2009 Honda Fit Sport Automatic - Short Take Road Test
The best cheap automatic, period.BY DAVID GLUCKMAN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK M. HOEY September 2009
When people ask us for car-buying advice, we invariably throw our most recent January issue at them and point to the 10Best Cars list. There may be an annoyed grunt thrown in there somewhere. This reaction comes not because we don’t like talking to people about cars, but instead because they likely won’t listen to us anyway, and the one week we spend each year selecting these cars is enough work without later having to explain the results to friends and family who have inexplicably failed to subscribe to our magazine or read our interweb bleating.
We mention this as we’re preparing to once again head back to the back roads to reselect our qualified top-10 roster. For three years running, the cheapest vehicle on our list has been the Honda Fit, and so it follows that it is the best cheap car. But does it still satisfy when made slower and slightly more expensive by way of an automatic transmission?
How Much Slower, You Ask?
When we got the acceleration test results, they were all positive. That’s positive in a bad way, as in “We’re sorry, Mr. Gluckman, but the test came back positive.” With the Sport automatic, the sprint to 60 took an extra 1.4 seconds (9.9 vs. 8.5) and the quarter-mile was accomplished 1.0 second slower (17.6 vs. 16.6) at a lower speed (79 mph vs. 83). Skidpad grip and braking performance from 70 mph were basically unchanged.
Quantifiables aside, the Fit Sport’s auto is as good a unit as anyone could expect from a car of such economical purpose, with crisp shifts when the lever is in D as well as S (for Sport) mode.
The Sport’s wheel-mounted paddles allow full manual operation and the ability to hold a cog right up to the 6800-rpm redline; D and S will shift at 6500 rpm, just shy of the power peak.
Unlike some other manufacturers’ sporty shift modes, this transmission’s will stay way down in third when fifth would be Drive’s choice. It will also accept multiple shift requests in succession, while even some of Mercedes’ AMG transmissions require a beat between paddle thwaps. The auto’s loss of gusto isn’t unnoticeable, but the engaging qualities of this slushbox manage to retain most of the funky Fit’s fun nature.
Two Kinds of Economy
Interestingly, the Fit Sport auto is rated at the same 27 mpg city/33 highway as are manual Fits, while the plain, non-Sport auto is rated at 28/35, so there’s a small sacrifice for the fun and control of the Sport’s shift mapping. We managed 28 mpg with this example, and have previously milked 31 mpg out of a manual model.
As for the reduction in cheapness, the basic auto tacks $850 onto the bill, but to get the S mode and manual paddles you have to opt for the Sport trim, itself an additional $1560 expenditure. (Sport also adds such necessities as keyless entry, cruise control, two more speakers for the stereo, and a USB audio interface, plus aesthetic niceties like a hatch spoiler, body kit, and chrome exhaust tip; the chef recommends.) Our top-spec model also bundled navigation with stability and traction control—the only way to get that safety tech is to get nav—for an additional $1850. Even once it’s all summed up, you still can’t order a Fit from the factory for more than $20K, although dealer accessories like floor mats (all models come bereft of them) and wheels can take you past that mark.
We’d certainly recommend the manual Fit first, for the obvious enthusiast reasons. But as far as cheap cars go, the Fit Sport automatic offers the best manual substitute for commuters or the clutch-averse. So if you’re one of our friends and want new-car advice, there it is—just try not to be offended if we throw a magazine at you.
Source;
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q3/2009_honda_fit_sport_automatic-short_take_road_test
TORONTO, Feb. 11 /CNW/ - The Honda Fit won the "Best New Design" awardfor 2009 as presented by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada(AJAC). The award was handed out as part of the 2009 Canadian Car of the Year(CCOTY) awards that opened the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto. "We thank the AJAC members for this design award," said Jerry Chenkin,Executive Vice President of Honda Canada Inc. "We built the Fit to meet theneeds of our customers, and their response has been overwhelmingly positive.The Fit combines a sleek, aerodynamic design for enhanced fuel efficiency witha roomy interior for excellent passenger and cargo space, proving that greatstyle and value are not mutually exclusive attributes." Canadian independent designer Paul Deutschman, Humber College automotivedesign professors Ken Cummings, and Bruce Thomson, as well as Automobilemagazine's design critic Robert Cumberford were appointed by AJAC as a panelof design experts. Their task was a difficult one: create a short-list of four"Best New Design" finalists from the full-slate of fifty-six entries in theCanadian Car of the Year awards program. Their top four finalists were the Audi A4 ("Distinguished as it is on theoutside, it is the superbly finished interior of the A 4 that lifts it wellabove its class rivals. That the model offers a wide variety of powertrains isicing on the cake. Despite its compact size, the A 4 has real presence andprovides is owner with a real sense of occasion." - Robert Cumberford), theHonda Fit ("It speaks well of Honda's far sightedness when they triumphed onthe market in the mid-Seventies with a little hatchback (then called theCivic).... over 30 years later their little hatchbacks are still flying offthe dealers lots. Every generation needs an affordable, efficient, honestworkhorse and this is the best available in North America" - Paul Deutschman),the Jaguar XF Supercharged ("Ian Callum and his team have designed a car whichis patently "Jaguar", yet they have managed to do so without trotting out oldnames or hackneyed design motifs." - Bruce Thomson), and the Volkswagen PassatCC ("The Volkswagen Passat CC represents an opportunity for regular folks todrive a Teutonic, elegant, four-door sedan with more than a passingresemblance to its German competitors for half the price."- Ken Cummings). AJAC journalists then selected the winner from the design expert'sshort-list based on a combination of aesthetics, function, and brand essence.Each parameter was rated separately for each of the design finalists. Theaesthetics score reflects the sheer beauty of the design. The function scoreassesses the manner and degree to which it accommodates the practicalrequirements of the vehicle type. And brand essence considers its success inconveying the image, heritage, and values of the specific brand. "The intent of the AJAC Best New Design award is to identify and rewardthe vehicle that exhibits the best balance of form and function", said RichardRussell, chair of AJAC's 2009 Canadian Car of the Year awards. AJAC's annual Canadian Car of the Year awards program was created in 1985with the purpose of providing consumers with sound, comparative information onvehicles that are new to the market. For that reason, the vote results that determined today's winners areavailable to consumers as a resource buying guide on the AJAC web site. Alsoavailable are the comparative test data derived from the journalists'extensive five day evaluation of over 160 new vehicles in Niagara-on-the-Lake,Ontario in October. This annual event is known in the industry as "TestFest".Shell Canada is the official fuel supplier of the event. The rigorous TestFest evaluation program includes real world driving onpublic roads - exactly where consumers drive so that the test and vote resultsposted to the AJAC web site are directly relevant to potential car and truckbuyers. Still looking to buy a 2008, 2007, or even a 2006 vehicle? AJAC archivesthe comparative test data from previous years on its web site. Photos from today's award announcements, the October 24th categorywinners, and the TestFest evaluation event, are available for print andbroadcast media under - Canadian Car of the Year - Photo Gallery - on the AJACweb site. In addition, our AJAC journalists who evaluated the brand new models atTestFest are available across Canada for interviews to talk about the voteresults and comparative data. Media are invited to visit the AJAC web site andlog-in under "Ask An Expert", then choose the "Media" link to access interviewinformation once validation has occurred.
