The Honda Fit may not be one of the most attractive cars, but it does offer plenty of quality for the price. Not only is the fuel economy impressive, but the availability of an electronic engine model means that those extremely green-conscious motorists like it too. The Honda Fit attempts to look sporty, especially with the Sport trim, but the overall selling point remains fuel economy and the large amount of cargo space.
New For 2013
Honda adds an all-electric Fit EV to select markets and replaces orange burst metallic paint with midnight plum pearl.
Exterior
The new 2013 Honda Fit remains virtually unchanged from last year in terms of exterior looks, but it still has an edge about its attractive exterior. The lines of the car look dominant and very sporty. It comes equipped with 15-inch steel wheels for the standard model and 16-inch alloy wheels for the Honda Fit Sport.
The Honda Fit includes keyless entry, and the Fit Sport includes the addition of fog lights, a rear spoiler, and some subtle sporty styling elements. The entire car is constructed of light-weight material to help it achieve decent speed and acceleration despite the relatively small engine size.
Interior & Cargo
The interior of the 2013 Honda Fit looks impressive enough, but it only uses average materials. One feature about the interior most people will automatically notice is the way in which Honda designs the windows. It has a small window where most cars have a piece of plastic. This increases the visibility the driver has while driving. This not only serves as a safety feature, but it adds a bit of something different to the Honda Fit.
The base comes with a four-speaker audio system while the Sport comes with a six-speaker audio system. Both feature an AM/FM/CD stereo with MP3 capability, a USB connection, and an auxiliary jack for audio devices. All models feature air filtration, air-conditioning, and cruise control.
Cargo wise, the Honda Fit has designed adjustments unseen in most vehicles. In tall mode, the person can take the back seats and place these up to allow for items to sit directly on the floorboard. With long mode, the back seats fold down to allow the person to place an item through the lift gate and up towards the front seat. The completely flat layout of the rear seats folded down means that cargo space tops out at 57 cubic feet. The competition can't nearly compete with this large amount of cargo space.
Safety
Safety features for the 2013 Honda Fit put this small car at the top of its game. It includes front and rear automatically tensing seat belts, which ensures a person stays in the seat safely should the car come to sudden stops or be involved in a crash. The stabilization and traction systems in place ensure the utmost control while driving. Airbags are located throughout the car, and these include the dual passenger and driver airbags, side-impact airbags, and side-curtain airbags.
The driver and passenger front seats provide whiplash protection technology in the headrests. An anti-theft alarm system, daytime running lights, and emergency braking assist also come standard.
The Fit comes equipped with anti-lock brakes and electronic brake force distribution. The actual structure of the car is built to take the blunt force of a crash in certain areas, which helps ensure the impact gets absorbed by the vehicle more than the passengers.
During government crash testing, the 2013 Honda Fit receives four out of five stars for overall safety, with four stars in most categories across the board. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) also crash tests the Honda Fit, giving it a perfect rating of ""Good"" for frontal-offset, side, and roof-strength tests.
Driving Experience
The 2013 Honda Fit comes equipped with a 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine that produces 117 horsepower and 106 lb-ft of torque. The standard transmission is a five-speed manual, but a five-speed automatic transmission can be added to any model as an option. The Honda Fit EV features an electric engine with a one-speed direct drive transmission that produces 123 horsepower.
In terms of fuel economy, the Honda Fit gets 27/33 mpg city/highway with the manual transmission. With the automatic transmission, the estimated fuel economy raises to 28/35 mpg city/highway. It speeds from zero to 60 mph in about 9.5 seconds, which is average for this class of car. This speed drops to 11 seconds when equipped with an automatic transmission.
The Honda Fit EV gets an estimated 82 miles on a full charge of the battery. The EV can speed from zero to 60 mph in about 8.5 seconds, which isn't incredibly impressive outside of the electric car segment.
The Honda Fit handles well with plenty of response to the steering wheel at low and high speeds. Parking is no problem as the car can fit into almost any parking spot out there. The available racing pedals make for a fun car to drive. Overall, the manual transmission offers the best performance, and the EV offers an electric car that looks just as impressive as the competition's new electrics.
Key Competitors For The 2013 Honda Fit
- Kia Rio5
- Scion IQ
- Toyota Yaris