Honda Fit

[Ray]

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Festive Festivus, and all the rest.

Odd time to be thinking about cars, but thinking I am. I've been driving an Odyssey wagon (the last year before they converted to a full mini-van) for ten years now. Its great for hauling bikes and kids and stuff, but our kids left home, we've downsized our house to a condo (hence, less stuff to haul) and being able to fit a bike in the car is really the only remaining reason to keep such a big vehicle. It isn't terrible on fuel, but it could be a LOT better and, in these times, that seems important.

Anyway I love Hondas and have been reading about the little guy, the FIT. One intriguing thing about it is the way you can configure the rear seat for several cargo hauling options. One option allows a flatbed from the back of the front seats to the hatch and I'm pretty sure you could lay a bike down in there with the front wheel off. But a real interesting configuration is to pop the seats back and up, which gives you lots and lots of vertical room, easily enough to stand a bike up, they claim. Not sure if it's wide enough to fit a full sized road bike (60cm or so), but I'm real interested, per this picture. Looks like height isn't an issue at all, but the width of the car may be.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh252/ramboorider/Fitwithbike.jpg

Has anyone actually seen one of these in action? Tried to fit a bike? If it can do this, I'm nearly sold already, given my great satisfaction with various Hondas over the years (two civics, an accord, and the odyssey).

-Ray

[csm]

you could always take your bike to the dealer and give it a try.
I too am sold on Hondas after owning just 1... I have an element.

[Ray]

you could always take your bike to the dealer and give it a try.
I too am sold on Hondas after owning just 1... I have an element.
I probably will after the holidays. Sounds like they rarely have them in stock though - they get deposits and send 'em out as they come in. Not likely in the showroom, but maybe I'll get lucky. I'd obviously have to test drive it before I'd buy one.

The Element is tempting too, but no real change from the van we have. Still much bigger than I need or want. Great interior design though.

-Ray

[csm]

I've seen a few fits around. if I was looking for something smaller I'd be all over it.
the element isn't that big; but the interior has gobs of space. I was surprised how much I can get into it. there is supposed to be a new design coming out but haven't seen much anywhere about it.

[Climb01742]

csm, how is the element in the snow? i know it's AWD but a colleague has a CRV (AWD too) and she says it can be a bit "floaty" over snow. i'm guessing the relative light weight of the CRV may account for the floating over, rather than digging in and grabbing feeling. could you see your element handling an unplowed driveway? sorry, ray, for the thread detour. but the two+ feet of snow here lately has me curious about how various AWDs handle "some" snow vs "serious" snow.

[samcat]

Even w/the standard OEM Wranglers. AWD and manual transmission does it, just fine, here in Beantown.

PH

[Moosedryvr]

I bought a Honda Fit this past March and am still very happy with it 12,000 miles later. I too was interested in this vehicle because of its purported ability to fit a bike in the back seat. The salesmen at the dealer thought I was nuts when I pulled my bike out prior to the test drive and told them I'd be interested in taking it for a drive if the bike fit just like the picture in the brochure! The bike fit (58 cm TT), I liked the test drive and the car went home with me the next day.
I bought this as my daily commuter here in Metro DC and it is great for that (I drive from southern Charles County, MD to Andrews AFB every day, spending about 6-10 miles in bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic and am getting ~32 mpg). It would be an even better car for someone working/living in the city as it is a dream to park and zip around in in traffic. I highly recommend the Fit to anyone looking for an inexpensive, amazingly roomy, little car. Be advised, it is not luxurious and somewhat underpowered (especially on hills with the air conditioning on), but as a commuter that can carry a bike internally and leave room for 2 full-size suitcases behind the seat it is hard to beat!
All the best and a Merry Christmas to all.

Shawn G

[thwart]

Exactly the same situation we're in... our '95 Odyssey is starting to rust and we're looking at a replacement. Thought about this vehicle but figured it was too small.

So the Fit will fit (sorry) a 58 TT road bike? Sweet.

Now I wonder about the options for a 2nd bike... on top... ? Doubt you could put 2 road bikes inside.

Don't haul 2 bikes very often, but when you need to, it's an important thing to consider.

[Ray]

I bought a Honda Fit this past March and am still very happy with it 12,000 miles later. I too was interested in this vehicle because of its purported ability to fit a bike in the back seat. The salesmen at the dealer thought I was nuts when I pulled my bike out prior to the test drive and told them I'd be interested in taking it for a drive if the bike fit just like the picture in the brochure! The bike fit (58 cm TT), I liked the test drive and the car went home with me the next day.
I bought this as my daily commuter here in Metro DC and it is great for that (I drive from southern Charles County, MD to Andrews AFB every day, spending about 6-10 miles in bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic and am getting ~32 mpg). It would be an even better car for someone working/living in the city as it is a dream to park and zip around in in traffic. I highly recommend the Fit to anyone looking for an inexpensive, amazingly roomy, little car. Be advised, it is not luxurious and somewhat underpowered (especially on hills with the air conditioning on), but as a commuter that can carry a bike internally and leave room for 2 full-size suitcases behind the seat it is hard to beat!
All the best and a Merry Christmas to all.

