This is a car that’s been following me since 2011 as a daily driver, the Honda Fit. While not as sporty and attractive as other cars on this blog so far it has been quite the reliable car. Since 2011 it has never broken down and only needed routine checks.
Funnily enough this car does have some participation in motorsports. Ken Block took it for rallying and Spoon tuners in Japan tuned the car for endurance racing and but hasn’t won yet
A lot of people (me included) have been quick to label this car as “a tool to get from A to B and nothing else” but now, maybe this car has the potential to be more than that and that’s what will be discussed in this review.
Looks: 6/10
Now i don’t know about you guys but i feel this car looks better than the 2019 or 2020 model. It looks simple, economical and attractive at the same time, nothing like the curvy, futuristic look of the Civic or the 2019 Fit.
That said it isn’t the most attractive looking Fit, much less hatchback and i do prefer the older 2008 look.
After the facelift the rear lights got smaller and so did the reverse lights. On one hand it does look better giving it a slightly unique style but on the other hand it makes it harder to see. And based on experience, after 5 or so years, one of the brake lights constantly falls off.
From the side, the car looks a lot like average hatchback with a pointed nose and rear that drops off into the abyss. Quite the average design except for the unsightly antennae on top of the car. Now i know that with modern technology antennae on cars are basically obsolete but back in the early days without Bluetooth you needed this. Still, it does ruin the image of the car a little.
Modability: 7/10
Now this being a Japanese car which has it’s roots in tuner culture you would’ve guessed that this car could be modded.
And you’re right.
In the Fit’s case, the RS version is special. Mugen (one of the tuning companies for Honda) got their hands dirty and tricked out the Fit, adding a rear diffuser, a rear wing, whited out the lights, added a new front bumper with an additional grille and changed the rims and brakes. That’s not to say only Mugen did this.
People would usually tune the RS model and do all sorts of things with it. Body kits are ample and options are limitless. Just about any mod that can fit a hatchback can fit on this car.
One of the most famous examples of modding a Fit is Spoon which took their Honda cars out for endurance racing.
Any JDM fan would know of Spoon because they have tuned cars like the Honda Civic and the Honda S2000 and secured wins with them on many occasions. As for the Fit, they took a base model 2007 Fit, stuck the iconic Spoon yellow and blue wrap, swapped the rims, added a rear lip for downforce and new front bumper to suck air into the engine.
They have made the Fit from a boring car to a track winning monster and it shows.
Engine: 6/10
For a city dweller and for road trips this engine does just enough to get by, but when it comes to performance, oh God…
The Fit has two types of engines, a 1.3 litre i-VTEC or iDSi 4 cylinder engine making about 112 horsepower and the 1.5 litre i-VTEC or iDSi 4 cylinder engine which makes 120 horsepower all which came in either 5/6 speed automatic or 5 speed manual. Basically the rest of the world could choose between the 1.3L or 1.5L engine or whether they wanted it V-TEC or non-V-TEC which basically meant that they could add some sort of pleasure when they drive. But both Brazil and Singapore got the short end of the stick.
We weren’t given any choice and were forced to have the 1.3 litre iDSi 4 cylinder engine for environmental purposes. No wonder the 0-100kph time was so slow i could have gotten out of the car, taken a piss and come back by the time the car reached 100.
But did that stop tuners from making the car more fun? Nope. Spoon beefed up the 1.5 litre 110 horsepower iDSi engine by adding a new radiator coupled with a new thermostat.On top of that they replaced the clutch plate and pressure plate for custom Spoon ones. Swap in a MoTeC engine management system and a dose of Octane beefs up the horsepower to 120. Not much but enough for endurance racing.
All in all, even with V-TEC, a city engine is a city engine made for reliability and not fun. It doesn’t break very often unlike the rotary of the Mazda RX-7 FD. But its still a pretty useless engine when asked to go up steep slopes and mountains due to the sheer lack of horsepower.
Practicality: 8/10
A good effort from the designer of this car, they really did try to capture the “Small is the New Big” slogan, although some of it fell short.
The interior looks… alright. It’s not particularly luxurious which is a downside for a city car where the main selling point is comfort. The front seats have some legroom but not a lot. The back seats have little legroom and if you’re 179 cm tall, it’s a bit difficult to slip both your feet in between the seats. The car seats 5 people which is pretty standard for a city car.
With the seats up you get 388 litres of boot space which is very spacious for a car this small. Pop the seats down and you get a whopping 833 litres! that’s way more than a ford Fiesta ST! Very practical for hauling big stuff from IKEA or bringing your big dog to the park.
You do get the standard infotainment for 2010 with the radio, aircon, USB connectivity, TV and a cigarette lighter. But strangely enough, no satellite navigation so you have to either spend more money for a GPS or drain your phone battery using google Maps. This has been fixed with the latest version of the Jazz though.
Compared to my family’s last two cars, the Kia Rondo and an old gen Toyota Camry, this car has the most mediocre ride. It doesn’t bump as much as the Camry but at the same time the suspension isn’t as soft as the higher up Rondo. Also, whereas the Rondo was a 7-seater, both the Camry and the Fit are five seater so when my relatives come over we do have problems fitting 7 people inside. Both the Camry and the Fit’s ceiling is low so my head would bounce of the ceiling from time to time, a problem if you’re 179cm tall. Doing jump in this car would’ve snapped my neck sideways and i will be positively dead.
As for the Mileage, the car does 28 MPG in the city and 35 on highways which is not bad for a car that size. I would’ve thought the car had a slightly better MPG considering the version we have is more eco friendly.
Overall pretty impressive in terms of practicality, but not the best.
Price: 10/10
Of course being a street car they did have to make this car affordable for businessmen and families.
Since this car is out of production i could only find the prices of used Fits but i know that my dad bought the car for around SGD70,000-80,000 including COE which is very affordable considering the exorbitant amount cars in Singapore tend to be priced at.
The car has depreciated a lot over the years and it’s relatively cheap even in Singapore
In America you can get one of these for half the price of a Lancer Evo X which is crazy cheap for an economy car.
This car also makes for a good project car because not only is it very cheap, it’s very modable and trackable and it has a cult following so if you have time, set up a car meet for modded Honda fits and you’ll make lots of friends.
Overall:8/10
Back in 2013 when i settled into this car, i thought this was probably the worst car ever made but looking back, i knew my dad made the right decision to buy this car.
He was never a car guy so the fun factor was never there. the car gave him what he needed and that was to go from point A to point B without breaking down or causing him problems. Alas me being the car guy of course i just felt to this day that there was that ache of not being able to have fun with the car bone stock.
So, will this car ever be a car that will be more than “Just a tool for going from A to B”? Probably not in my family’s eyes, but for me it damn well can be.
Thomas' car reviews 