Honda Has a Fit While the Honda Civic has never shown a big thirst at the gas pump, its ever-increasing dimensions (and price) have squeezed it out of the entry-level market. Korean-built subcompacts have eagerly filled the void, hungry for the chance to secure new customers. And then, of course, Scion arrived in 2004, changing the rules in the entry-level market entirely.
Enter the Fit, which burst onto the U.S. market in 2006. First introduced in Japan, some 250,000 were sold there in 2002, which topped the country's sales charts. Just 35,000 examples of the Fit have been allocated yearly to American Honda, and 27,934 were sold over nine months in 2006.
Pricing for a base-model Fit starts at $14,445 and includes a full complement of safety features and most of the available convenience items. We tested the Honda Fit Sport, more fully equipped and vastly more popular as well. For $15,765 our Fit Sport features 15-inch alloy wheels carrying 195/55HR15 tires, cruise control, keyless entry, foglights, aero-style bodywork trim and a better stereo with an auxiliary input.
Every Fit features a 16-valve DOHC inline-4 with Honda's step-type VTEC variable valve timing, and the engine develops 109 horsepower.
Scion, You Crazy Diamond
As a branding exercise, the Scion experiment has been a huge success. Out of nowhere Scion has become the No. 1 Internet brand, with 80 percent name recognition among online shoppers under age 35. Even so, only 28,033 examples of the Scion xA were sold in 2006, less than half the number of Scion xB sales.
As a result, Scion has decided to renew the entry-level Scion's identity at the same time that it renews the hardware, so the xD has appeared. Banished is the anemic 103-hp 1.5-liter engine, and it's replaced by a 128-hp 1.8-liter mill with variable valve timing for both the intake and exhaust cams. The xD also makes side airbags standard, not optional as they were for the xA. The tires have grown to 195/60HR16s, and electronic stability control is available as an option. Features such as cruise control and keyless entry are now standard.
Standard content costs money, so a 2008 Scion xD will cost more than an xA when it goes on sale in August. Exact prices have not yet been announced, but expect the price of the xD to begin at about $15,080. Of course our test car had the optional stability control, a stereo upgrade and illuminated door sills, so we believe its as-tested price sits around $16,368, give or take a bit.
What Counts Is What's Inside
The Honda Fit and the Scion xD rest on nearly identical wheelbases, some 96.5 inches for the Honda and 96.9 inches for the Scion. Their other dimensions are also nearly the same, with the Fit measuring 2.7 inches longer while the Scion spreads 1.7 inches wider. These cars are both 60.0 inches tall.
Both of these front-wheel-drive cars have transverse four-cylinder engines. Both have strut-type front suspension. Both have a twist-beam rear axle (think of it as essentially a huge stabilizer bar with the wheels mounted on the ends) that helps to lower the height of the floor in the rear of the car even as it creates a void for a spare tire.
Honda even improves the Fit's space-efficiency by locating the fuel tank under the front seats. As a result, the floor height goes down farther still, enabling the second-row seatbacks to fold forward all the way into the footwells, creating a dead-flat loading floor and 41.9 cubic feet of cargo capacity. The seat bottoms can also be folded up to meet a normally positioned seatback, creating a "tall mode" suitable for standing a bicycle up in the backseat. In comparison, the Scion affords 35.7 cubic feet once the conventional split-back folding seats have been laid down.
The Honda Fit Sport offers 90.1 cubic feet of passenger volume and the Scion xD has 84.5 cubic feet of living space. In our experience, a wide variety of body shapes can find a comfortable fit behind the wheel of both cars, perhaps helped by the high hip point for the seating position. The Honda Fit's driving position and control layout did seem sized for smaller drivers, though, as the steering wheel fouled the knees of our tallest driver and the pedal action seemed designed for drivers who sit very close to the steering wheel.
Which One Is Go, Again?
Although we had VTEC-inspired expectations of extreme performance from the Fit Sport, our Honda hatch proved loath to accelerate without judicious rowing of the five-speed gearbox. This 16-valve DOHC inline-4's 109 hp and 105 pound-feet of torque aren't quite enough to move this 2,472-pound box smartly enough to make highway merges and passing maneuvers a matter of routine.
The Scion xD has 128 hp and 125 lb-ft of torque underfoot, so it moves out with much less fuss, despite weighing 2,615 pounds (143 pounds more than the Fit). Daily driving proved to be far less of a stress test, and fewer downshifts were required to summon up speed at the right moments.
At the test track, all this boiled down to an 8.4-second run to 60 mph in the Scion xD, compared to 9.0-second acceleration to 60 mph for the Fit.
Fuel economy laurels go to the 2007-model Fit, but just barely. At first the Fit's rating of 33 mpg city/38 highway seems to trounce the 2008-model Scion xD's estimated 27 city/33 highway. But don't get all excited. Once you convert the 2007 Fit to the new 2008 EPA methodology, the Honda's rating changes to 28 city/34 highway, just 1 mpg better than the xD.
