Best Year Honda Fit

‍2015 Honda Fit

Since its inception, Honda Fit has received a lot of praise for efficiently utilizing limited space. The 2015 Fit improves on what Honda was doing so well. It is sleeker, more stylish, and is more fuel-efficient than its predecessors.

A significant redesign in 2014 for the 2015 model made the Fit look less like a baby minivan and more like a hatchback. It had long been known for its wedge shape, but the third-generation Fit wore an aggressive stance.

The vehicle is available in four trims LX, EX, EX-L, and EX-L Navigation.

Design Features

We feel that the 2015 Honda Fit lives up to its name. It does not look out of shape and is far from bloated or shabby. It wears stylish side creasing with a beltline that rises towards the rear.

 Honda has managed to extract more space from the interior while keeping the vehicle's footprint similar to the previous generation. One feature that catches attention is the Magic rear seat, which gives the Fit's interior unmatched flexibility.

At the front, the car is equipped with a prominent grille that sits between relatively smaller headlights. The short hood rakes up to meet a similarly raking windshield. The creases on the outboard edges of the hood break the continuity to give the car a stylish appearance.

Towards the sides, the sheet metal tapers to give the car a rising beltline. The front door handles sit lower than the rear ones, and both are located in the deep crease below the window line. The tires and wheels look smaller than they are.

The rear end of the vehicle features large tail lights that run along the tailgate sides. Both lights are divided into two parts, of which one part is on the rear fender above the bumper, and the other part sits beside the back glass. If it were not for the chrome bar that stretches from one end to the other, we would label the rear end of the Fit to be Volvo-like.

Take the styling cues of the exterior and double them to get the interior design. The car seems to be very ambitious on the inside. The instrument panel flaunts all kinds of shapes and bezels to give the vehicle an exceptional layout that is far from cheap.

Performance Features

We would not expect a vehicle the size of Honda Fit to outperform large cars in terms of performance, but the car is responsive, fun to drive, and feels well-balanced.

The 2015 Honda Fit is equipped with a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder engine under the hood. It makes 130 hp and 114 lb-ft torque. The engine is more powerful than its predecessor and is equipped with many modern technologies like an all-composite manifold, improved cooling, lighter crankshaft, and direct injection.

The engine is coupled with a continuously variable transmission, which uses G-design shifting to minimize the rubber-band-like shifting found on other CVTs. With traditional CVTs, you will notice that the engine revs up continuously as you accelerate and then lowers down when you cruise at a steady speed. G-shifting eliminates this feeling and changes the rpm according to speed.

The CVT is equipped with an "S" mode that allows the driver to shift between preset ratios using paddle shifters. If you toggle the downshift paddle in drive mode, the car will rev up and accelerate for a few seconds. This function is helpful during highway passes.

The car is not designed to be pushed too much. You get maximum acceleration with the rpm being in the 4000 range. Push it any further, the engine becomes noisy, and there is no significant change in power.

The 2015 Fit is also available with a six-speed manual transmission, which offers smooth and precise shifting. The gears are mostly kept smaller towards the higher range, giving the car a sportier feel.

The front suspension on the Fit is equipped with a large stabilizer bar, improved struts, and a lightweight frame. The rear suspension comprises the traditional torsion with independent damper mounts to absorb shocks without compromising road grip.

The electric power steering is precise, responsive, and feels well-balanced. The braking performance is also quite good, and the pedal takes little time to get used to but can be very predictable, and you can easily judge the stopping distance.

Comfort and Space Features

Honda Fit utilizes most of the space it offers, and the trend is also seen in the 2015 model. The organization and packaging of the Fit make the 2015 model stand out among others.

The Magic Seat is the first thing to grab attention, which has proven to be a game-changer for a car this size. It still surprises many critics why other competitors have not mimicked the idea.

The Magic Seat allows the backseat to be flipped and folded in four different positions, depending on the cargo you are planning to carry:

• In utility mode, the lower cushions can be flipped down to the level of the floor, and the seatbacks are folded forward. This setting gives a flat cargo floor stretching from the trunk area of the hatchback to the back of the front seats.  
• In Tall mode, the seats can be locked upward, allowing more room for tall houseplants or other items of similar size.
• In long mode, the front passenger seat also comes into play. The seat can be folded down to blend in with the flat cargo floor. This mode is ideal if you like to carry long items such as a surfboard.
• In refresh mode, the seat can be positioned like a sofa, allowing the passengers to stretch their legs.

You might be surprised to know that taller passengers fit more easily in the Fit than they do in some larger cars. For example, a person over six feet will fit easily in the Fit with just enough head and legroom, but the same person may have trouble fitting in a Honda Civic.