Shawn GTHANK YOU! Exactly the input I was looking for, and even the answer I was hoping for :)

I don't have a daily commute and don't drive a lot, period. So this next car, without kids using and abusing it, should get less than 5,000 miles per year and last a loooong time. Most of my trips are short and urban/suburban in nature, with lots of snaky little curvy roads and some suburban arterials. I don't care abut luxury, as long as its reasonably comfortable (never met a Honda that wasn't, and I had a 79 Civic). I used to care about performance, but not now. And I can't imagine it has any less pep or worse handling than a minivan running on four cylinders. Actually, most of the reviews acknowledge the econo-car power but indicate the handling in the curvy stuff is very good. Most of the time I don't even care about fitting a bike inside, but I still like to go on the occasional cycling tour or even that involves a long drive. For those, I don't want the bike out on a rack. If it came down to it, taking the rear wheel off wouldn't be a problem, so I'm sure it would work that way just fine.

I'll check 'em out after the holidays.

Thanks again.

-Ray

[Ray]

Exactly the same situation we're in... our '95 Odyssey is starting to rust and we're looking at a replacement. Thought about this vehicle but figured it was too small.

So the Fit will fit (sorry) a 58 TT road bike? Sweet.

Now I wonder about the options for a 2nd bike... on top... ? Doubt you could put 2 road bikes inside.

Don't haul 2 bikes very often, but when you need to, it's an important thing to consider.
I'm sure you could put a rack for two bikes on top, or on the rear hatch for short drives to a ride-start. For getting two bikes inside for a longer trip, it looks like it'd be real tight with just the front wheel off. But a no-brainer with both wheels off and a blanket between the frames. If you can get reasonable luggage in the back with bike(s) in the middle, this looks like a real good solution.

-Ray

[don'TreadOnMe]

FWIW, blah blah rumor blah...
I've heard/read the Fit redesign will take it in a bit of the Mazda5 direction, sort of a mini-minivan, if you will.

[Avispa]

Hey Ray,

I have only seen Honda Fits from the outside... I know a couple of people that own them, so I will ask about the interior space, etc. If you want.

However, that picture, hum.... It looks to me as fine Photoshop work! :D

..A..

[Ray]

Hey Ray,

I have only seen Honda Fits from the outside... I know a couple of people that own them, so I will ask about the interior space, etc. If you want.

However, that picture, hum.... It looks to me as fine Photoshop work! :D

..A..
I was dubious too, that's why I asked. But Shawn's experience is useful and I'm pretty sure that taking both wheels off makes it a no-brainer. Which is not something I'd love to do every day, but no problem for the occasional road trip. Don't go out of your way, but sure, any input is helpful. Ultimately, I'm just gonna have to try to test drive one and see for myself.

-Ray

[thwart]

But a no-brainer with both wheels off and a blanket between the frames.
Think you're right, it actually looks wide enough. And maybe the wheels behind the rear seats...
The wife thinks the Element is a gas-guzzler, BTW. That's where we're coming from. :rolleyes:
I've heard/read the Fit redesign will take it in a bit of the Mazda5 direction, sort of a mini-minivan, if you will. For 2009?

[Moosedryvr]

FWIW, the ability to store a bike behind the front seat as pictured is limited to one bike, and a 58 cm TT is pretty much pushing it (probably could get a 60 cm TT in there, but not much more. I'd highly suggest "test driving" this feature if it is important to you).
I'm sure you could fit two bikes behind the seat if both wheels were removed, but I haven't tested it. Also, if you choose to lay down the back row of seats there is tons of room as well. What I like is the ability to use the back row of seats as storage for tall items while being able to still store stuff in the hatchback behind the seats. As I state above, you'll wonder how the Honda engineers got all of this space into such a small car (the trick is that the fuel tank is under the front seats). Everyone who gets in mine can't believe the amount of leg room in the back seat, way more than in my previous car, a Ford Explorer Sport Trac.

Shawn G

[michael white]

looks like you should wait--

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=122688#20


I've been thinking Rabbit but this looks pretty great for a reality car

[davids]

As far as fitting bikes - I saw something on the web a long while back, showing how a tandem owner had fit it inside the Fit.

...OK, that was way too easy to find: The first hit (http://www.blayleys.com/articles/cars/index.htm) for "honda fit tandem".

Pretty impressive, atmo.

[BumbleBeeDave]

You might want to note that MTB in the pic you got from Honda is spotlessly clean. NORBA race on a rainy day, then put it in there? Uh, problem.

I did the same thing with taking the bike to the dealer to make sure it fit in there. Both the GTI and the MazdaSpeed 3 had plenty of room with the rear seats folded down for a road or MTB--and actually for two if you stacked them on top of each other with something in between like a blanket, etc. I have a friend who uses those kids foam swimming pool "noodles" to put between them and she says it works great. I'm betting if you folded the rear seats down in the Fit you could do the same thing. Scion also has a cool looking new little car, the Xd, that you could probably do the same thing in.

