Back in high school I delivered prescriptions for a pharmacy in an early 1980s Honda Civic. That car's 1.3-liter engine kicked out only 62 horsepower, but owing to its small size and 1800-pound curb weight it was a blast to zip around town in.

Over the years the Civic has grown, to the point that it's now large and heavier than the Accord was back then. Sensing that this opened up a hole at the bottom of the line-up, Honda this year is introducing a new small car, the oddly-named Fit. I suspect that the success of the Scion xB and Nissan and Toyota's introductions of similarly small cars also played a role in this decision.

Of these new small cars, the Fit has easily generated the most buzz. I suspect that, like me, many are wondering if it will mark a return of the sort of car the Civic used to be. I took one for a test drive to find out.

The Fit is available in base and Sport versions. Seeking the sportiest possible experience, I drove the latter. The one on the lot was fitted with an automatic transmission. Normally I'd much prefer a manual, but since the Fit Sport offers the lowest-priced button-shiftable automatic on the market, the slushbox is probably the best one to sample anyway.

Styling

From what I've seen, no one else is going to tell you to truth, so I guess it's up to me: the Fit is an ugly car. And I don't mean so ugly it's cute like the xB. No, just plain old ugly. The look resembles nothing so much as an ultra-short minivan. Lots of glass, round droopy nose, side windows that stand nearly upright. The proportions are all funky, and there's not an artful line to be found. The headlights are huge bugeyes; at least they should perform well at night. Compared to this mess, a Chevrolet Aveo is downright chic.

The Sport's standard body kit and slightly larger wheels help somewhat--without them the Fit is both plain and ugly. But even the Sport's wheels are only 15-inchers. On a car that's 60 inches tall, they look puny.

Why aren't people turning away from the car in horror? The only reason I can think of is that's it's a Honda, and people's cut Hondas more slack in this department than anything else, even Toyotas. Let's slap an American or Korean badge on this puppy and see what happens. Or even another Japanese badge. Case in point: the Suzuki Aero.

Inside the styling is less objectionable. You're clearly in an economy car, but various details that stop short of sci fi (unlike those in the new Civic) make the Fit's cabin an interesting place to be. We've got some faux metal trim on a steering wheel wrapped in perforated leather, small shift paddles sticking up above the spokes of that wheel, blue instrument lighting, textured two-tone cloth on the seats, and audio controls that form a circle around the main knob. Said knob is large and well-placed, but twice I turned the 200-watt stereo off when merely attempted to adjust the volume.

Accommodations

The Fit is 3.5 inches taller than the current Civic, and seven inches taller than the one I drove two decades ago. So it should come as no surprise that, like many recent small cars, it fits a generous amount of room into a 157-inch-long package (nearly two feet shorter than a Civic sedan) by positioning the seats well off the floor. The first car I ever drove that used this trick was the 1980s Ford Festiva. And like then, it works well. Not only is there room for adults front and rear, but everyone gets better thigh support than in the average midsize car, and the view out through the large windows is outstanding. You know, like in a minivan. Just much less lengthy.

The front seats are nicely shaped and reasonably comfortable. They provide a moderate amount of lateral support. The rear seat is almost pretty good, but isn't as cavernous as that in the xB. Because the front seats are mounted well off the floor, the rear passengers' feet slide easily beneath them. The rear seatback has two positions, so it can be slightly reclined. By fully reclining the front passenger seat, the right rear passenger can even stretch all the way out Maybach style.

But wait, there's more. When it comes time to haul some cargo, the rear seat can be folded flat in one motion to form a low, flat floor. Or the cushion can be pulled up against the rear seatback as in an extended cab pickup, enabling objects four feet tall to be carried where it normally sits. You can do something similar in the Chrysler PT Cruiser, but only if you remove the rear seat from the car. Honda's method doesn't free up as much space, but it's much more handy.

On the Road

I might even be able to overlook how the car looks if it was an absolute blast to drive. But I'll save you the suspense here--it isn't. The handling is good for this class of car, but it could be better, and most other aspects of the driving experience are marginal.

The 1.5-liter four kicks out 109 horsepower, but it's got to lug 2,500 pounds. Especially hitched to an automatic this is a recipe for underwhelming acceleration at any speed. To extract anything approaching thrust you've got to rev the poor thing, but it gets annoyingly boomy over 4,000 rpm. I'm not averse to engine noise if it's good engine noise; this isn't the good stuff.

Manually shifting the transmission helps a bit, at least when setting the car up to sail through a curve. With five ratios, more than you'll typically find at this price, you can usually find one that's appropriate. It reacts much like other transmissions of this sort--it's no VW DSG in immediacy or smoothness.

