Thank you to Executive Honda for letting me have some time with this 2018 Honda Fit LX!
If you're looking for something reliable and practical (who isn't?), and you're on a budget, the Honda Fit is probably on your list of cars to check out.
As with the Soul, the styling isn't for everyone, but this one is once again about practicality. Honda does add a few sharp lines and some accent colors though, which makes it look a little bit sportier than the Soul. From straight on, it's most definitely a Honda. It almost looks like a Civic, until you come around to the side and see that the roof line never really comes back down, and it's about 2 feet shorter.
Getting into the back seats, somehow it's much bigger inside than it looked from the outside. I've got plenty of room for my legs, and there's even more room behind me in the hatch. I've seen a family of three humans and one large dog easily pack enough for a week long vacation into one of these.
If that doesn't seem like enough room for you, you can fold the back seats down flat. Or if that's not a cool enough party trick, you can also fold the seats up.
My only real problem back here is that my back has reminded me that this is an economy car. The seats are firm, and not the most comfortable. So I probably wouldn't want to sit back here for too long without any extra cushions for support.
Jumping into the front, my back is still not happy, but other than that, things are looking fine. The interior is simple, the infotainment has very few functions, there are real buttons, there's a manual hand-brake, a simple 6-speed shifter, and a key-slot next to the wheel for a good ol' fashion metal key. I like simple, and I'm pretty happy with all of that.
Bluetooth, backup cam, CD player. The LX trim is very limited here, so you'll have to upgrade to a higher trim for the 7" touch screen and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay.
Clutch down, brake down, turn-key start. The clutch is not too light, not too heavy, good spring back. No qualms there.
Shifting into first, the shifter feels fine. Not too tight, not too loose. A little bit on the cheap side, but it is an economy car, so that's fine. The positioning is a little bit strange, as I feel like I'm reaching for the shift knob more than I have to in other cars. It's a little further forward, and a little lower than is typical.
Getting moving. Oof. This car is not fast. The gearing feels short all the way up through 6th, and while this segment isn't exactly full of speed demons, this one feels particularly underpowered.
Driving around town, it handles very well and has a nice tight turning radius. The steering is heavier than the Soul, and it feels pretty good overall.
This is an economy car through and through, especially in the base LX trim. Minimal tech, hard cloth seats, and woefully underpowered. It does, however, have a crazy amount of space for such a small car, it has a low price tag (this one is $15k with 16k miles on it), the fuel economy is an excellent 33 mpg city/40 mpg highway, and it comes with Honda's excellent track record of reliability. If you don't care particularly about going fast, and you just want some cheap, usable fun, this one should be on your list. Personally, I might go for the Kia Soul in this category, for the sake of comfort and a little more tech, but the Honda will resell much better and has a longer history of reliability.
