2017 Honda Fit EX Review

2017 Honda Fit EX Review - If the personal-transportation choices of Americans were based entirely on need as well as functionality, we would certainly have a much narrower spectrum of vehicles on our roadways. From the numerous models readily available currently, we 'd need merely four: 50-cc mopeds for solitary people, teeny five-door hatchbacks for couples, minivans for larger family members, and pickups for those who pack nail guns or aviator a Ditch Witch. In fact, we're very sure this is how they do it in Europe.

If they ever put us in charge, the Honda Fit will certainly be humanity's hatchback. Since it showed up on the scene in 2006, the fun-size Honda has actually been our reflexive referral for basically everyone on a budget plan, including the old lady in the footwear. To this day, this roomy, memorable dice has attracted 7 10Best trophies and 3 comparison-test victories. So its redesign for 2017 makes us worried. Can the new Fit potentially live up to the impalpable criterion set by the old?

2017 Honda Fit EX Review

It sits on a new platform, it's powered by a new engine rotating brand-new transmissions, and also it uses a make over. That last point, a minimum of, is a guaranteed plus. For the first time, appearances seem to have been a prime factor to consider in the Fit's style. As with the styling of numerous minicars, it's polarizing. Yet the past 2 Fits have not polarized anybody; they've looked dorky to everyone.



The 2017 Fit seems considerably larger than its predecessor, however it is actually the very same height, 1.6 inches shorter, as well as merely 0.3 inch broader. The engorged look comes from a substantially decreased glass-to-body ratio. The greenhouse is shorter, even if the auto itself is not. This gives the Fit a much more sizable appearance. And it is a lot more sizable, although only slightly. This car's curb weight of 2572 pounds is up 52 from the last Fit we tested. As for cars are concerned, that's simply water weight.

2017 Honda Fit EX Review

In spite of the small rise in mass, the vehicle sees huge gains in rigidness. It's still a spirited framework for an affordable stuff-shuffler. There's little roll, and also wheel and also body motions are well regulated even when you smack a mid-corner bump. Without a readily available back anti-roll bar like that on the outbound Fit Sporting activity, the 2017 design isn't fairly as neutral. Yet it's enjoyable, and also definitely than any of the missing cars that supply a Fit-sized interior at this rate. The rack-mounted electrical power-steering motor takes orders from a sturdier shaft; while a degree of feeling remains, it's a little bit muted and less immediate compared to in the past, as well as this flattens the fun on turn-in. Both the 0.79-g skidpad grip as well as 178-foot quiting range are average for its B-segment pal (Chevy Sonic, Ford Carnival, Mazda 2). Yet the brakes are activated by a pedal that is squishier compared to the last Fit's, once again sapping a touch of the old auto's appeal.

There's a color much less zeal underhood, also. While a lot more effective, the engine is missing out on the touch of rasp that advised its motorist of various other top-level VTEC errors. It still displaces 1.5 liters, yet that's about it for resemblances in between Fit engines brand-new and also old. Now it's stuffed with straight shot and double overhead web cams (where prior to there was port shot as well as simply one lobestick). In addition to i-VTEC's dual-profile intake webcam, the 1.5 packs VTC, or Variable Timing Control, which retards intake valve timing at reduced rpm and advances it at high engine rates. New oil jets cool the undersurfaces of the pistons, and the crankshaft has actually been lightened 27 percent through smaller sized journals as well as a 50-percent decrease in weights, from eight to four. An added 13 horse power and 8 pound-feet of torque, for totals of 130 and also 114, specifically, don't seem like much gain for all that initiative, but this is merely a 1.5. That boost in power as well as much shorter tailoring decrease the zero-to-60-mph time from 8.4 secs to 8.0. At 16.2 secs and 86 miles per hour in the quarter-mile, the Fit would certainly have outrun every automobile in our last contrast test of this class [" Appetizers," November 2011] Fuel economy with the hands-on hits 29 mpg city and also 37 freeway. Shifting largely at the 6800-rpm redline, we logged 30 mpg.



Getting those shifts is both a delight and a stress. The Fit lastly gets a long-overdue sixth gear, and also the shifter itself enjoys brief tosses and strict motions. However the clutch takeup is softer, more vague, as well as greater in the pedal's travel compared to the previous Fit's. And while there are 6 gears, sixth is the same proportion as the old fifth. There's no calming of the engine on the highway since the final-drive proportion is additionally the exact same. At 75 miles per hour, the Fit's four-pot turns a mad 3600 rpm. A Chevy Sonic turbo's total gearing in 4th has to do with the like the Fit's in sixth; at 75 in sixth, the torquier Sonic is transforming 1300 less rpm. The Fit is no noisier compared to a Sonic, even if the high-rpm buzz gets tiring in a way that reduced regularities do not.

Yet while the Sonic and also other schoolmates could test this brand-new Fit dynamically, the Honda is still in a league of its very own in regards to product packaging, generally due to the fact that its fuel container is still located under the front seats. Step within and you'll notice that its unanticipated combo of downtown-friendly impact and also Penske-van indoor volume has actually been considerably reapportioned. Honda extended the wheelbase 1.2 inches as well as revamped the back suspension with shorter trailing arms, so the Fit's rear seat is currently an astonishing 4.8 inches farther back from the front. That enhancement is awfully near to the difference between long- and short-wheelbase Audi A8s or BMW 7-series. Never mind the one-size-up Civic; the Fit currently has even more rear-seat legroom than the currently limo-like Accord. This is no much less of a miracle compared to the product packaging innovation that made the initial Fit such a favorite.

Naturally, there is a compromise. Honda netted more people space at the cost of cargo space. The quantity behind the back seat declines from 21 cubic feet to 17, delegating exactly what was as soon as the section leader to midpack standing. However going down the Fit's back seats develops a cargo hold that, while smaller sized compared to its precursor's (53 dices versus 57), is still larger compared to that of any type of competitor in our last roundup. It's greater than you'll discover if you fold up down the third row in a GMC Yukon. Unless your friends are mostly bags of mulch, though, it's difficult to check out the evasion of interior area as a negative. Particularly when there's still so much of it.

Yet it's not just much more sizable; this Fit takes pleasure in a significant uptick in material quality as well as layout. The doors and also dash brag elegant soft-touch panels; as well as matte-finish "fauxluminum" flourishes accent the dashboard, door takes care of, and also air vents. Together with the upgrade in appearance comes an upgrade in standard and available devices. Not that the new bodywork limitations presence that much, yet a rearview cam is common. Keyless-entry as well as -start and also-- finally-- satellite radio are currently optional. The base auto begins just $ONE HUNDRED higher, at $16,315. Fully loaded versions exceed the last generation by around $1000, however the extra material is worth it.


The brand-new Fit has us torn. Its side has been somewhat dulled, leaving the taking care of a little much less sharp and the engine note a touch less intriguing. The clutch takeup is muddier and also the brakes are a little squishier.

We despise to see a cherished vehicle even feint in the direction of vibrant mediocrity, yet at the very least the soul of the Fit has actually made it through. Its functional improvements are impressive, putting the auto even additionally ahead of its class. No one has yet matched the Honda's extraordinary convenience at this cost, nor has any kind of rival yet packaged anything remotely as useful atop a chassis that offers this much enjoyable for so little cash.

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