Much like a magic trick the Honda Fit is not exactly what it seems to be.  Of course it is a small subcompact car, but if that was the entire description you wouldn’t want to buy it.  No, the Honda Fit is much more.  The Honda Fit uses a variety of balancing acts to show you something in one hand while making another item work in the other.  To start with the Magic Seat allows you to maximize the cargo space without giving up any of the large rear seat space.  The small engine attached to the CVT make a surprisingly peppy pair giving you great acceleration and fuel economy that benefits form the light weight and small size of the vehicle. 

Let’s get down to some details; the first thing to discuss is the power plant.  The only engine you can have on the Fit, which helps keep the cost down as well is the 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine.  No turbocharging or added power boost, just a simple straight up 130 horsepower and 114 lb.-ft. of torque.  Because this sounds like a meager number the balance is in the weight of the car which is very light and the well-designed CVT although you can get a six-speed manual instead.  The fuel efficient comes in at 29 city/37 hwy mpg for the manual, 33 city/41 hwy mpg for the automatic, LX, and 32 city/38 hwy for the automatic, EX and EX-L.  There is one small trick hear that helps pull as much power as it can and that is the i-VTEC fuel injection and Variable Timing Control to bring the fuel numbers up.

With this engine under the hood the next concern is how does this little car drive?  The drive of the Honda Fit feels like the whole car is working together to give as great a ride as possible.  The feeling is similar to when you see an athlete that is truly putting all their effort into a game and getting pure joy from the experience.  Even though they want to win it doesn’t matter as much as the fact that they are fully committed to the task at hand.  That is exactly how it feels to drive this new Fit, with is fantastic and lets you have ride you can predict and love.

A 2016 Honda Fit LX with the manual transmission starts at a price of $16,600.  The EX manual will ask for $18,500 and the automatic will cost an additional $800 on either model.  The EX-L shows up just under $21,000 and the navigation system will add another $1,000 to the price.  This is a great price range to enjoy a car that truly does offer a lot for very little and is magic in motion.

With these prices it might be good to understand the features that are included.  Standard features show up on the LX with a rearview camera, automatic headlights, a five-inch audio display screen, cruise control, remote keyless entry, power windows and door locks, air conditioning, a 60/40 split rear seat, steering wheel mounted audio controls, LED taillights, a tilt/telescoping steering wheel, Bluetooth connectivity and a 160-watt audio system with a USB port and an auxiliary audio input.  Add in airbags and electronic traction and stability control and you see a car that continues to give you everything you could ask for.

Moving up to the EX model brings in 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, fog lights, push button starting, paddle shifters for the CVT, a seven-inch touch screen audio system, a one-touch operation moonroof and a Lane Watch camera.  At the EX-L model leather upholstery is added along with heated front seats, a navigation system and a 180-watt audio system with six speakers and two USB ports.

As for that Magic Seat, this is a really cool feature that allows the seats to fold flat into the floor but makes it so you can flip up the seat bottoms to allow more space for taller objects.  Because the seat folds in a 60/40 fashion and takes up less space a rear passenger can still sit in the back and not feel crowded by the item being hauled next to them.  With the entire bench folded this can give you a full 52.7 cubic feet of space to utilize. 

Another great feature is the Motion Adaptive Electric Power Steering which detects if the vehicle is swaying from its intended path and forcibly prompts the driver to fix the path.  With this cool feature and so much from this little car that keeps on putting out the effort isn’t it time you let this little player win your heart and head on down to your Honda dealer to pick one up?