BBD

[Ray]

That tandem deal is really impressive. Makes me think I could easily get a single in with the seat in place in the same way, probably without losing the front seat. Maybe 2 singles? Dunno. That's what I do with the Odyssey and didn't even occur to me it'd be possible with something like a Fit. But that's a really high ceiling in that little car.

Yeah, the 2009 does look like it might be worth waiting for, but I wonder how much fuel economy it will lose. They're also supposed to be coming out with an economy hybrid next year, substantially cheaper and I guess smaller than the Civic hybrid or Prius. Sounds like its worth waiting a year and seeing what shakes out with small cars in general and the hybrid market. Everyone's getting into the high fuel economy game now. Again. Finally.

-Ray

[mike p]

I know someone in my town bought one brand new for 13k!! Can hardly buy a serotta for that.

Mike

[csm]

the e goes pretty good in the snow. I replaced the stock tires with yokahamas geolanders I think. it went fine in vt last year. we had a house rented on top of a hill that was a bit slick.
before this I had 2 jeeps, cherokee and then a grand cherokee. the e does 95% of what they did.

[jbay]

Anyway I love Hondas and have been reading about the little guy, the FIT. One intriguing thing about it is the way you can configure the rear seat for several cargo hauling options. One option allows a flatbed from the back of the front seats to the hatch and I'm pretty sure you could lay a bike down in there with the front wheel off. But a real interesting configuration is to pop the seats back and up, which gives you lots and lots of vertical room, easily enough to stand a bike up, they claim. Not sure if it's wide enough to fit a full sized road bike (60cm or so), but I'm real interested, per this picture. Looks like height isn't an issue at all, but the width of the car may be.

Just a quick reply before I have to dash off. We rented a Fit for perhaps a year before buying one. Its load carrying ability is wonderful. We can even fit a tandem inside:

http://www.blayleys.com/articles/cars/index.htm

It's been a while since I've tried, but my memory is that you would need to take both wheels off to fit a bike crossways in the manner you are asking about.

Gotta' run,
John

[rwsaunders]

You'll need one of these, Ray.

[jbay]

That tandem deal is really impressive. Makes me think I could easily get a single in with the seat in place in the same way, probably without losing the front seat. Maybe 2 singles? Dunno. That's what I do with the Odyssey and didn't even occur to me it'd be possible with something like a Fit. But that's a really high ceiling in that little car.


Oops! Should have read everything before I posted. Someone beat me to my own link!

Yes, you should be able to fit two bikes upright in the back without too much bother. You have to lean a 60cm bike over to get it in, but it can definitely fit upright once inside.

Now I really have to run!

-- John

[Ray]

Yes, you should be able to fit two bikes upright in the back without too much bother. You have to lean a 60cm bike over to get it in, but it can definitely fit upright once inside.
That's just insane. I have to lean 'em over to get them inside the old Odyssey. I can probably just cut down the same 2x4 I have the fork mounts on today, maybe move the mounts in a little closer to center, and be able to do essentially what I do currently. In a tiny little fuel sipper like that. Very cool. Becomes a question of whether to wait for the new one. I'll read up.

Thanks very much for the input everyone. It's been very instructive, as always.

-Ray

[sjbraun]

I just spent five minutes trying to wrestle a 58cm TT Waterford in my daughter's Fit. It was close, but no cigar. I run 46cm bars, something narrower might just fit. If I was to buy one, I'd install a trailer hitch and use a hitch rack.

On the other hand, the Fit is a great little car that doesn't ride as small as it is.
My daughter gets 29-33mpg in stop and go city driving-no freeways in Tucson, so its really stop and go.

That said, the 2009 Fits look awfully nice.

[Ray]

I just spent five minutes trying to wrestle a 58cm TT Waterford in my daughter's Fit. It was close, but no cigar. I run 46cm bars, something narrower might just fit. If I was to buy one, I'd install a trailer hitch and use a hitch rack.

On the other hand, the Fit is a great little car that doesn't ride as small as it is.
My daughter gets 29-33mpg in stop and go city driving-no freeways in Tucson, so its really stop and go.

That said, the 2009 Fits look awfully nice.
Was that across the middle portion of the car (with the seats up and back), or with a fork mount in the back pointing fore and aft?