Road Manners
Agile handling is one of the Fit's strong points, and our nimble 2,472-pound test car felt light on its Dunlop all-season feet. The Fit's electric power steering didn't seem to compromise steering effort or feedback from the tires.
Our track tests bear out the Fit Sport's edge in agility, as its 63.3-mph slalom run and 0.81g skid-pad performance were a bit better than the Scion's efforts of 61.1 mph and 0.78g.
But at higher speeds on the open road, the Fit felt a bit too eager to change direction and it acquiesced to the whims of crosswinds and passing big rigs. The Fit's firm suspension also transmitted too many details of the road's texture to the interior, and the car frequently felt somewhat tense or even nervous and could have used a little more straight-line stability.
The xD has a different vibe altogether. Its steering response is sedate, although not sluggish. The electric power steering doesn't deliver a natural, transparent feel, and there's too little natural realigning steering torque. But the Scion almost always feels solidly planted on its Bridgestone all-season tires. It's calm and stable at freeway speeds, with better mastery of road imperfections than the Fit and good straight-ahead sense.
Safety Dance
On the safety front, both the Honda and the Scion stack up well. Both have standard four-wheel ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution and the Scion adds brake assist if it senses a panic stop. At the test track, both cars stopped equally well from 60 mph, with the Fit coming to a halt in 122 feet and the xD stopping in 123 feet.
With the Fit, Honda has made a point about "Safety for Everyone," committing itself to providing even affordable cars with the best safety technology available. What this means for the Fit is lots of safety as standard equipment, including ABS, front-seat side airbags and curtain-type head-protection airbags for both front and rear passengers.
Scion's xD ups the safety ante a bit more. It offers the same airbag count as standard equipment, but then adds active front headrests, outside mirrors with turn signals, and optional stability control.
Practicality: Say It Loud
Based on our analysis, the price difference between a similarly equipped Honda Fit Sport and Scion xD will be minimal. Our estimated price for this 2008 Scion xD test car is $16,368, just $603 more than this 2007 Honda Fit's sticker price of $15,765. If you assign a price of $650 to the xD's optional stability control (its price in a Toyota Corolla), the difference between these two cars evaporates.
When all is said and done, neither of these four-door economy hatchbacks is a bad way to go. The 2007 Honda Fit Sport seems the more practical of the two, with fractionally better fuel economy and huge cargo space. Its agility is a plus, too.
But the 2008 Scion xD is the one that comes out on top for us. With just enough power to deal comfortably with traffic, a more refined ride, a longer list of standard convenience and safety features than the Fit and the availability of stability control, the Scion xD is the best package for us.
hahah u tellin me the xd looks damn sexy?? hell yes modified it CAN but stock for stock no fawkin way....
if u find that nice u must find the aztec to be best ever!!!!!!
You can say what you want about the Aztec, but collector car genuises say the Aztec will become one of the must have collector cars in the future. Where as other SUV's like the Toyota Highlander will become a thing of the past.
an Aztec as a must have? what idiot would pay close to 6 figures decades for now for that thing? yea other suv's will become a thing of the past only because, unlike the Aztec, their still in production
So the brand new Toyota is better than the half-a-decade old Honda Jazz/Fit? If you don't mind the looks of the cars and want a micro MPV, I can recommend the discontinued Yaris Verso over the Fit. I just saw a Honda Jazz on my local streets for the first time a few days ago - the sales number for that car have been 0 here every year since it came out in 2002 for a reason. It might be a decent car for elderly people who have problems stepping into a lower car and don't want to be seen, but pretty much any micro MPV beats the old Fit nowadays.
And is "magic seats" a marketing gimmick for telling that the seats fold up? It is nice if you want an easy way to store your rollator, but I will equal that with features like extra bottom and the flash-light in the Verso.
The new xD on the other hand. It sure has a look that splits the mass... like the new Civic, now that's a great design from Honda!
The xD is starting to grow on me. I do like it, of course I liked and still do the previous xA as well. The FIT is well...not that great looking IMO but whatever!
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So the brand new Toyota is better than the half-a-decade old Honda Jazz/Fit? If you don't mind the looks of the cars and want a micro MPV, I can recommend the discontinued Yaris Verso over the Fit. I just saw a Honda Jazz on my local streets for the first time a few days ago - the sales number for that car have been 0 here every year since it came out in 2002 for a reason. It might be a decent car for elderly people who have problems stepping into a lower car and don't want to be seen, but pretty much any micro MPV beats the old Fit nowadays.
