2018 Honda Fit EX Review

2018 Honda Fit EX Review - If the personal-transportation options of Americans were based exclusively on requirement and also usefulness, we 'd have a much narrower range of vehicles on our roads. From the hundreds of designs available currently, we would certainly require merely 4: 50-cc mopeds for solitary individuals, teeny five-door hatchbacks for couples, minivans for larger families, and pickups for those that load nail guns or aviator a Ditch Witch. As a matter of fact, we're pretty sure this is exactly how they do it in Europe.

2018 Honda Fit EX Review

If they ever before placed us in charge, the Honda Fit will certainly be humanity's hatchback. Because it appeared on the scene in 2006, the fun-size Honda has actually been our reflexive referral for practically everybody on a spending plan, including the old lady in the shoe. To date, this sizable, bodacious dice has drawn in seven 10Best prizes and also 3 comparison-test victories. So its redesign for 2015 makes us worried. Can the new Fit perhaps live up to the untouchable criterion set by the old?


It sits on a new system, it's powered by a brand-new engine rotating new transmissions, as well as it wears a face-lift. That last point, a minimum of, is a precise and also. For the very first time, looks appear to have actually been a prime consideration in the Fit's design. Similar to the designing of many minicars, it's polarizing. Yet the past two Fits haven't polarized anybody; they have actually looked dorky to every person.

2018 Honda Fit EX Review

The 2018 Honda Fit EX seems a lot larger compared to its precursor, however it is actually the exact same elevation, 1.6 inches much shorter, as well as simply 0.3 inch bigger. The engorged appearance comes from a significantly lowered glass-to-body ratio. The greenhouse is shorter, even if the automobile itself is not. This gives the Fit a more considerable look. As well as it is more sizable, although just somewhat. This automobile's visual weight of 2572 extra pounds is up 52 from the last Fit we tested. As far as vehicles are worried, that's merely water weight.

Even with the small boost in mass, the vehicle sees large gains in rigidity. It's still a playful chassis for an economical stuff-shuffler. There's little roll, as well as wheel and also physical body movements are well managed also when you slap a mid-corner bump. Without a readily available back anti-roll bar like that on the outgoing Fit Sport, the 2018 model isn't really quite as neutral. However it's fun, and certainly compared to any one of the missing vehicles that offer a Fit-sized inside at this price. The rack-mounted electric power-steering electric motor takes orders from a sturdier shaft; while a degree of feel remains, it's a bit low-key and also much less instant compared to previously, as well as this squashes the enjoyable on turn-in. Both the 0.79-g skidpad hold and 178-foot stopping distance are ordinary for its B-segment cohort (Chevy Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2). However the brakes are actuated by a pedal that is squishier compared to the last Fit's, again sapping a touch of the old vehicle's charm.

There's a shade much less zeal underhood, too. While a lot more powerful, the engine is missing the touch of rasp that reminded its driver of other top-level VTEC screamers. It still displaces 1.5 litres, however that has to do with it for similarities between Fit engines brand-new and also old. Now it's packed with direct injection and also dual expenses web cams (where before there was port shot and simply one lobestick). Along with i-VTEC's dual-profile consumption web cam, the 1.5 packs VTC, or Variable Timing Control, which retards intake valve timing at low rpm as well as advancements it at high engine rates. New oil jets cool the bottoms of the pistons, and the crankshaft has actually been lightened 27 percent through smaller journals and a 50-percent decrease in counterweights, from eight to four. An extra 13 horse power and also 8 pound-feet of torque, for overalls of 130 and 114, specifically, do not sound like much gain for every one of that initiative, but this is simply a 1.5. That boost in power and much shorter tailoring decrease the zero-to-60-mph time from 8.4 seconds to 8.0. At 16.2 secs and 86 miles per hour in the quarter-mile, the Fit would have elude every automobile in our last comparison examination of this course [" Appetisers," November 2011] Fuel economy with the manual favorites 29 mpg city and also 37 highway. Shifting primarily at the 6800-rpm redline, we logged 30 mpg.

Getting hold of those shifts is both a delight as well as an irritation. The Fit lastly gets a long-overdue sixth equipment, and also the shifter itself appreciates short throws as well as limited movements. Yet the clutch takeup is softer, a lot more obscure, and greater in the pedal's travel than the previous Fit's. And while there are 6 gears, 6th is the same ratio as the old fifth. There's no calming of the engine on the freeway since the final-drive ratio is additionally the very same. At 75 mph, the Fit's four-pot turns an unbalanced 3600 rpm. A Chevy Sonic turbo's general tailoring in 4th is about the like the Fit's in sixth; at 75 in 6th, the torquier Sonic is turning 1300 fewer rpm. The Fit is no noisier compared to a Sonic, even if the high-rpm buzz gets tiring in a way that reduced frequencies don't.


Yet while the Sonic as well as other classmates might challenge this brand-new Fit dynamically, the Honda is still in a league of its own in regards to product packaging, mostly considering that its energy tank is still positioned under the front seats. Pointer within as well as you'll observe that its unanticipated combo of downtown-friendly footprint and Penske-van indoor volume has been drastically reallocated.

Honda extended the wheelbase 1.2 inches and upgraded the back suspension with shorter trailing arms, so the Fit's rear seat is now a remarkable 4.8 inches farther back from the front. That improvement is awfully close to the distinction between long- and also short-wheelbase Audi A8s or BMW 7-series. Never mind the one-size-up Civic; the Fit currently has even more rear-seat legroom compared to the currently limo-like Accord. This is no much less of a wonder compared to the product packaging advancement that made the initial Fit such a favorite. Certainly, there is a trade-off. Honda netted even more people space at the expense of freight space. The quantity behind the back seat declines from 21 cubic feet to 17, delegating just what was once the sector leader to midpack standing. However dropping the Fit's back seats produces a freight hold that, while smaller sized compared to its predecessor's (53 cubes versus 57), is still bigger compared to that of any sort of competitor in our last roundup. It's more than you'll locate if you fold down the third row in a GMC Yukon. Unless your friends are primarily bags of mulch, though, it's hard to view the evasion of indoor room as a damaging. Particularly when there's still so much of it.

However it's not only a lot more sizable; this Fit enjoys a marked uptick in material top quality and style. The doors and rush boast luxurious soft-touch panels; and also matte-finish "fauxluminum" flourishes tone the dashboard, doorway takes care of, and also air vents. Together with the upgrade in appearance comes an upgrade in basic as well as available tools. Not that the new bodywork restrictions exposure that much, however a rearview video camera is standard. Keyless-entry as well as -start and also-- lastly-- satellite radio are now optional. The base car starts simply $ONE HUNDRED higher, at $16,315. Fully filled designs outmatch the last generation by around $1000, however the additional content is worth it.

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

We hate to see a beloved vehicle even feint towards powerful mediocrity, yet at least the soul of the Fit has endured. Its functional enhancements are exceptional, putting the vehicle even additionally ahead of its class. Nobody has yet matched the Honda's incredible versatility at this rate, neither has any competitor yet packaged anything remotely as valuable atop a chassis that offers this much fun for so little money.

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