Using the shift buttons could be much easier. Since they're attached to the steering wheel rather than the steering column, it's necessary to hunt for them in turns. And often when the wheel is turned the gear indicator is blocked by one of its spokes. The manual should be both quicker and more satisfying.

Fuel economy should be a bright spot, with the EPA predicting a number in the thirties. But the larger, heavier, more powerful Civic earns just slightly lower numbers.

The rear brakes are drums, even on the Sport. But they don't have to deal with much weight, so braking distances are reasonably brief.

Owing to its weight, size, and firmer-than-Toyota suspension tuning the Fit feels fairly agile. But I expected the handling to be even more nimble, and sharper. Suspension tuning appears to be the same for the Sport; it should be firmer to provide a more immediate, more precise reaction to steering inputs. The steering itself, though quick and nicely weighted, provides very little feedback and feels dull on center. I blame the electric assist. Given the car's height, body lean isn't bad, but a firmer suspension would bring it closer to hot hatch levels and eliminate the bit of slop and sway that attends high-speed lane changes. And with 63 percent of the car's weight on the front wheels, of course it understeers as you approach its limits. Sure, other cars in this class handle worse, but the Fit could still be better. Especially in Sport trim.

I didn't mind the minivan-like view through the windshield much--I've hated a similar driving position in other vehicles. But I miss the days when Honda combined a low driving position with great forward visibility by making the cowl and instrument panel as low as possible. Not as good for rear seat room, but much better for driving enjoyment.

Given the somewhat soggier than expected handling, it should come as no surprise that ride quality is good for a small car. The tires clomp a bit over tar strips and minor potholes, but unless you hit something truly nasty the ride doesn't jolt. Noise levels are lower than expected, even on the highway.

However, crosswinds find a nice, juicy target in the small Honda's tall, flat bodysides. So keeping the Fit pointed straight ahead can require a fair amount of attention. If you like a car that feels planted on the highway, this ain't it. I've been on sailboats that get blown about less.

Honda Fit Price Comparisons and Pricing

The Fit starts only about $700 below the cheapest Civic, making it considerably pricier than I personally expected. However, Honda has given even the base car a raft of standard features; adjusting for these widens the gap to about $2,000. Even so, I'd personally dig up the extra cash for the larger, sleeker, more powerful car. Shame the five-door Civic isn't available here, though. If versatility is high on the list of priorities, the Fit has any Civic sold in the U.S. beat by a wide margin.

The Mazda3 is another matter. There you can get a five door with much better handling, again for about two grand more. Easy choice for me. Don't have the extra cash? Then I'd probably opt for a Focus ZX-5.

At $16,500, the car I test drove simply costs too much for what you get.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the Honda Fit:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Fit.php

Last Words

Unlike the Echo, the Fit isn't a total joke of a car. It handles fairly well, offers a good if not great amount of room inside, and has a very versatile, almost stylish interior. But it's also ugly (though not as ugly as the Echo), could handle better still, and is hardly cheap. I don't see anything to get worked up about.

As Sport trims go, this one is only slightly less underwhelming than a Corolla S. The wheels are a bit larger, the automatic has those nifty steering wheel-mounted buttons, and the body kit does its best to redeem the car's styling, but where are the firmer suspension, bump in power, and rear discs?

If the Fit succeeds, it will be because of the sort of offbeat marketing that has worked so well for Scion. The tagline: "The Fit is Go." I suppose this is a variation on "All your base are belong to us." Bad English isn't so catchy when it's thoroughly intentional.

Honda cut its production forecast for the Fit by 24% a few weeks ago. The reason given was that they needed to shift capacity to the hot-selling Civic. Should we buy this spin? Maybe. Maybe not. Time will tell.

Update: A week after writing this review I test drove the Toyota Yaris and Scion xA. Though nicely styled, the Toyota is a thoroughly adequate car, nothing more, nothing less. In other words, boring. The Scion has more character and a tighter suspension, but the driving position is a bit high for comfort. I must admit that, compared to these cars, the Honda is more fun to drive and generally more appealing despite how it looks. I simply expected more based on the glowing reviews I'd read and my memories of past Hondas. So I guess I'll grudgingly raise my rating a star, to four, and recommend it. But my advice remains to get something from the next class up. You'll get a lot more car for just a little more money.

A note on Honda Fit Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Fit rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Honda Fit reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the Fit--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. For non-participants, this access will cost $24.95.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

If you're a member, and you want to receive an email when I post a new review, click here.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Dodge Caliber review
Ford Focus ST review
Honda Civic review
Hyundai Elantra GT review
Kia Spectra5 review
Mazda3 review
Pontiac Vibe GT review
Toyota Corolla XRS review
Toyota Echo review
Toyota Yaris review