HOME RESEARCH BUY NEW BUY USED FINANCE
   Photos Videos Reviews Compare Rebates Recalls Blue Book Values Build & Price Dealer Locator
Did you know you can...
Experience no-haggle car buying at your local Autoweb Accredited Dealer
   
Search 
 
2007 Honda Fit Review
Comfort

» Get Pricing
» Get Email Updates

» Get Consumer Ratings
» Read More Reviews

» Send a Letter
» More Auto News
   CarTV Video
 

» Overview
» Driving Impressions
» Comfort
» Quality
» Design
» Advice
» Specifications

 
TO THE POINT What’s New: The 2007 Honda Fit is an all-new car for America, aimed at the entry-level consumer.
Selling Points: Inexpensive, sporty driving character, roomy interior
Deal Breakers: Gas mileage not as good as expected, odd styling, low on power

RELATED LINKS 2007 Honda Fit Preview
2007 Nissan Versa Preview
2007 Toyota Yaris First Drive

THIS WEEK Auto Shows
CarTV Videos
Drives
Fuel Economy
Future Cars
Top Ten

TOP STORIES Top Ten: Crash and Burn Super Cars
2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser First Drive
Recent Articles

2007 Honda Fit

Brian Chee’s Opinion of the 2007 Honda Fit’s Comfort:
The 2007 Honda Fit is, well, a better Fit than the Civic. Considering that the Civic was recently named Car of the Year by fifty trillion publications (including this one), that’s high praise, praise that’s deserved because the Fit shares basic design elements and materials in a cabin that’s larger than the Civic’s and which offers some cool innovations to make day-to-day life more convenient.

Up front, you feel as though you have command of the road thanks to the height of the vehicle and the amount of glass. That may also pose a problem: with all that glass, the interior will heat up quickly on hot days, making the AC work overtime. During my drive, the AC handled its load nicely, though temperatures didn’t climb above 70 degrees. A good AC system keeps people cool and alert, of course, as do the seats inside the Fit. After a long, traffic-clogged commute in a subcompact, one often feels tired and a little road weary. No such bad vibe with the Fit, thanks to those sturdy seats, at-attention height and tilt steering wheel. In back, there’s plenty of room, and the Fit is absolutely magical.

Not sure what kind of voodoo Honda engineers do, but by putting the gas tank under the front seats, the Fit has a back seat that can do just about anything. The seats disappear, folding flat into the floor; can be configured into a bed (insert joke here); or can be flipped up to hold tall objects. Thanks to that tall roofline and the flexibility of the seats, there’s 50 inches of height back there, providing benefits the Civic can only dream of offering. Plus, room for passengers is impressive. Call the Honda Fit the Ridgeline of subcompacts. Another thing the Fit has on the Civic: getting in and out. The taller size means that the Fit offers an easy step-out and step-in experience.

Christian Wardlaw’s Opinion of the 2007 Honda Fit’s Comfort:
Fitting into the 2007 Honda Fit is easy enough, but the driver’s seat doesn’t offer a wide range of adjustment, and the steering wheel lacks a telescopic function, so I was rather uncomfortable for my three-hour stint behind the wheel. Legs splayed, arms outstretched, and with not even so much as an inboard armrest for the driver like in the Kia Rio5, I was ready to turn the keys in after an afternoon running along the southern California coastline. Climbing aboard in back, I found the seat agreeable, with good thigh support and enough room for my legs to keep from feeling cramped.

Though I wasn’t comfortable driving the Honda Fit, I must say that the interior was commendably quiet for a small, inexpensive car. Wind and road roar are sufficiently dulled to carry on conversation in normal tones, even at 80 mph. And the stereo offers impressively rich sound at this price point.

Thom Blackett’s Opinion of the 2007 Honda Fit’s Comfort:
Despite its small size, the 2007 Honda Fit Sport offers a spacious cabin in which adults can travel comfortably. The front doors open wide, allowing easy access to the supportive bucket seats. Side bolsters keep occupants planted, and the firm padding keeps you comfortable over the long haul. The driver and front passenger get usable door armrests, though those in back are good only for stick figures. An annoying feature typical of Honda is the lack of center armrests front and rear. Riders out back get quite a bit of room, and when a tall passenger is seated behind a tall driver, the soft seatback should keep knees comfortable.

Special attention paid to the driver includes a leather-wrapped steering wheel that’s perforated on the sides, steering wheel-mounted cruise control (though no radio controls are located on the steering wheel), power window and power mirror buttons intuitively placed on the door and dash, a tilt steering wheel, and simple as 1-2-3 radio and climate control systems placed within easy reach.

Ron Perry’s Opinion of the 2007 Honda Fit’s Comfort:
Comfort is one thing Honda is very good at building into its cars. The seats in the 2007 Honda Fit are surprisingly comfortable and offer quite a bit of side bolstering both on the bottom cushion and seat back. They are manually operated but offer enough adjustments to get comfortable. There is ample headroom in front and back and designers even contoured the back of the driver’s seat to create more knee room for back seat riders. There’s also plenty of foot room for those with large feet.

Overall, the Fit’s interior has a spacious feel to it and is light and airy despite not having a sunroof. One area that needs attention is the lack of a center console for both the front and back seat passengers. The door armrests are small and in the back seat, the shape of the door panel leaves little room for your arm to rest on it. Backseat passengers will have to fight over the single cupholder unless one of them is drinking bottled water, which can be stored in a convenient holder in the rear door panels. Front seat occupants don’t get the water bottle holders in the doors.

Wind and tire noise is minimal and ride quality edges on firm but isn’t enough to be annoying. The handling characteristics are worth the trade-off for the little bit of firmness. At the back, a low liftover height makes loading the large, flat cargo area a breeze and dropping the back seats is also easy and convenient.


<< Previous   Next >>
 
del.icio.us Save This Page   Digg!
 
 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
 
» FREE Price Quote
» Still looking? Pricing, safety info, reviews and photos
» Download a free printable New Vehicle buying guide for the Honda Fit!
» Share your  thoughts or see what others are saying about the Honda Fit in Autoweb.com Forums
 
 

A D V E R T I S E M E N T
 


Copyright © 1995 - 2008 Autoweb.com. All rights reserved.
Powered by AIC - Automotive Information Center

Autoweb supports the Consumer WebWatch guidelines to promote credible information practices on the Web.
For more information, click here.
Kelley Blue Book® and Blue Book® are registered trademarks of Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc.