Keep going with your stabs at Honda from the front seat of your GM built SAAB.
Impressed with the upcoming Honda Fit
- Thread starter vad
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Yea, everyone knows the Saab 9-3 is just an overpriced Malibu.
My friend has Aerio SX 05 FWD. it takes about 33 miles/g. in 50/50 driving. 06 Aerio SX FWD you can have for about $14K fully loaded, and it is 100% Japan made, and it has 155hp engine, now you know.
JHZR2
Staff member
Sorry, realities are realities... if honda was seen down there, Id say it was so. I have no problem with honda, in fact the fiancee has an acura that were very happy wth. My issue is the MPG of te fit... remember that... thats why I first posted in this thread... not to convert prospective fit buyers to saab... and if you think that for some reason, youre just dense. Reality is that in the USVI the market is dominated by toyota and suzuki... for a reason - longevity in severe service, and availability of vehicles built to a certain toughness level. Domestics arent even liked down there for longevity reasons... Ford would be the #3 player down there, by quite a shot, and only due to rental companies using them... And anyway, i was talking to our new forum member, dima, about some anecdotal information pertaining to the build of his suzuki, in real severe service, not southern CT driving. I wasnt talking to you, so F-off.
Or did you already buy a fit, and have to justify paying $xxx over sticker for something that has already ben on the market for a number of years??? After all, the vehicle cant stand for itself, you need to take issue at every last word I say, even if there is real evidence and truth to it.
I could care less if GM is the parent company of saab... I bought a car that had the economy, power, configuration and price that I desired... Wal mart could have made it and it would still be what I want. If youre too stupid to look into the reality of the SIGNIFICANT difference, than just shut up. This thread isnt about my saab anyway... I cant help it if I can pull consistent 38 MPG trips in it... despite being heavier and more powerful than the fit... thats not the issue. The issue in this thread is that IMO the economy of the FIT sucks, and youre even more of a moron if you think that 38 MPG fron the FIT is good, considering all of Honda's high technology and engine and engineering expertise.
I bid you good day, sir.
JMH
[ April 23, 2006, 08:36 PM: Message edited by: JHZR2 ]
The Aerio???
"Still, it's not encouraging to have a new car with 7,000 miles that sounds precisely like a decade-old car with 70,000 on the odometer.
It lacks refinement in other areas, too, like the cheap-feeling, clunky plastics that cover the dash and poor handling with too much body roll."
BTW, the Aerio's EPA ratings are 25 mpg City / 31 mpg Highway.
"Still, it's not encouraging to have a new car with 7,000 miles that sounds precisely like a decade-old car with 70,000 on the odometer.
It lacks refinement in other areas, too, like the cheap-feeling, clunky plastics that cover the dash and poor handling with too much body roll."
BTW, the Aerio's EPA ratings are 25 mpg City / 31 mpg Highway.
JHZR2
Staff member
ummmm, did you read Bill's report just above... wasnt exactly glowing as far as build quality, and whatnot either. And yu dont think the fit will have body roll compared to a BMW or whatever benchmark reviewers use too? Trust me, there are just as many ways to easily flip a fit as there are an aerio... its not exactly a BMW... or even a civic.
JMH
JHZR2
Staff member
I don't know... there are a lot of people who buy honda just because consumer reports fills in a bunch of red circles and says that it is 'reccomended'... so then people go out and pay a premium for them... or pay $2k less than original sticker for a car that is 2 years old and has 20k miles on it...quote:
Originally posted by vad:
Back to the BMW comparisons?
If the Fit is a great car or not, don't you think the public will quickly figure it all out?
The rest of the world already did.
good value? I dont think so. but to each their own... I wont tell you that your honda purchase is a bad one (because its not), and you dont tell me that my saab is a piece of junk (because its not). Fair enough? Or are grown adults really no better than five year olds?
But anyway... back on track about the fit... Ive said it once, and Ill say it again... 38 MPG highway is not all that great for something that is an economy car. Period.
Sure the fit looks better and drives better than, say, a yaris, but thats not saying much either.
As I originally said... when Honda puts one of their supposedly spectacular diesels into a car like this, that will be an exciting moment... Until then... yawn. Nobody's economics are going to work out paying a premium for a Honda product that only gets 38 MPG, when its supposed to be an economy leader... and even if you absolutely need a new car, the alternatives from the honda line, if not the toyota matrix and similar are just too good to make this vehicle, IMO, a significant player. You need to be trading up from a v10 excursion or similar for this vehicle's economy to be enticing.
Mechanicals, suspension, ergonmics, build quality, longevity all might be top notch, but until they can at least hit 40 MPG EPA Hwy, it is nothing special. After all, the 2006 MB E320 CDI is EPA rated 37 highway... and how much heavier, more powerful, better handling and faster 0-60 and 1/4 mile is it? Price is irrelevant... the reality is that honda could have done much better with the economy of this car, thus my disapointment.
Maybe next gen will be better... just about when Ill want an economy commuter car to augment my fleet, due to my changed driving profile.
JMH
You're missing (avoiding) one important detail.
The Fit is rated at 33 mpg City, which will give it a better overall real world gas mileage performance.
Hey, the 250 hp Avalon is rated at 31 mpg highway.
Now, drive it in the real world environment with traffic and gridlock, and then tell me how good its overall mileage would be.
