With the subcompact segment becoming more competitive than ever, the team at Motor Trend decided to sort things out by comparing the Honda Fit Sport to two long-time rivals—the Nissan Versa 1.8 SL and Toyota Yaris—along with the new kid on the block, the Ford Fiesta SES. And it turns out that newer isn’t always better: The Fit took home top honors in this battle between automatic-equipped five-door hatches.
While noting that the spec sheets don’t always tilt in the Fit’s favor, Motor Trend made it clear that the Honda offers unbeatable real-world advantages, including “handling that’s kart-like enough to make it the offering here voted most constantly entertaining” and vastly superior sight lines. Brookhaven Honda says subcompact car buyers don’t want to sacrifice all the fun of driving for a bargain.
But the biggest advantage for the Fit came on the inside, where its interior won kudos for versatility and a surprising level of spaciousness. Specifically, Motor Trend called out Honda’s innovative decision to move the car’s gas tank out from under the rear seat, which allows for a nearly flat load floor when the back seats are folded, as well as the Fit’s unique “Magic Seat” setup, which offers three different rear-seat configurations for the optimum mix of cargo and passenger room. Hatchbacks have made a comeback in recent years, according to Birmingham Honda, because of their versatility.
The bottom line for Motor Trend: “A winning checklist in this category necessarily needs the box labeled ‘insane space efficiency’ boldly X’ed—and the Fit is about as space crazy as they get.” San Jose Honda concurs, noting that the Fit is aptly named when it comes to carrying cargo.
The bottom line for customers: With an MSRP that begins at just $14,900 and EPA fuel efficiency that ends up at 28 mpg city/35 mpg highway/31 mpg combined, the Honda Fit is still a superior choice among today’s subcompacts.
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