A new member of the family: 2007 Honda Fit

[Ecky]

My partner's Ford Focus recently went to the scrapyard in the sky due to rust, so over the weekend we drove below the salt line and picked up a "new" car: a 2007 Honda Fit 5MT with 194,000 miles.




Some fun bits for those who've never been in one:

It's only 3 inches longer than my Insight, and 0.5 inches less wide. Despite this, the interior is cavernous. It appears Honda made the doors much thinner so as to make the interior wider. The seating position is very upright, and unlike many newer cars, there's a lot of glass and great visibility. The seats are where this car's real trick is:

(Please forgive the use of stock images)








With the rear seats down and by laying diagonally, we were both able to nap in the rear hatch area with legs fully extended, and the area is perfectly flat.

~

The Fit is relatively light at ~2450lbs and has a 1.5L engine with a very modest 109hp. The ride is mostly quiet, aside from the rather buzzy engine when rev'd. No rattles or buzzes from interior pieces. Handling is tight and fun. Suspension tends toward stiff.

The part everyone on this site probably cares most about though:

On our trip back up from North Carolina, she averaged 42.5mpg for the first tank with an outside air temperature of ~80, a target speed of 65mph and continuous use of air conditioning. Tires appear to be LRR but are not a name brand, and were pumped up to 42PSI. For comparison, I averaged 82mpg driving next to her in my Insight with the A/C off and the windows cracked.

Her second tank was spent traveling mostly up the northeast. Air temperature was ~35F, the roads were wet and we did a lot of mountain driving. During this stretch she averaged 40.5mpg, while my Insight dropped considerably to 62mpg.

I'm willing to bet that at lower speeds, breaking 50mpg is very achievable with this car.

I don't expect to do significant mods or keep track of every tank - it's her car, after all - but I'm hoping to replace the missing engine belly pan and do a full tuneup. The engine sounds great, but I want to check valve lash anyway. Aside from oil changes, the only work it's ever had done was the A/C condenser, so I plan to change the cabin and engine air filter, spark plugs (still on the originals!!!), serpentine belt, trans fluid, and check the brake and clutch fluid. The headlights need a polish and I'll probably want to replace a lot of bulbs with LEDs.

[Stubby79]

Good choice! (One of few cars I like and approve of)

Arrg! It has 1 horsepower more than I do in my "new" Echo! (But you're also 300lbs heavier)

Those seats look potentially useful.

[California98Civic]

I love this car. It is one of the few cars on my "dream list"--specifically the 2007. That one was before the damned TPS mandate in the USA. Have you thought of trnasmission swaps for taller gearing? Too soon. I would be curious about the Civic Hybrid gear box and whether there is any chance it can bolt on. PaleMelanesian found that the wheelbase dimensions of the Fit were the same as the 4th gen Civic Wagon. Great car. Taller rim/tire combo!!

[Ecky]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

I love this car. It is one of the few cars on my "dream list"--specifically the 2007. That one was before the damned TPS mandate in the USA. Have you thought of trnasmission swaps for taller gearing? Too soon. I would be curious about the Civic Hybrid gear box and whether there is any chance it can bolt on. PaleMelanesian found that the wheelbase dimensions of the Fit were the same as the 4th gen Civic Wagon. Great car. Taller rim/tire combo!!

Thought about? Heck yes. I believe 5th is a ~0.7 ratio, whereas the auto has a top gear of ~0.5. I think this car would be phenomenal with a top gear similar to the Insight's. Unfortunately, not my car. Perhaps if the engine fails and the rest of the car is in great shape I'll look into swapping the trans too.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Those first gen Fits are great cars! Are you planning on calculating any speed vs. mpg data? Would be interesting to see...I've heard that it's MPG is similar to the Civics overall, but that it kills the Civic in city driving due to its light weight, but that the Civic beats it on the highway due to much better aerodynamics.

[Ecky]

I would like to. We still have snow on the ground here though, and that's not when I'd like to do that comparison.

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

That one was before the damned TPS mandate in the USA.

Had not realized this was a legal requirement south of the border. It explains why more of our vehicles have it than they used to, though it isn't a requirement up here.

I don't think it's a bad thing, since most owners don't pay their vehicle any attention, let alone checking tire pressure. Out to prevent the average joe from pissing away fuel needlessly because they're driving around on under-inflated tires.

It is sad that people need these aids though...and that they have to be forced on them. People as a whole are irresponsible.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Stubby79

...It is sad that people need these aids though...and that they have to be forced on them. People as a whole are irresponsible.

I like safety features too. But the data is also presented stupidly. I wouldn't mind as much if my wife's 2010 Subaru gave the data on exact pressure. But all it does is turn on the TPS warning light. The threshold to trigger it seems to be 50 psi, but the LRR tires I bought her are 51 PSI. Exact same tire brand/model as the OEM, but the LRR version. The rated PSI goes from 44 to 51 for the LRR (which tells you a lot about how good the LRR compounds really are).

Swapping rims is more difficult too. You gotta swap the TPS sensors from each wheel.

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

I like safety features too. But the data is also presented stupidly.

Swapping rims is more difficult too. You gotta swap the TPS sensors from each wheel.

That does seem pointless. They could be cheapening out at the factory and making their sensors a simple on/off device that only activates above or below a certain pressure. Keep costs down and let the battery in each sensor last longer.

And, yes, the latter would be annoying, especially if you had a set of winter wheels & tires to put on. As to the guys who spend a few thousand on a new set of wheels and tires, they can afford to throw away a few extra bucks to move or have new TPMS for each wheel and get no sympathy from me.

[Daox]

Woo, nice set of new wheels.