Crest Honda

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Driving Impressions

The Fit is fun to drive. For everyday driving it's an obedient and comfortable conveyance, thanks to last year?s new seats and suspension changes that smoothed out the previous model's ride.

While the Fit's power supply is modest, we found that driving one equipped with either the manual transmission or an automatic with paddle shifters upped the fun meter (relative to the base automatic) by allowing drivers to dip down into the vehicle's torque band when needed.

On twisty corners, the Fit is much more fun, and almost as efficient as the Scion xD or Nissan Versa. Most of the time, the rear of the car nicely follows the front, even under aggressive duress, and with its electric power steering (improved last year, but still lacking in touch), the Fit communicates its intent clearly, if not with authority. We found the Fit to be quite tossable, the kind of car that's easy and predictable under spirited driving, without much wallow or ungainly lean in the corners.

We found that the clutch on the manual transmission easy to manipulate and quite fun to operate.

Most versions of the Fit deliver an EPA-estimated 27/33 miles per gallon, City/Highway. The one exception is the base-level automatic, which manages an even better 28/35, thanks probably to its 33 percent taller (overall) top gear. Either way, Fit is a nice fit between fun-to-drive and frugality.

Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of driving the Fit is the noise: The engine squeals when you hammer the throttle, whining and moaning its displeasure even under normal driving situations, like accelerating from a stop light. You get a more muted response from the competition. Then again, you get more muted performance, as well.

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