The 2009 does look nice, but that's what Honda always does - they get bigger and better every new model. The upside of that approach is obvious. The downside is that the cars change so much, they more or less abandon categories. I had a '79 Civic and a friend had a '77 Accord. My brother had a '75 Civic. I was familiar with all of those and liked them a lot. By the time I was looking at Hondas again in '87, the Civic was far more car (size, performance, etc) than the Accord had been several years earlier. And the mileage wasn't as good, partially because by the late '80s, nobody was worried about fuel economy anymore. If I'd wanted a smaller, more fuel efficient car, I wasn't gonna get it from Honda. The Civic got so big and sophisticated that they had to bring the Fit to America to try to be some of what the Civic had been, but its more car than my '87 Civic by a good distance. Not to mention those little '70s Civics. Another example is the Odyssey. The wagon that they stopped making after '98 was an AWESOME car for our wants and needs. But they wanted to compete in the full mini-van market so they made it bigger and thirstier the next year. The 'little one we have is great but I wouldn't have wanted one of the newer ones because we didn't want a full van. Sometimes the improvement leads to something better but not better at the same time.

If the 2009 Fit is notably better than the current model AND maintains or improves the gas mileage, its worth the wait. If its bigger and better but burns more fuel, that's not what I'm looking for. So, I'll test drive one of the current ones and if I'm ok with its limitations, I might just buy it. If not, I'll hang in there and see about the new one or the new hybrid.

-Ray

[sjbraun]

As in the picture toward the beginning of this thread.

I'm not sure a tall saddle height bike would fit upright (with the rear seats folded down) either, but I have not tried this approach.

[Ray]

As in the picture toward the beginning of this thread.

I'm not sure a tall saddle height bike would fit upright (with the rear seats folded down) either, but I have not tried this approach.
Thanks for the clarification. I think John (of tandem fitting fame) indicated that it would, but that's another one for me to check out when I take my bike over for a test drive :)

-Ray

[Ken Robb]

I probably will after the holidays. Sounds like they rarely have them in stock though - they get deposits and send 'em out as they come in. Not likely in the showroom, but maybe I'll get lucky. I'd obviously have to test drive it before I'd buy one.

The Element is tempting too, but no real change from the van we have. Still much bigger than I need or want. Great interior design though.

-Ray


There will be a new Fit on sale in the USA next year. My pal does dealer training across the country for salespeople so he has to know strengths and weaknesses of competing models. He had a Fit (Honda) at my house early this year when he was on the road introducung the Nissan Versa. He said either of them were better than the Toyota offering. The Honda was slightly more fun to drive but the Versa had way more power with little loss of fuel economy. They looked cool and very practical to me with room for 4 people or a couple of bikes, etc.

[Ray]

For anyone interested, I test drove two Fits today. An auto and a 5-speed manual. First off, this is a nice driving car. Firm, as you'd expect from a little car, but really tight, as Hondas tend to be. It doesn't accelerate from a stop all that well, but once moving is very responsive to throttle input. The manual definitely has a bit more kick than the auto, but the auto has a sport mode with little paddle shifters that lets you drive it like a manual and control when it shifts. Still not as peppy as the manual, but not bad. If I drove in lots of stop and go traffic, I'd go for the auto, but since I don't, I'm leaning toward the manual. I didn't check out handling at the limit, as I never drive that way anymore if I can help it. But for ordinary semi-aggressive driving the handling was very good. Not a lot of body lean for such a tall car. It felt dead solid stable at 85 mph on the freeway. I'd imagine the firmness would get a bit tiresome on a long freeway trip, but no more than a lot of cars. We just got back from a road trip in our Accord - the Fit isn't even close to as smooth or relaxing as the Accord, but I could handle it for the trips where I wanted to take a bike or bikes.

To the bikes. JEEEEEZ, you can get a lot into this little car. With the rear seats folded into the floor, this tiny little car has nearly as much hauling capacity as my '98 Odyssey with the middle seats folded forward and the rear bench down in the floor. Incredible. With the rear seats folded back (like in the picture at the beginning of this thread), I was able to get my non-fendered road bike with a 102cm wheelbase to fit with the handlebars turned a bit and the bar elevated and hooked around the top of the folded rear seat. It fit pretty easily really. This would be preferred mode for the rare occasion when I'd drive to a local club ride or something and was just taking that bike. Quick, easy, and no additional stuff needed. I couldn't get my 104cm wheelbase road bike with fenders to fit this way though. For long drives to a bike event where I'd want to take two bikes, I'd take both wheels off and stick both bikes and all four wheels in this space. They'd fit easily and there's still a TON of room for clothes, bags, etc, in the way back area behind these rear seats.

With the seats folded down into the floor, I could just about get both bikes in just by sticking my 2x4 with fork mounts in the way back part of the car, wheeling the back wheel in toward the front seats and mounting the fork back by the tail. This is the way I fit bikes in the Odyssey, btw. It fit very easily with one bike in the center and the wheel extending just slightly into the space between the two front seats. I'm not sure if I could get two of them in with the rear wheel angled out toward the sides of the car or not. Trying to go straight back with two bikes I was hitting the back of the front seats and I'm not sure if I could squeeze 'em in that way. That would take some experimentation. I'd say that with the front seats moved forward just a bit and bikes without real long wheelbases, you should be able to do it, though. The height of the car is not an issue at all. Both of my bikes with roughly 76cm saddle heights fit in easily under the ceiling. This is a TALL little car. Not Too Tall (although I bet he'd fit in the front seats without bumping his head or knees), but surely tall enough.

