Test Drive: 2016 Honda Fit

The Honda (with Car Dvd Player) Fit’s unique take on compact car styling, functionality and packaging hits you square in the face before you take your seat within its cheerful little body. The doors opens ultra-wide, and a massive aperture presents itself with room galore around the seat, which sits low in the cabin, with room to spare in every direction around it. The floor is surprisingly low in the Fit’s body, enhancing the door opening size, which itself also stretches high above the seat. And the door, and the sill into which it closes, are both relatively thin – again taking up less room and leaving more space for getting in and getting out. So, from the very process of boarding the Fit with space galore, and hardly any need for even very tall passengers to duck, it feels a bit different for a compact car. Strange. Foreign. Like the stuff they play on the CBC at 4am. From the driver’s seat, there’s more uniqueness related to the driving position on account of Honda’s interior packaging wizardry. Headroom is abundant, even for occupants well north of 6 feet tall. You sit up close to the Fit’s front, surrounded by tall glass, for great outward visibility. Here’s a compact car that’s tremendously easy to see out of, easy to position, and one that makes it easy to keep aware of your surroundings. Add in the tight turning circle, and the Fit is a bit of a parking-lot sniper-attack ninja: ready to suddenly pounce into any space it likes. Sorry, Camry-lady! This space is mine! The wide-angle, high-definition back-up camera helps making reversing into or out of a space easy, too. Honda’s clever design and interior packaging does even more for the Fit’s rear quarters – the flexibility and size of which arguably comprise one of the most compelling parts of the car. The cargo floor is low, and since the back half of the Fit is shaped like a box, every inch of the stretched-to-the-edges cargo hold is usable. Even taller items will fit with ease, and the seatbacks fold down, full-flat, lickety split. There’s room in abundance for a weekend worth of camping gear, a full load from Costco, or a trip to my favorite place in the whole wide universe, Ikea. What about install an Android Car Gps? With rear seats folded down, you get a flat, wide open space like a miniature cargo van. One could sleep in back on a camping trip if one really wanted, because who likes setting up tents, dealing with dew, and encountering morning tent spiders? The rear seat floor, just like up front, and in the cargo area, is low. This translates into very easy access and loading of gear, passengers of all sizes and ages and mobility levels, canines of virtually any size, and the like. An elderly dog or clumsy puppy can simply walk into the rear seat floor area with no step up, and mobility-challenged passengers will appreciate the wide door opening and low step-in height. There’s no rear-seat floor hump either, so foot space is maximized. But Fit’s best trick is perhaps its ability to flip the rear seat bottoms up, which creates a lounge space for a canine or two, room for a bike, a flat-screen TV, a small piece of furniture, and the like. In all, here’s a machine that packs big space into a small package, and the flexibility to handle just about anything you toss its way, or toss inside. Compact cars don’t get any handier. Up front, drivers are greeted by numerous at-hand storage cubbies, including a console bin, a covered centre console, and door-mounted pockets. Proper cupholders and numerous charge points and media hookups are nearby. The tested top-dog EX-L model got a low-resolution but effective-once-learned touchscreen navigation, communication and entertainment interface, as well as upscale features like a sunroof, heated leather, push-button start, and automatic climate control. Notably, Fit’s dash is clean, tidy, and largely free of buttons and knobs, instead using touch-tap surfaces and screens that lend themselves to a high-tech feel. None of the touchpad controls work if you’re wearing gloves though, a bummer if it’s cold. Finally, though most interior plastics and materials won’t blow anyone’s trousers off, some stitching, layering and contrast gives the cabin a look that’s a bit on the rich and upscale side. If installing an Android Car Stereo in your car, that would be great!