We only get the Fit here in Canada. Not the other two in which you recommended and for a good reason because they're both FUGLY as hell. And you shouldn't even be driving in the first place if you're old and senile. The majority demographic of Fit owners I have seen around my area have been in their early-20s to mid-30s. Just reading the words "pretty much" and "beat" in the same sentence show that you clearly have no true grasp on just what constitutes a true automotive comparison....beats the Fit in what? Sales? Interior volume? Performance numbers? Resale value? Reliability ratings? Or maybe internet popularity vote which is what it seems like you're after
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Originally Posted by Lasse D
And is "magic seats" a marketing gimmick for telling that the seats fold up? It is nice if you want an easy way to store your rollator, but I will equal that with features like extra bottom and the flash-light in the Verso.
Magic seat is just a marketing term Honda dubbed the Fit's interior seat with. The rear seats fold up and then some. You can fit a tandem bicycle in the fit with room to spare. Very practical, eh?
You fail to differentiate the difference between a true engineering marvel in design in which Honda was able to achieve a perfectly flat load floor. Let's see the xD do that. You're telling me that a damn flashlight can compensate for numerous flexible seating and storage arrangements like this?
Please
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lasse D
The new xD on the other hand. It sure has a look that splits the mass... like the new Civic, now that's a great design from Honda!
The xD, like the xB, has a love it or hate it design, I personally hate it. The Civic I could care less for. The Fit is a solid do-it-all subcompact which I would not hesitate to purchase as a second car.
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Originally Posted by TURBO Das Automagazin
A BRZ, a curvy mountain road makes one liter of happiness hormones.
Not the other two in which you recommended and for a good reason because they're both FUGLY as hell.
"Fugly"? The Verso isn't the most beautiful car on the roads, hence my "If you don't mind the looks of the cars". It happens a lot that very practical cars are ugly, such as the Fiat Multipla (where Honda has a version that is much more appealing to look at). I would rather have "ugly" than dull. The Hondas Jazz is simply put the dullest micro MPV out there, and seats that fold down or up is a common feature. You can fold the seats down in the Verso as well, and turn them up to give a larger trunk - it was cool in 2000, the standard now.
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And you shouldn't even be driving in the first place if you're old and senile. The majority demographic of Fit owners I have seen around my area have been in their early-20s to mid-30s.
And in England many Honda owners are old, especially the ones that own a Jazz (or the last generation Civic which shares the same lack of flair)
Quote:
Just reading the words "pretty much" and "beat" in the same sentence show that you clearly have no true grasp on just what constitutes a true automotive comparison....beats the Fit in what? Sales? Interior volume? Performance numbers? Resale value? Reliability ratings? Or maybe internet popularity vote which is what it seems like you're after
You don't have to become personal in order to get your point through. Regarding you questions: Renault Modus, Fiat Idea, even the Peugeot with the awkward doors beat the Jazz when it comes to what cars in that class are all about: practicality and use of interior space. It is called evolution.
The Jazz was an engineering marvel in 2001. The other car makers have learned and moved on.
Quote:
Magic seat is just a marketing term Honda dubbed the Fit's interior seat with. The rear seats fold up and then some. You can fit a tandem bicycle in the fit with room to spare. Very practical, eh?
[pictures]
Yes. It's very practical that seats can be folded down, up and even be taken out, which is why we see it in most small cars nowadays. We saw small cars using seats that could be moved around already in 1999 where the Yaris had folding down rear seats that could be liftet up behind the front seats and give a large trunk with a flat floor (and with a flat floor I mean flat, not just with the parts aligned like when you turn the front seats backwards in a Jazz)
By the way. It isn't smart to store stuff on the fabric of the seats like that. I prefer to tilt them forwards and let the cycle rest on the back of the seats (still using a carpet of course)
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You fail to differentiate the difference between a true engineering marvel in design in which Honda was able to achieve a perfectly flat load floor. Let's see the xD do that. You're telling me that a damn flashlight can compensate for numerous flexible seating and storage arrangements like this?
Please
The only thing with those seats that you don't see everywhere else is that the pillows fold up so that you can get something large in the middle of the car. I can't say that I have ever needed to do that, which is why I equal it with other gimmicks. If you love going on camping trips, I'm sure the flash light will come in handy (and get lost), and if you have free sprinkler fluid, I'm sure the heated washers on the Yaris will be great.
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The xD, like the xB, has a love it or hate it design, I personally hate it. The Civic I could care less for. The Fit is a solid do-it-all subcompact which I would not hesitate to purchase as a second car.
Good for you. It seems like you have a great need for the extra space between the seats.
Yeah.. you guys have to realise. Over in NA, Hondas are associated with ricers and kids. Over in UK, Hondas are basically our Toyotas - boring (except the Civic Type R), sensible and perfect for retirees. Hell, Jeremy Clarkson showed a group of oldies a Honda Element. Over here, Honda sees the Element as the vehicle on a cali beach with a surfboarder and a hot surfer dude.
When JC showed them the Element, they loved it lol.
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2010 Prius Technology Package (Cdn)
OEM Cargo Mat, OEM All-Weather Mat, LED ext/int lights, 5000K HID, OEM Fogs, Euro Mudguards
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