In short, a nice driving economy car with the storage of a small mini-van - way more than any sedan and way more than most hatchbacks. I'll probably end up buying one.

-Ray

[pjm]

See the Feb. '08 issue of Car and Driver. They have a long term test of the Fit
and were very impressed. The car is fun to drive and extremely cheap to own and operate. The article even has a cycling theme! :)

[bnewt07]

My wife has done 14k miles on our Honda Jazz (as it is called here). Utterly reliable, not the last word in comfort or luxury for a long run but it does OK. It is totally solid and hard wearing inside. It has also been cheap to run, sipping petrol and only a simple service each year. They even have great resale values too (considering how cheap they are). I could not think of a significant way to improve it other than the slightly stiff-legged ride and perhaps the ventilation which always seems a bit iffy when the weather is cold and damp-steaming up rather easily as if set to re-circulate (which it isn't).

Always folded the seats fully to put bikes in rather than tried the cross-wise approach. Incidentally the new Civic has a similar flat folding arrangement and an even bigger boot but the odd shape of the rear hatch and the high sill makes getting bikes inside quite difficult.

Our last Honda did 60k and we never once took it back to the garage other than to replace consumables or a basic service. Brilliant cars.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . back in the day because it just seemed like the perfect practical small car. Great mileage, huge amounts of room, the seats folded every which way, and they made a model with their "Real Time 4WD" I wish they'd do something like this again. It had more room than the Fit.

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . maybe they're going to . . .

BBD

[Ray]

. . . maybe they're going to . . .

BBD
Do you know what that is? Is it the Civic that bnewt07 was talking about? Is it even available in the States? The thing I find most surprising with the Fit is the ability to put bikes in the back, standing UP with the fork locked into a standard fork mount. I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get two bikes back there or just one, but if I rode shorter wheelbase bikes and was comfortable moving the front seats forward a couple of clicks, it would definitely fit two. That just doesn't seem right. I realize this particular feat has little appeal for the general population and was clearly not part of Honda's thinking, but its mind-boggling nonetheless. I was hoping it would be big enough to lay one bike down in the back, let alone be able to stand two of them up or put one or two in the space between the front and back seats with plenty of 'trunk' space still behind the rear seats.

In a car that drives a lot like the old Civic / CRX.

-Ray

[J.Greene]

In a car that drives a lot like the old Civic / CRX.

-Ray

I owned 2 crx's. It's the best overall car I've ever owned. The first would get an honest 50mpg city and even more highway. It was so light I'm sure it would not pass highway crash tests today.

I'm getting embarrased to drive my big fat 300hp infiniti fx.

JG

[pjm]

http://www.caranddriver.com/autoshows/14237/2009-honda-fit.html?al=163

[bnewt07]

Do you know what that is? Is it the Civic that bnewt07 was talking about? Is it even available in the States? The thing I find most surprising with the Fit is the ability to put bikes in the back, standing UP with the fork locked into a standard fork mount. I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get two bikes back there or just one, but if I rode shorter wheelbase bikes and was comfortable moving the front seats forward a couple of clicks, it would definitely fit two. That just doesn't seem right. I realize this particular feat has little appeal for the general population and was clearly not part of Honda's thinking, but its mind-boggling nonetheless. I was hoping it would be big enough to lay one bike down in the back, let alone be able to stand two of them up or put one or two in the space between the front and back seats with plenty of 'trunk' space still behind the rear seats.

In a car that drives a lot like the old Civic / CRX.

-Ray

That is indeed the 'new Civic.
Did not realise that the States did not get the Civic. Launched in Europe a perhaps 2 years ago. It has won many awards and plaudits.

Incidentally the other small car (although rather more money) that can very effectively accomodate uprigjht bikes is the Mercedes A Class. I think they even make an adaptor that locks the fork onto a rail in the floor.

[Ray]

That is indeed the 'new Civic.
Did not realise that the States did not get the Civic. Launched in Europe a perhaps 2 years ago. It has won many awards and plaudits.
We get various models of Civic, with a coupe and a sedan, but we don't have anything with a bulbous rear end and a hatchback. Must be for the European and maybe Japanese market.

Incidentally the other small car (although rather more money) that can very effectively accomodate uprigjht bikes is the Mercedes A Class. I think they even make an adaptor that locks the fork onto a rail in the floor.
Yeah, RATHER!! You s'pose you could get three or four Fits for the price of one of those?

-Ray

[michael white]

the US is phobic about hatchbacks. I think it goes back to the Gremlin. A shame, for those of us with needs.

[BumbleBeeDave]

One had it labelled as the Euro model wagon from 2006. The other was a "spy shot" type site with the contributor saying he had photographed it in suburban Detroit and that the driver was not at all happy that his car was being photographed.

