems to have 15 times the problems that Honda has.

 

i can't decide between the fit and the xb.

they drive about the same, they are pretty much the same size except the fit has a lot less leg room and no audio controls on steering wheel. people complaining about the center dash are just lame, it is great - easy to read and not distracting at all as oppose to the fit dash it was extremely busy and hard to find information you need and the blue light was extremely distracting and ugly and haunted the corner of my eye.

i find the xb to look a lot cooler and unique and i love the fact that so many people hate it, the color of the 3.0 xb is just beautiful in person. fit is a bit vanilla.

 

Thinking about a Dodge Caliber.
I own a 03 Chrysler PT Cruiser, thought to be the most reliable car Chrysler/Dodge sells. Every 15,000 mile it goes into the shop for a miss and backfiring. Twice so far. Airbag computer was replaced last year. Last week I had the A/C compressor replaced. It blew up under the hood spraying compressor oil all over the engine.
For a 4 cyl car it gets poor gas mileage.
I'm looking at maybe getting a Fit to replace the Chrysler beast.

 

I am cross shopping with a civic LE sedan which is less than a $1,000 differnce.

If NJ dealers don't come down in price from MSRP, I might have to go with the civic route.

 

Civic, Matrix, Yaris sedan, Xa and Mazda 3. Xa was the closest but the Fit won.

Civic - Cost.
Matrix - Too expensive
Yaris - Like the styling more but not enough room (two kids and my wife is 6'1" and she hit her head in the back seat)
Mazda 3 - Poor mileage and pushy salesman (actually said "at least it's not another Honda")!?!?!?
Xa - Fit had more room behind the seats.

Final decision was, is the Fit worth $1500 more than the Xa. Final answer was, yes, but not $2000 more.

 

Original Goal: something to carry my gf and our dogs in comfort and also able to get us to Tahoe in the winter (4x4).

Choices were:
Jeep Liberty 4x4 Sport (almost bought one but dealer did not honor price)
Used Audi Avant A6/Volvo v70 wagon (test drove an A6 avant. Nice interior just like my old S4 but wasn't as fun.)
FJ Cruiser (hard to find one at the dealer.)

I still have not been able to locate a Fit. But it's on the top of my list for now. I will probably place an order this week with the local dealer.

 

I actually use to have an xb traded "up" for a tc and I'm currently trying to find a white manual sport fit to trade my tc in for asap.. People don't understand why I'm trading "down", but I guess that's personal opinion..But seriously..it's a hon-duh / it's a wagon / it's got jdm parts. What more could you ask for <3?

 

Looking to get out of the Chrysler T&C we've had for 10 years. Don't think we need the cavernous space anymore as we are out of the stroller and diaper bag era.
We were looking at the RAV4 and the Caliber as we were sure we wanted AWD. The new RAV4 is very nice and rated 30 MPG highway but nearly twice the price of the Fit. The MPG and 21 cu. ft. behind the seats are hard to beat in this price range. The Caliber just didn't impress me in real life as it did in the magazines.
We also considered various Subarus but the MPG just isn't there. Same with the Mazda 5 wagon-y mini-van thing. (can't do the sliding doors any more either.)
If we suddenly fall into a big pile of cash, we'll buy the 7-passenger RAV4 4wd V6....
I think we'll forgo the AWD for the MPG!
My wife wants the black Fit, maybe because she used to have that black Civic Si...
I could go for any of the colors!