My Honda Accord was on it’s way to car heaven. It has served me well. I bought it in Sept 1999, brand new. 2000 model year Accord Coupe EXV6. It has been with me through a wedding, first home purchase, move from east coast to west coast and back, two kids… and now after 10.5 yrs, it’s being replaced.
So what to get? I’m much more practical today then I was in 1999. While in 1999, it seemed ok to spend 50% of my annual salary on a car, in 2010, there wasn’t a chance of that. Granted I make more now, but I wasn’t even interested in spending as much as I did for that Accord.
I needed to find a car that fit my lifestyle, father of 2, 100 mile round trip commuter, triathlete. So I poured through reviews and narrowed my choices to low $20k’s – VW GTi, Toyota Matrix, and Mazda 3, as well as the $17k Honda FIT. When all was said and done the FIT still came in $6k to $8k cheaper, so FIT it was. I went in for a test drive (at Boch Honda – while not my favorite place in the world, they do have great pricing) and loved it. I had driven one in the past, so I knew what to expect but wanted to reassure it. Reassured I was. The zippy little FIT is way more car than it seems. I bought it. 2010 FIT Sport Automatic (with F1 inspired paddle shifters!).
I went to the test drive in the Accord, and Boch took the trade in, and set up the purchase right then and there. 2 hrs later we were driving home in the new FIT. And I only came in for a test drive…
I’m 6’1.5″ and I fit (no pun intended) perfectly in the car. Lots of driver leg room, head room, shoulder room. Both my kids fit in the back, my daughter in her forward facing car seat, and my son in the baby carrier. No problem. In fact, with my drivers seat in my comfortable position, I was able to fit behind my setup – proving that this little car can easily carry four 6′ footers. A side trip to Costco on the way home utilized the trunk space. Again no problem with space. So now we had 2 adults, 2 kids, and Costco in the trunk (something like 7000 diapers, 42lbs of oatmeal and various other things…).
I’ve driven to work once so far and it’s a blast to drive. While it’s slightly underpowered (117hp, VTEC 4 cyclinder), a tap on the paddle shifter to drop it a gear allows quick lane changes/passes with ease. Road noise is slightly higher than I’d like, but with the radio at my normal listening volume, it’s not noticeable at all. Radio off you can hear it, but it won’t interrupt your conversation.
Lastly – how will it fit into my tri lifestyle? The answer – Perfectly! At my height, I ride a size 56 bike and the seat is pretty tall – I was worried the only way to get the bike in there would be to lay it down, compromising room for all my other gear (helmets, clothes, beer). Not so! There is enough height I can stand it up, with the front wheel off, leaving ample room for gear. And if that weren’t enough, I can even put up the larger of the 60/40 rear seats and still have a bike in there plus a passenger in the back. Perfect. Though I haven’t tried it, I’m convinced I could get 2 bikes in there no problem.
So here are my findings.
Pros
- Stereo sounds great
- Unbelievable amount of space – biggest little car out there.
- Nimble handling
- Sport mode/paddle shifters
- MPG’s (38 or so highway!)
- Aux input AND USB/iPod interface, CD/MP3/WMV
Cons
- Slightly louder, but what do you expect from a little engine like that?
- No center console (available aftermarket)
- Lacking in lumbar support
- No floormats standard (Ordered some OEM’s already though… $72 online)
Conclusion. It is by far the best car in it’s class. And Car and Driver agree. They’ve named it into their annual 10Best Cars special again! It’s roomy, it’s sporty, it’s fun. The shortcomings are so small, that they don’t even matter. You have plenty of room for 4 adults or a family of four. Or bikes. Or surfboards… I’m very happy with my purchase, and at $16,255 and 0.9% financing, it can’t be beat.