It seems to me Honda probably has had his model available already in Europe but decided not to bring it to the states. Who knows why. If they had, I may very well have bought one. When I was shopping a few months back the only reason I didn't buy the Civic SI was that it only came in the sedan and there was no way a bike would fit in the back, even with the seats folded down. The pass-through hole from the trunk was too small.

BBD

[bnewt07]

I shall add the European Honda Civic range to the long list of things that the USA does not get (global warming, irony....etc etc)

Cheers! :rolleyes:

[CNY rider]

we don't have anything with a bulbous rear end and a hatchback. .


-Ray

Sure we do!}
http://access.nscpcdn.com/gallery/i/l/lopez4/lg1a.jpg

[palincss]

It seems to me Honda probably has had his model available already in Europe but decided not to bring it to the states. Who knows why. If they had, I may very well have bought one.



Along that line, recall the Honda commercial that featured the Rube Goldberg machine? http://youtube.com/watch?v=xcr6ZIVi-Vg And at the end of that long chain of events was an Accord wagon. Obviously, the car exists somewhere. Think they could sell a few here in the US?

[jbay]

With the seats folded down into the floor, I could just about get both bikes in just by sticking my 2x4 with fork mounts in the way back part of the car, wheeling the back wheel in toward the front seats and mounting the fork back by the tail. This is the way I fit bikes in the Odyssey, btw. It fit very easily with one bike in the center and the wheel extending just slightly into the space between the two front seats. I'm not sure if I could get two of them in with the rear wheel angled out toward the sides of the car or not. Trying to go straight back with two bikes I was hitting the back of the front seats and I'm not sure if I could squeeze 'em in that way. That would take some experimentation. I'd say that with the front seats moved forward just a bit and bikes without real long wheelbases, you should be able to do it, though. The height of the car is not an issue at all. Both of my bikes with roughly 76cm saddle heights fit in easily under the ceiling.

Ray, we fit two bikes inside by aiming both rear wheels towards the gap between the two front seats, where they sit as you mentioned, slightly extending into the space between the front seats. Both forks are mounted in a thingummy similar to your 2x4 setup, positioned as close we possible to the rear hatch. My bikes are a similar size to yours, Pamela's smaller. Both front seats are set to where they would normally be.

We have refined our tandem fitting technique too, so we no longer remove the captain's seatpost (and, more to the point, the stoker 'bars). Fitting a tandem inside may require a little more effort than most people are willing to go to but it's worth it for the fuel economy (versus having a tandem on a roof rack) and the "Wow" factor. I'm not much into the latter myself, but if it drives home the point that you can do everything you need to with a "small", fuel efficient car, all the more fitting.

That's enough bad puns for now,
John

[Ken Robb]

New Fits advertised this morning in San Diego Union for $14,008. I don't know what MSRP is.

[Ray]

New Fits advertised this morning in San Diego Union for $14,008. I don't know what MSRP is.
The base Fit with manual tranny has an msrp of about 14,500, including destination charge. So, if that price includes destination charge, it's well below MSRP. If not, its a bit high. In my region, I'm finding dealers unwilling to go much below MSRP, which is only about $500 higher than invoice on these cars. The lowest I've found is about $250 below. It seems not a whole lot of markup on these and nobody has more than a few in stock, so they don't seem to have much incentive to negotiate.

Ray, we fit two bikes inside by aiming both rear wheels towards the gap between the two front seats, where they sit as you mentioned, slightly extending into the space between the front seats. Both forks are mounted in a thingummy similar to your 2x4 setup, positioned as close we possible to the rear hatch.
Sounds about right. that should leave plenty of room for other stuff near the two rear doors and between the two forks, accessible from the hatch. Very cool and still a little hard to believe when you look at the car. There's a bit of an optical illusion at work with this vehicle. When you see one from the side, it looks like the rear seats are back pretty close to the hatch, so you'd think there's not much room behind them. But when you open the hatch theres a TON of room back there.

-Ray

[thwart]

Great information. This sounds like a great deal for $14K.

Wonder what the 2009's will go for... ?

Also wonder if the upgrading will significantly hurt the fuel economy...

[palincss]

Fitting a tandem inside may require a little more effort than most people are willing to go to but it's worth it for the fuel economy (versus having a tandem on a roof rack) and the "Wow" factor. I'm not much into the latter myself, but if it drives home the point that you can do everything you need to with a "small", fuel efficient car, all the more fitting.
John

IMO the only way to top that requires a couple of dozen clowns.

Impressive!

[Ray]

Wonder what the 2009's will go for... ?

Also wonder if the upgrading will significantly hurt the fuel economy...
I found a few forums where the '09 was being discussed by some people who sounded like they had some sources of information and a bunch of folks who clearly didn't. Sounds like the CVT tranny that really maximized fuel efficiency and is in the new model in Japan won't make it to the states. Since the engine will be larger and more powerful, I'm guessing the fuel economy will not be as good if they're not using the CVT. The US vehicle will be larger than the Japanese version. No information on pricing or mileage but the speculation was that mileage would be no better and probably a bit worse than the current model. Sounds like the primary advantages to the new one is a little bit more power and a stiffer chasis which isolates vibration and noise a bit better and is tuned to soften the ride. I'm sure it will cost more (unless they start importing it in really big numbers and need to start discounting to sell them all) but doubt the fuel economy will be better or even as good. I like the current one enough that I'm pretty sure I'm going to pull the trigger on one and, unless there are some big surprises with the '09, I doubt I'll regret it.