The front seat arrangement is similar to what you would expect from a hatchback this size. The legroom is enough on the front seat, but if you are 6'6", you might feel that the seat should have more travel towards the rear. We have some issues with the odd curvature of the floor in the front passenger's footwell, which can cause unnecessary fatigue during long trips.

Accessing the rear seat is also easy with wide and tall rear doors. The backseat is comfortable even with the slightly thin cushioning to suit the folding arrangement. Seating two adults behind another two is comfortable, and there is just about enough room for everyone.

In terms of noise and refinement, the Fit is above average. During highway cruises, you will hear a persistent noise of the wind brushing against the side mirrors and the windshield. The undercarriage is covered with several panels, which make the vehicle aerodynamic, and helps with fuel economy, but they do not impact the noise in the cabin. Road noise on the Fit is much better than other competitors. The engine can feel noisy and rough, especially during hard accelerations or climbing long, steep hills.

Safety Features

The best year Honda Fit has been designed with the Advanced Compatibility Engineering body structure. This structure ensures that the occupants remain safe during crashes, and the car frame absorbs most of the energy.

Many other standard and advanced safety equipment are mounted onto the Fit. Among the standard equipment are:

• Frontal airbags with the dual-stage operation
• Smart Vent airbags for front passengers. The Smart Vent technology reduces airbag-related injuries by allowing the airbag to vent before inflating completely.
• Side curtain airbags, which deploy during side impacts and can also sense a rollover
• Electronic Stability Control monitors the vehicle's handling limits and can reduce engine power to ensure things remain under the driver's control.
• Motion sensing steering can detect when the car is in a skid, and it assists the driver maneuver the vehicle to restore stability. It works alongside the electronic stability control.
• Hill-start assist keeps the car from rolling downhill when the driver removes foot from the brake to press the gas pedal during a hill start.

Among the advanced safety equipment are the following:

• Multi-angle rearview camera
• Dual-view rear view mirror
• The EX and EX-L trims come with LaneWatch. This system comprises a camera mounted on the side mirror. It displays the vehicle's passenger side on the center screen as soon as the turn signal is switched on.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awards the 2015 Honda Fit with a five-star overall rating for safety. The vehicle gets five stars for frontal and side crashes and four stars for rollover.

The IIHS awards Honda Fit with "Good" scores for most crashworthiness tests. Good is the top rating awarded by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. However, for the small overlap test for the driver's side, the Fit gets the second-best, Acceptable rating. The high scores in the crash tests help Fit earn the Top Safety Pick rating from the testing agency.

Trim Features

The 2015 Honda Fit is available in four trims, LX, EX, EX-L, and EX-L Navigation.

The base LX trim has many features to offer, including:

• Keyless entry
• Power door locks, mirrors, and windows
• Rearview camera
• Height-adjustable driver seat
• Five-inch touchscreen audio system with four speakers, Bluetooth connectivity, and USB support

The EX trim adds advanced features like:

• Keyless ignition
• Moonroof
• Lane Watch camera system
• Paddle shifters
• Seven-inch touchscreen audio system with an additional USB port
• Paddle shifters
• Fog lamps
• Alloy wheels

The EX-L trim adds some luxury features, including:

• Heated side mirrors and front seats
• Leather upholstery with leather trim on the steering wheel and the shifter
• Integrated turn signals on the side mirrors

The EX-L Navigation adds navigation features, HD Radio, Satellite Radio, and traffic updates to the seven-inch infotainment system.

Fuel Economy Features

The 2015 Honda Fit offers excellent fuel economy. Honda claims it to be among the best in the category. We can agree with Honda, but some compact sedans offer even better hybrid technology.

The Fit is powered by a 1.5-liter, inline-four engine. It can be found coupled with a CVT or a six-speed manual transmission. With the CVT, the EPA ratings come to around 33 mpg in the city, 40 mpg on the highway, and 36 mpg combined. With the top trims, the mileage goes down slightly to 32 mpg in the city, 37 mpg on highways, and 34 mpg combined. The manual variant gets 29 mpg in the city, 36 mpg on the highway, and 32 mpg combined.

The variation between manual and CVT is primarily due to the gear ratios in the manual transmission, which cause the vehicle to run at a higher rpm. For example, the car runs at 80 mph at 4000 rpm with the manual transmission in the top gear. Whereas with the CVT, rpm is below 3000 at 80 mph.

Price Range of 2015 Honda Fit

The best year Honda Fit prices start at $11,000 and go up to $16,500. The average price of the vehicle is around $14,000. Prices can vary according to vehicle condition, location, trim level, and mileage.