2007 Honda Fit: Honda's Luxury Econobox
2007 Honda Fit: Honda's Luxury Econobox
2007 Honda Fit
The maker of only highly efficient compact cars in the 1970s and 80s, Honda of America has transformed itself into a highly diversified automotive manufacturer. Honda has done so mainly with the broadening of the Acura range, several SUVs, and even a half-ton pickup truck. However, while their light truck sales have more than made up for it, car sales have declined recently. The Accord and Civic, while still hugely popular, simply face far more and much better competition than ever before. Can a five year old compact car help to bring Honda’s car sales back on track? Compared to its competition, it just might, and in a big way.
Many analysts, including this author, contend that Honda has missed the mark in the past few years by shunning the type of customer that once used to buy Honda products and now heads straight to a Korean dealership. Instead of light, nimble and highly efficient hatchbacks and small sedans, Honda has increasingly upped the size, weight and power of its two veteran models. This has left a large hole in the bottom of Honda’s lineup where vehicles like the Civic, and then the CRX, used to thrive.
A 2006 Civic, which was once one of the cheapest cars you could buy, now stickers in base DX trim at almost $15,000. Compared to Hyundai’s, Chevrolets and even Toyotas ringing in for thousands below that, Honda has lost many potential customers. A loaded EX tops out over $20,000 with navigation, well into Accord territory. With gas prices skyrocketing, it only makes sense for Honda to bring over their Fit, even though it’s mind boggling why they didn’t do this 3 or 4 years ago. A good possibility is that they waited until the 8th generation Civic debuted because they didn’t want to step on the toes of the 7th generation Civic. That’s a good indicator of just how good the Honda Fit is…or how bad the Civic was.
The 2007 Honda Fit goes back to the basics: lots of safety features, lots of content, great packaging, not much engine power, and a low price. What made the old Accords and Civics such dramatic successes is why the current Fit is the main reason why Honda’s sales rebounded tremendously in Japan, and (along with their new diesel) why they didn’t have to abandon Europe. The Fit comes in two editions, base or Sport. The base will probably sticker at around $13,000, while the Sport should come in around $15,000. For those prices, you get a phenomenal level of equipment. Both editions come standard with a 1.5L VTEC 4-cylinder that produces 109HP at 5800 RPM and a modest 105 lb-ft of torque at 4800 RPM. This will be routed to either a 5 speed manual or automatic. Honda quotes fuel consumption as 33MPG in the city and 38MPG on the highway.
Standard features on the base include front air bags with occupant detection, front side and side curtain air bags, as well as electronic brake force distribution (EBD). EBD automatically meters the amount of hydraulic pressure that goes to each brake caliper to ensure that the vehicle does not spin in inclement weather or when you’re carrying a heavy load. Brakes are modest in size and drum in rear, so performance will probably be mediocre but more than adequate for a vehicle weighing in at under 2500lbs. Suspension setup is par for the class, with Macpherson struts in the front and a torsion beam in the rear. Also standard is A/C with micron air filtration, power everything, and a 120W/4 speaker stereo. All Fits have an ingenious ‘Magic Seat’ for the second row that can be folded up and out of the way.
Step up to the Sport, which will probably retail for around $2000 more than the Base, and equipment becomes even more impressive. If you opt for an automatic, you get paddle shifters mounted behind the steering wheel. All Sports come with a keyless entry system with alarm, fog lights, full underbody kit and spoiler, cruise control with steering wheel mounted controls, a perforated leather steering wheel, and a 160W/6 speaker stereo with a 5 band equalizer and an MP3/Aux jack as well as MP3/WMA playback capability. There will be over 30 optional accessories available for both models, including shift knobs, interior trim pieces, and ambient lighting as well as Honda Factory Performance modifications.
The interior design is impressive, with blue backlit electroluminescent gauges, paddle shifters for the automatic on the Sport model, great ergonomic design, and rear seats that can flip and fold up. Sans the hard plastic and plain looking rotary dials for the climate control, the interior looks almost out of place in a car so inexpensive.
In its own right, the Fit is an impressive vehicle. It offers more features and interior size than previous editions of the Civic and Accord, and Honda seems serious about taking on Scion by offering many accessories. But how does it compare to its chief competitors, like the all-new 2007 Toyota Yaris and the 2006 Kia Rio5?
2007 Kia Rio
The Kia, surprisingly, is not a bargain compared to the all-new Fit. Starting at $14,050, cruise control is not even an option, nor is air filtration. Compared to a Fit Sport with its perforated leather steering wheel and body kit, the Rio5 looks shabby in comparison and isn’t any cheaper. Without these creature comforts, and also lacking any sort of occupant detection or EBD system, the Kia doesn’t impress as much as recent Hyundai/Kia products have. However, Kia does offer side and side curtain airbags as standard equipment. The Kia delivers 28MPG around town and 38 on the highway, falling far short of the Honda and Toyota’s frugality in the city. While the new Rio5 is a huge step up over the outgoing model, its interior is still typical Korean: lots of shiny colors, hard plastics, and rental car style. Outside, the look is generic and inoffensive but not without hints of style. The front end has an upscale, scaled down Buick Lucerne look to it, while the back end features taillights nicely integrated into the surrounding sheet metal. The Kia represents an extremely strong value in the segment, and what it lacks in refinement it makes up for in standard features and a long warranty.
2007 Toyota Yaris Sedan S
The Yaris Sedan, in Toyota’s current fashion, is very futuristic looking inside and out. The front end features their new corporate grille and high set headlights. The wheels are small and the wheel wells are perfectly sized for them, and the beltline is very tall. This gives the impression of much more mass than is actually there. The look is modern, if not a bit too modern, but is certainly not bland. On the inside, Toyota opted to stick with the central mounted speedometer that was in the Echo. The center stack, which includes the HVAC and stereo controls, is artfully designed and directly below the speedometer. In fact, sans the steering wheel, the interior looks almost entirely proportional. The sedan sports two glove boxes, the odd one being directly in front of the steering wheel. “Manual” operation is not available with the automatic, and the engine is a 1.5L VVTL-i unit that puts out 106 horsepower and returns 40MPG on the highway and 34MPG in the city with a manual transmission. The Sedan S, which is in most direct comparison to the Fit, retails at $13,325 for a manual or $14,050 with an automatic. This is directly in line with the Kia and the Fit, but what is missing is standard equipment. Amazingly, virtually no advanced safety features are standard. Options on the Yaris S include: ABS, side airbags, side curtain airbags, keyless entry, alloy wheels, fog lamps, ‘cold area’ package, power windows, locks and doors, cruise control, upgraded trim, and a tachometer. I would expect to see these features standard on one of the upcoming $10,000 Chinese cars, yet Toyota decided to make them optional on their $14,000 Korea fighter. But, thankfully, the Yaris S comes standard with an MP3 capable CD player, a folding rear seat, and a rear defogger. Yikes.
The Last Word
With their first dive into the entry compact car market since the CRX, Honda has seemingly hit a home run. With an amazing array of standard features, the Fit soundly trumps the Toyota and offers equipment and style that the Kia cannot begin to match. If Acura-esque electroluminescent gauges and a full underbody kit don’t sway buyers, the six standard airbags and EBD will. The Fit has more equipment than most mid size sedans for a bargain basement price, and will probably put Honda back on the right track in US car sales.
Additional Fit Pictures (All Fit pictures courtesy of Honda):