-Ray

[deechee]

great thread!

this is exactly what I needed to know! now if only my gf would finish school!

[Ray]

OK, I did it. Brought it home yesterday. For anyone still interested, here's how the bikes fit in the Fit.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh252/ramboorider/IMG_0177.jpg
That's the extent of the car. I know this orange will probably look stupid in ten years (I'm sure plenty of people think it does now). I should have gone with the more conservative Silver, but my Rambouillet insisted I buy it a matching car :cool:

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh252/ramboorider/IMG_0184.jpg
This is the original way we were discussing fitting bikes, behind the front seat with the back seat bottoms folded up against the back. This is my toughest bike to fit this way, with longish wheelbase and fenders. I had to slide the passenger seat up a bit and turn the bars, and its still tight, but it works. My other road bike is much easier to get in this way.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh252/ramboorider/IMG_0179.jpg
Here's two in the back, with fork mounts mounted to a 2x4. Its a semi-tight fit, but it works.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh252/ramboorider/IMG_0183.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh252/ramboorider/IMG_0182.jpg
You can see that, as John (jbay) said, you have to angle the rear wheels between the two front seats to make it work. I tried hitting the wheels when I was driving, but the only time they were in the way was when I pulled on the emergency brake after stopping. I sort of hit my elbow on 'em, but otherwise, totally out of the way. You can see that there's plenty of room for luggage between the bikes in the back and on the sides by each side door.

As for the car, I decided to go for the automatic. It's a perfectly adequate car in normal driving - nothing dramatic but everything does what its supposed to. Pretty taught suspension feel and wonderful handling that doesn't really matter until you get out into the tight and twisty roads. I get the feeling that the car would be a little fatiguing to drive on a long freeway trip (at least compared to our Accord, which is incredible for long road trips), but its great for the kind of driving I'll do 98% of the time in it.

The sport model with the auto tranny comes with some little shift paddles on the steering wheel and a mode that lets you control all of the shifting with those. For normal driving, I let the auto do the work and it was fine. But when I got out on some of the twisty little country roads around here, the mode with the paddle shifters was awesome. Just about as good as with the manual in that you can control the revs and keep the car where you want to in the engine's power band. The engine doesn't have enough punch to be able to call this car fast, but its very very quick and responsive and once you get a feel for the engine and the steering, it's pretty incredible in the 30-50 mph range on little country roads. Which is more than enough thrills for me these days.

All in all, way too much fun for a car this practical. Or way too practical for a car that's this much fun. Take yer pick.

-Ray

[Louis]

Ray, what's the TT on those bikes?

Louis

[Ray]

Ray, what's the TT on those bikes?

Louis
They're both about 58.5, but the stems are only 10cm each. But both have relatively long wheelbases, which pushes the rear wheel further back. They both have reasonably high saddles (about 76cm plus) but lowish bottom brackets, but both cleared the opening and the ceiling more easily than they did in the Odyssey this replaces. I can't quite get over that part.

-Ray

[michael white]

ray,

your bikes look very happy and content.

[don'TreadOnMe]

Ray - thanks so much for the followup!
In fact, thanks for sharing your entire experience, from inquiry, to test drives, to purchase, to bike photos. Knowledge via experience is so solid, and you gave some serious info to us all!

See you out on the roads soon, 'tay?

don'TreadOnMe

[thwart]

That is inspirational. Now... '08 or '09... ? Have to think about it awhile. And of course, sell the Odyssey.

Thanks, Ray!

[BumbleBeeDave]

That's GREAT! Congratulations! The color looks great! To heck with what others think. You're the one driving it!

Can I make a suggestion? I keep a couple of old blankets in my car so they'll be ready for that wet day you get back to the car with the bikes. Saves the upholstery!

And don't forget to give us progress reports . . . Mileage, etc.

Again, congrats!

BBd

[Ray]

That's GREAT! Congratulations! The color looks great! To heck with what others think. You're the one driving it!

Can I make a suggestion? I keep a couple of old blankets in my car so they'll be ready for that wet day you get back to the car with the bikes. Saves the upholstery!

And don't forget to give us progress reports . . . Mileage, etc.

I definitely like the color now, but I recognize its sort of a fad color and it may well look dumb to me in 10 years. But I always liked orange, so probably not.

I'm probably gonna get a mat cut for the back area, which is where I suspect I'll transport the bike(s) most of the time. If I end up using that middle area much, I'll probably hit up a mover for one or two of those moving blankets that they wrap everything in to protect the car.

I'll let you all know what kind of mileage it gets after I break it in a while.


