2013 Honda Fit Review

I just bought a new car a few months ago. This car is a huge change from every car I owned before. My previous cars were all Buick LeSabre's. My first car was a 1992 LeSabre Custom followed by a 2004 and a 2005 LeSabre.

My overall memories of the LeSabres are good. The 1992 I had was old. It had 12 Cleveland winters and a couple of car accidents. It was rotting away. The 2004 was fine until it was totaled by the drunk driver. I'd probably still have that car if it hadn't been destroyed. The 20005 I bought used and I'm not sure the previous owner took very good care of it. I'm guessing it was an old lady. There were scratches right above the driver's side door and door handle. Probably from garish bracelets and rings being scraped into it. The buttons on the radio were pretty scratched up too. Probably from here overly hard and long manicured nails. She probably didn't pay attention to the leaky manifold gasket that could have been replaced under warranty or the failing A/C.

I lucked out with the used 1992 and never had any serious mechanical issue, but the used 2005 was a different story. It had a lot more headaches than I had anticipated. I still think that was from the previous owner ignoring things and me not knowing that transmission flush would wreck the transmission. The only reason I didn't seriously consider a new Buick is they are getting too expensive. The cheapest new Buick is still over $23,000. That's not an outrageous price, just more than I wanted to spend on a compact car.

A couple of things I really liked about the LeSabres was the low end torque. That car had 230 lb-ft of torque and most of it was available at very low RPM. It could get out of it's own way and most other cars without issue. The 3800 V6 wasn't the most sophisticated engine, but GM did a good job of refining it for power and torque over the decades. It was also surprisingly fuel efficient on the interstate too. The sticker for my 2004 and 2005 LeSabres reported 30 MPG for the highway. I routinely beat that and often got 34 or 35. That's pretty amazing for a 3700 lb car and a four speed automatic.

I decided to go with the Fit because my wife's 2012 Fit has been reliable. All she has had to do with it is oil changes, tire rotations, and any recommended fluid or filter changes. I know there will be more expensive routine maintenance in the future, but that's pretty good. She hasn't had any warranty claims on her car either. The car gets much better fuel economy than the sticker and has plenty of room. I'm 6'3 and I have plenty of head and elbow room. I actually have more head room in the Fit than in the last 2 LeSabres. It also doesn't feel like a penalty box. Even though it's small, it still has all the features you would expect on a moderately well appointed mid size car like power locks, A/C, power windows, keyless entry, and a USB audio interface. The ride is good too. It's not pillow soft like the Buick, but it's not jarring either. It also corners better than the Buicks. The Fit feels like it is on rails as opposed to the Buicks which always felt like a stage coach about to tip over.

Things that disappointed me but I was expecting are road noise, low end torque, and the way the transmission behaves under certain circumstances. This car is noisy on the interstate. The Buick's I owned were never whisper quiet either, but they had more sound deadening material and cruised at lower engine speeds so they were quieter. The Fit has little sound dampening material so more road and engine noise is transmitted to the cabin. It also cruises at higher RPMs which makes for more noise. This leads me to the lack of low end torque. Part of the reason for the higher RPM is the lack of low end torque. Top gear has to be geared lower to make up for the lack of engine torque. The engine can't hold gears as well because of this. The transmission has a much different feel than the 4 speed automatics in the Buick's I had driven before. Upshifts aren't as smooth and the transmission can downshift abruptly too. Another big difference I noticed is the GM automatic would allow for more coasting. When you get off the gas in a GM car with an automatic, the car essentially was out of gear and coasting. The Honda transmission will stay in gear and engine brake. Both ways are valid, but I preferred the GM way. There was less shock and noise when coasting to a slower speed in my Buicks. I feel bumps and shifts when the Honda coasts and I don't think I like that. Honda could stand to smooth out deceleration in their automatics.

Overall, I like the Fit, but it was a pretty dramatic change from the full sized Buicks I have driven previously. I went from a full sized highway cruiser to a sub compact city car. I made the switch because my job no longer requires me to get on the interstate to get to work. The Buick was getting 20-22 MPG for my commute whereas the Fit routinely returns 35MPG. I would recommend the car to anyone looking for a fun, roomy, and economical car. If you are coming from a larger more powerful car, there will be a learning curve