2007 Honda Fit

What happens when Honda's baby, the Civic, grows up? The void gets replaced by a totally new model. The Fit is Honda's answer to the surge in the minicar category with the Toyota Yaris and Nissan's Versa.

In creating the Fit Honda preempted the concerns about small cars and offers a host of standard safety features including side front airbags, side curtain airbags, and an anti-lock braking system.

The other major concern is with space, and in this field Honda came up with two innovative solutions. Placing the fuel tank which usually lies underneath the rear seats, and placed them in the middle of the car is one design change Honda made to increase interior room. What Honda calls their Magic Seat system, which allows the rear and front seats to be rearranged in 5 different ways, transforms the Fit's interior to accommodate a variety of storage needs.

The North American models come with a standard 5 speed transmission available in both automatic and manual options. European and Japanese models have the new continuous variable automatic transmission system. The Fit is powered by a 1.5L engine that achieves 109HP at 5800 RPM. While performance isn't the Fit's strong point, fuel efficiency is near top of the class achieving a Low Emission Vehicle rating.

Honda is targeting the Fit towards student first-time car buyers and has geared a few of the features for that market. A 160 watt 4 speaker system is included standard. A sport version of the Fit is also available with mainly cosmetic changes.

Differences with the Honda Fit Sport Trim

• wheels upgraded from 14" covered to 15" full allow.
  
• addition of fog lights, underbody kit and roofline spoiler.
  
• stereo upgraded to 200-watt 6 speaker system with MP3/WMA input and playback.
  
• addition of a security system with remote entry.
  

And finally the automatic version of the Sport trim comes with paddle shifters on the steering wheel allowing you to drive in both manual and automatic modes.

Safety