Ray - thanks so much for the followup!
In fact, thanks for sharing your entire experience, from inquiry, to test drives, to purchase, to bike photos. Knowledge via experience is so solid, and you gave some serious info to us all!
See you out on the roads soon, 'tay?

It's funny - I knew I was going to replace the van soon, but hadn't really figured out exactly when. I'm not sure what led me to this car initially, but once I saw it, got some feedback here, and drove it (and a couple of others), it was an easy decision and I obviously pulled the trigger pretty quick. And nothing better to do in these cabin fever days of winter than share it with you all - hell, I got some really critical input from folks here through this thread too. So thanks again to everyone for that. Moosedryver and jbay in particular, but others too.

If it stays as cold as it was today, you'll only see me out in the car or walking! But, yeah, looks like some nice days coming up - I'll be out and hopefully we can ride a bit. But I gotta warn you, I'm such a larda$$ right now I can barely keep up with myself. Rode on New Year's eve and felt good until I punched it on the short hill on Harvey's Bridge and I literally took about 6-7 miles to recover from the effort. Felt fine until I got to the top, which was weird, because then I went totally to rubber and light-headed. The whole package. Damn. Old age ain't what it used to be.

-Ray

[bnewt07]

Excellent Ray, you'll not be dissapointed.

[twin]

I have a fit and it has about 12,000 miles and I love it. Mine is a manual and it has plenty of zip. I can put 2 bikes in however one is a 57cm and the other is a 52cm. I take both wheels off and lay them between the bikes where the luggage is. The fabric luggage is a good way to keep the bikes from being to close to each other. Good car for the money.

[dawgie]

A friend of mine has a Fit the same color as yours. I was immediately impressed with how much usable space it has, and it also rides very nicely and gets great gas mileage. If I was buying a car right now, this would probably be my choice. However, I'll need to hold off until my daughter finishes college to make any big purchases. I'm hoping that Honda will be selling its diesels in the US by then. The new diesels get mileage comparable to hybrids and have very low emissions. And who knows, maybe Honda will be selling its fuel cell cars by then.

[72gmc]

Ray, the back seat looks a little cozy in the Honda photos. Is it truly 3 people (or more accurately, kids in booster seats) wide?

Good color, btw. My wife's Element is orange. It wasn't her first choice, but it was available with stick shift when nothing else was. 4 years and we're not tired of it yet.

[Ray]

Ray, the back seat looks a little cozy in the Honda photos. Is it truly 3 people (or more accurately, kids in booster seats) wide?
It's not huge, but its not bad. I wouldn't put three adults back there for anything more than a quick trip to the movies or restaurant or something. And I wouldn't put two adults with long legs back there, although the reviews all talk about the great rear seat legroom, so maybe it just depends on how far back the front seats are pushed. Two kids in booster seats - no problem. Three booster seats? Probably but not sure - you should probably take them to the dealership and check it out like I did with my bikes. I didn't buy it for the back seat so I didn't really check that out - you should if you're thinking about getting one.

-Ray

[Pete Serotta]

Ray, best of luck with the car. I like the color.


Thanks for posting the pictures and how it fits. With oil passing 100/barrel I think we are going to see some higher prices on gas. You have the best of both worlds. Economy and "fun" driving.
:D

[erikbrooks]

I bought a 2007 CRV a year ago, and it was great, tho I wish the ride were more car-like. I'd probably have gone for a Fit, but I ski lots, and really wanted to just drive past the 'chains required unless AWD' signs. I hate chains. Also I often spend the night in snow country and with 2wd, I often have to shovel for a while to get going next AM, while many AWDs just clean the windows and go.

I chatted with another skier that also had a new CRV, and he had the same comments I had - I think it's like the element, but more luxurious/car-like, and a little less practical. But his face lit up when he told me that he also bought a Fit at the same time - he just loves that car! I didn't even drive one, since it didn't offer the AWD option, but I stared at the interior for a while and had fond memories of my old CRX, which was such a kick in the pants, and high 30mpg to boot.

[deechee]

ditto. thanks Ray :)
definitely gives me reason to visit the dealer (why is bike shopping so much fun and car shopping and absolute nightmare?)

I laughed last night when I our '91 crx started and drove out of the snowbank in -20C whereas the giant current mercedes E class parked behind me (not even in the snow) wouldn't start hahahahaha.

[Ray]

ditto. thanks Ray :)
definitely gives me reason to visit the dealer (why is bike shopping so much fun and car shopping and absolute nightmare?)
The good news and the bad news is there's so little markup on these cars and there are so few of them around, that you're not going to get to / have to negotiate much. The sticker and invoice are only about $500-$600 apart and they don't really have to sell them for invoice to get rid of 'em, so you're really only looking at a $200-$300 negotiating window at most. Which in the realm of new cars, is barely even worth fighting over unless you really enjoy it. :cool:

So relax, go look at 'em, and figure you're going to pay what the sticker says minus a couple hundred bucks.

-Ray