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Our first look at the Honda Fit comes via what appear to be brochure scans. Between the gauge cluster indicating both an automatic (CVT?) gearbox and some kind of hybrid system, along with the Tomica-esque styling, fans of the simple first and second generation cars are sure to have a Fit. Honda is said to be gunning for the Toyota Aqua (Prius c in North America) and its fuel economy crown in Japan. The newest Fit, which will be hecho en Mexico for North America, won’t be officially revealed until this fall’s Tokyo Motor Show.
20 Comments on “Honda Jazzes Up The Fit...”
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They’re claiming 36 km per liter on the hybrid version of the Jazz/Fit in the JTM test, enough to beat the Aqua/Prius c (35.4 km/liter) by a hair.
That translates to 84 mpg in US terms if I’m doing the math right (and I’m still on my first cup of coffee here, so I may not be), but it seems reasonable to say that the EPA ratings won’t be anywhere near that. The US-market Prius c is rated at 53/46.
Is it just me, or does the left rear appear to be a 12-inch wheel leaning at a 45 degree angle. It may just be the beer…
I think it’s a photo of a printed brochure, and the page is curling away from the camera a little.
Hopefully, they’ll fix the positive camber on the rear wheels. Or maybe it’s the secret to better fuel economy by lowering cornering speeds.
Nostalgic… reminds me of torsion bar Beetles on a lift.
photo distortion I would guess
Despite the high praise for this car I passed up the chance to get one and bought a Mazda 3. The Fit is just too dang slow, the manual shifter feels like a rubber band, and the interior looks like a badly drawn japanese spaceship. And dont get me started on rear drum brakes.
Besides cost(I guess that’s the case, but it seems so few vehicles come with drum brakes these days), drum brakes contribute to the fuel efficiency of the vehicle however small it might be. I think this advantage is not only because the drum brake does not drag on the surface of a rotor but is also more aerodynamic.
This makes sense on a car like the Fit were fuel efficiency is the name of the game and the driver is more concerned with maximizing that mileage (as anybody who gets stuck behind a hyper-miler in the left lane is well aware of)
Every rear disc brake setup also has drum brakes inside, for e-brake. Eliminating those sure cuts costs, possibly weight too.
My daughter bought a Fit a couple of weeks ago, and it also came down to Fiesta vs. Fit after Accent, Versa, Yaris and 500 fell by wayside. The diffirence was minute, but according to her Fit’s interior was “obviously better designed”.
The Fit is ONLY drum in the rear, which is just plain cheap.
What advantage would there be to rear disk brakes for this particular car? You might as well put a spoiler on a Model T for all the performance benefits. Its a cheap slow car.
Frankly I consider the drum issue way overblown for cars this light. You could possibly see it on a track, and not on every one either. I remember well how 1G Neons came with both drums and discs in the rear, with ACR and R/T having discs. The difference was ZERO at AutoX.
I can see why a Mustang or Camaro might need rear discs, but this is Fit we’re talking about. Did you even see the car on the street? For the reasons of having an effective parking brake, drums are way better in this application.
“Every rear disc brake setup also has drum brakes inside, for e-brake.”
Some do, some don’t.
I have never understood the stated need for rear disk brakes in a lightweight commuter. Give me disks all around on my sports car, but I will take the lower price of rear drums on my commuter.
My wife’s Honda Jazz ( same as the Fit ) is 18 months old. The manual gearshift is one of the best in the class and the car is really fun to drive. I agree the interior styling is weird, but the practicality is unbeatable , the reason we bought the car. As for the brakes, never bothered me. Stopping power is ok for wife level speeds.
There are more interior pics at http://www.hondasacuras.com/2013/07/2014-honda-fit-interior-images-leaked.html. The RS specs confirm that the automatic will get a CVT (at least in Japan). You didn’t think they were going to beat the Prius C in fuel efficency with a 5 speed did you? Honda definitely wants the Fit to take back the top-selling crown at home in 2014.
It looks like they may have sacrificed rear cargo space for aerodynamics, unfortunately. The Fit is (was) one of the last hatchbacks that’s not crushed at the rear to improve fuel efficiency.
Exactly. Kind of subverts the raison d’etre of a hatchback.
Disgusting to those of us who’ve loved the utility of hatches since the 80’s.
WTF is this?
I’m glad the back looks nothing like any Volvo.