Up Close: 2009 Honda Fit

Update: If you're coming here from another site, we've recently reviewed the 2009 Fit and have a lot more information available at this link.

In person, the new Fit looks a lot like the old Fit, but with a longer and more gradually sloping nose. The base of the A-pillars are farther out in front, which puts them more in your line of sight. They're not too thick, though, and Honda put small sail-shaped windows between them and the front of the door. It looks a bit peculiar from the outside, with the windows extending even farther past the front doors, but it helps with visibility.

The burning question here is how large the new Fit is, especially compared to the Nissan Versa, which owes its success, in part, to its greater size. At 6 feet tall, I fit in the Fit's backseat, where legroom has improved but still doesn't seem to match the Versa's. Cargo capacity, however, is impressive. In addition to a cavernous cargo hatch, the backseat offers a good deal of versatility. The 60/40-split backrests fold forward in a single step. You can also raise the seat cushion, giving a super-tall space between the floor and ceiling, similar to the backseats of some pickup trucks. There's even a storage box inside one of the seat cushions that’s accessible from its underside.

Sometimes when automakers shorten a seat's cushions to make it fit into the floor (or put a storage box in it), the seats end up being less comfortable, but this one seemed fine to me ... albeit for a minute, not an extended drive. 

The front seats are plenty roomy and the overall quality is good. I don't think it's markedly better than the current-generation Fit, but that car already leads the competition, in my opinion.

Related:
Honda Bringing New Fit to New York Auto Show

Honda Bringing New Fit to New York Auto Show

The 2009 Honda Fit will make its debut at the New York auto show next month. We’ve already seen what the Fit will look like, as it debuted in Japan last year, but we‘ll still have to wait until the New York show to get more specifics, especially regarding mileage and when the new Fit will go on sale.

You can check out our original report here, and we’ve reposted the photo gallery of the Japanese model below.

Recall Alert: 2007 - 2008 Honda Fit

Honda is recalling up to 34,000 Fits from 2007 and 2008 due to a faulty sensor that’s intended to detect children in the front passenger seat. Honda has found that road salt mixing with melting snow can put young passengers in danger.

Basically, salty water tracked into the car on boots and shoes during the winter can leach beneath the carpet and corrode the wiring for the occupant detection system. If the wiring severs, the car can no longer tell if a child is in the seat and will deploy the front and side airbags in an accident — a legitimate danger for small children.

The recall is in effect for all models registered in the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

Honda Recalling 34,300 Fits (NHTSA via Autoblog)

All-New Honda Fit ... in Japan Now, U.S. Eventually

Today, Honda debuted the all-new, redesigned Fit compact car you see above —and in a photo gallery below. Not only that, but the new Fit goes on sale in Japan today. Don’t expect the new Fit to make it to the U.S. anytime soon, however. We don’t think it will take as long as it took the last-generation Fit to reach these shores, but don’t expect a redesigned 2009 Fit in the U.S. until late in calendar 2008 — we’d guess September, since that’s when Honda likes to spring new models on us (see the last Accord and CR-V).

Even with U.S. specs and interior pictures — these are all right-hand-drive models — unavailable, the Japanese versions seen here will be remarkably similar to what we’ll eventually get. There are two engines, 1.3- and 1.5-liter four-cylinders, but what comes to the U.S. may be a different story. Tell us what you think. Is this a big upgrade from the current Fit, or do you like the old look?

Redesigned Honda Fit Coming Soon

We were a bit surprised to hear word this morning that Honda will unveil a redesigned Fit subcompact this fall in Japan. The Fit has only been on sale in the U.S. for the past year, but has been sold globally much longer. In fact, Honda also announced the Fit has sold 2 million units worldwide since its introduction.

The big question is when Honda will bring the redesigned Fit to the U.S. since it took so long for the original to reach our shores. Increased interest in fuel-efficient cars will most likely force the next Fit to come to America quickly, possibly debuting at one of this year’s major auto shows in L.A., Detroit, Chicago or New York as a 2008 or 2009 model.

Honda to Roll Out a Redesigned Fit (The Detroit News)

Honda Fit Wins MotorWeek Best of Year Award

MotorWeek, the long-running PBS show, today announced its 2007 Drivers' Choice Award winners, naming the Honda Fit as the Best Small Car and the overall Best of the Year. MotorWeek, a Cars.com partner, is produced by Maryland Public Television. The Fit marks a repeat win for Honda, whose 2006 Civic won both of these awards last year. None of the 2006 models that won a Drivers' Choice award were honored this year. The winners, listed below, represent a diverse mix of American, Asian and European brands. Cars.com is the exclusive online home of MotorWeek's comprehensive video reviews.

Best of the Year.........Honda Fit

New Crop of Subcompacts Crash-Tested: Nissan Versa Wins, Most Others Lose

Today, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released its first study of the new crop of “mini cars” like the Chevy Aveo and Toyota Yaris. Its findings are quite damning for many of the models and the organization prefaces the entire study with the fact that overall crashes involving mini cars are twice as likely to result in death compared to midsize and large cars. This surely falls in line with the laws of physics, but it’s still jarring to read.

The IIHS tested six new mini cars and the Nissan Versa — somewhat larger but often considered in shopping comparisons, including Cars.com’s. Only the larger Versa received the IIHS’s highest ratings in all three crash tests. Two other cars — the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit with optional and standard side airbags respectively —  received the top grade of good in front and side crash tests, with the Yaris rating a marginal score and the Fit a poor score in the rear crash test ratings. The Yaris without optional side airbags — a $650 option — received the worst side impact rating of poor.

Honda Sport CR-V and Fit Sport Extreme Concepts

Honda handed brand-new cars to various aftermarket tuning houses to show off what someone could do to the company’s new Civics, Fits and Elements at this year’s SEMA show, but we’re only interested in what Honda wants to do to these vehicles. I guess we just don’t want to get our own hands dirty. To that point, the company debuted two concepts we think have merit and could enter the lineup relatively soon.

Suburban Dad: Rally Impressions

Earlier this month, the Cars.com reviewers brought me along to an otherwise journalist-only rally where they got an early look at dozens of new car models. They wanted to get some thoughts on new cars from a typical suburban dad, and they wanted to see what I’d consider buying for me, my wife or my teenage kids. These writers aren’t having kids yet and they’re pretty jaded about getting to drive the latest and greatest cars. I’m not. Here’s my take.

Four Will Enter, One Will Leave: The Final Two

Our first installment pitted the all-new Suzuki SX4 against the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit and Hyundai Accent. We put the Accent and SX4 to pasture in round one, leaving the Fit and Versa to duke it out. Who’s the last man standing? Read on.