My festiva and aspire get better gas mileage with basically the same size engines, and they are 11-15 years older. Better than both the yaris and fit. Technology has advanced so something doesn't compute. I bet a un-opec influenced computer flash would cure that problem?
JHZR2
Staff member
vad:
this is true... excelent point.
However, in my experience, diesels have been very forgiving in high traffic situations, since their A/F ratio can drop to 80:1 or 100:1... so in terms of a car like the MB, which is rated 27 city (due to a lot more weight, and ths inertia to overcome), this is expressed well. And if you drive a vehcile right, you can do well even in traffic. Not that I want to exploit the glories of my saab, lest be yelld at by jeepster... but I managed 34 MPG last tank in my saab, and that as almost entirely I-95 parking lot commuting traffic... approximately 80% traffic, 20% highway. So it is doable: come on Honda, give us something worthwhile!!! As Eric says above, these economies have been obtainable for a long time (though I bet the fit has a LOT more interior space than a festiva)...
All the same, 33 city decent, if obtainable regularly. though, as much as I dont like to admit it (I dont think that the total haz mat pollution from the lifecycle of betteries is considered), hybrids do shine, if youre really doing heavy traffic city only (or city like) driving...
I bet honda could do even better in city MPG too, though... I'm still kind of falling asleep w.r.t. these economy numbers.
JMH
this is true... excelent point.
However, in my experience, diesels have been very forgiving in high traffic situations, since their A/F ratio can drop to 80:1 or 100:1... so in terms of a car like the MB, which is rated 27 city (due to a lot more weight, and ths inertia to overcome), this is expressed well. And if you drive a vehcile right, you can do well even in traffic. Not that I want to exploit the glories of my saab, lest be yelld at by jeepster... but I managed 34 MPG last tank in my saab, and that as almost entirely I-95 parking lot commuting traffic... approximately 80% traffic, 20% highway. So it is doable: come on Honda, give us something worthwhile!!! As Eric says above, these economies have been obtainable for a long time (though I bet the fit has a LOT more interior space than a festiva)...
All the same, 33 city decent, if obtainable regularly. though, as much as I dont like to admit it (I dont think that the total haz mat pollution from the lifecycle of betteries is considered), hybrids do shine, if youre really doing heavy traffic city only (or city like) driving...
I bet honda could do even better in city MPG too, though... I'm still kind of falling asleep w.r.t. these economy numbers.
JMH
JHZR2
Staff member
good point! Any info on how the fit has fared in the standard crash tests? Being out on the market for a while esewhere, Id venture to guess that there is some euro test ranking data out there.
Or did I miss that some pages back? I havent reviewed all 7 in a while now.
Thanks!
JMH
Or did I miss that some pages back? I havent reviewed all 7 in a while now.
Thanks!
JMH
Even though my cars are lighter and don't conform to the current crash standards the technology of today is far advanced of the odb1. Even the aerodymanics are better on these cars. These cars could and should get better mpg.
People, we missed one important point in this forum:
In other places fit sold with different engines:
1.2, 1.4 all I-Dsi totaly different technology = moore miles/g less hp. It means that NA honda PR department thinks it better to get moore powerfull engine here to get it to sell well. Because of this, we don't have a choise of best configuration for our needs. Same is true for other car makers. Even Aerio has smaller engins, which gives very good miles/g. We just don't have a way to get them.
That's a life in North America.
[ April 23, 2006, 10:17 PM: Message edited by: dima ]
In other places fit sold with different engines:
1.2, 1.4 all I-Dsi totaly different technology = moore miles/g less hp. It means that NA honda PR department thinks it better to get moore powerfull engine here to get it to sell well. Because of this, we don't have a choise of best configuration for our needs. Same is true for other car makers. Even Aerio has smaller engins, which gives very good miles/g. We just don't have a way to get them.
That's a life in North America.
[ April 23, 2006, 10:17 PM: Message edited by: dima ]
JHZR2
Staff member
Agreed, Eric. But dont type too much or Jeepster might think youre implying something about the superiority of those cars, and make a big fuss.
And yes, thats right, there are other engines out there, aready built in the FIT, that would be better for economy in an economy car.
Im sure the decision not to use them has nothing to do with the vanity and idiocy of the buying public... nope, Ill be making enemies if I imply that...
JMH
And yes, thats right, there are other engines out there, aready built in the FIT, that would be better for economy in an economy car.
Im sure the decision not to use them has nothing to do with the vanity and idiocy of the buying public... nope, Ill be making enemies if I imply that...
JMH
I hope he is better than that.
Well, you all talking about FIT as it is a great value. I do not agree... I got 06 Suzuki AERIO SX AWD premium package for 16K, new. You may argue that it not be as good as honda, but it has 100K 7 years powertrain waranty plus it is fully loaded, it even has a heated mirrors, climate control, ABS to name few. Yes, milage is not as good as FIT, but with amount of $ in savings I can afford to burn little bit more gas.
It has 24 miles/g in city and 29 miles/g hiway in AWD setup. Im avaraging around 25 miles/g in 60% city, 40% hiway. And, man FIT looks alot like AERIO SX.
It has 24 miles/g in city and 29 miles/g hiway in AWD setup. Im avaraging around 25 miles/g in 60% city, 40% hiway. And, man FIT looks alot like AERIO SX.
To add my two cents to the Fit discussion: the Honda dealer I was at on Friday had one. Nice looking car. The sticker on the window: "1.5L of Micro Muscle Fury".
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