It's amazing how well-designed and utilitarian the Honda Fit is.

[fuzzybabybunny]

I went and checked out the Outback, XV, and Forester because I want an AWD car for traveling the world in:

Honestly? My Honda Fit is the most cavernous in the back and for sleeping. No joke. WAY more headroom in the back compared to any of these cars. The Outback is longer though and the seats fold *perfectly* flat for sleeping, but the ceiling is LOW. And it's a long car and the fuel mileage suffers. I'm used to getting 32mpg combined and with the Outback I'd be only getting 25-26 with CVT. And the CVT on the Outback had some serious lag that frankly surprised me quite a bit.

I instantly discounted the Forester because, even though the attack angle is much better for off-roading, the interior has a huge bump when you lay flat. Plus I don't personally like the look of the car.

And last is the XV. I was surprised by how small it is on the inside. My Fit interior feels almost twice as big. I can lay flat, but that would require me to put boxes in the passenger foot spaces and additional padding on top to artificially extend out my sleeping platform into what would normally be the empty space of the foot spaces. And even then you would only have a max of maybe 5'9" of length. The front seat doesn't fold forward hardly at all, so you are met with a nearly vertical front seat back instead of a sloping one that you can use as a comfortable reclining backrest, such as in the Fit.

In summary, I'm actually quite disappointed in all of them. I was really hoping that the XV would by like my Honda Fit, just with added AWD. But alas, the Fit is still the most practical, spacious, and fuel efficient car by far. The get the same sleeping capability as my Fit I'd have to go for the must longer and less efficient Forester. So now I've got something of a dilemma. I don't know which car to pick.

EDIT: Just to give an idea:

Crosstrek: height of center of rear cargo floor to ceiling: 30" - 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek- specs, details, options, colors, prices, and more
cargo floor length to top of rear seat, not including headrests 55"

Forester: 32" - 2013 Subaru Forester- specs, images, details, prices, options and packages
Cargo floor length to back of rear seat 35.5"

Outback: 33.5" - 2013 Subaru Forester- specs, images, details, prices, options and packages
length to top of rear seats folded flat 66" (not to the back of the front seat)

Honda Fit: 40" - 10 inches more than the XV!
length to top of rear seats folded flat 55" (not to the back of the front seat - length to the back of the front seat is about 67")

 

[2timer]

Not really. Honda has been steadily refining it's core small-sized passenger car for generations. Contrast that to American manufacturers, who throw out their designs every few generations and completely start over. So yeah, there's a reason it feels "well-designed."

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Not really. Honda has been steadily refining it's core small-sized passenger car for generations. Contrast that to American manufacturers, who throw out their designs every few generations and completely start over. So yeah, there's a reason it feels "well-designed."

I don't think there was anything even close to the Fit from a previous Honda? The Fit's definitely nothing close to an old Civic or anything...

 

[2timer]

I don't think there was anything even close to the Fit from a previous Honda? The Fit's definitely nothing close to an old Civic or anything...

I'd say the Civic Si hatch would be pretty close:

Basically just bring the rear roof flat so it doesn't slope and make the front windshield a "bubble" style, and you're pretty close. Although, and I didn't realize this, the engine family is totally exclusive to the Fit. I thought they shared. I was wrong.



But I digress. Excellent car bro :thumbsup:

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I'd say the Civic Si hatch would be pretty close:

Basically just bring the rear roof flat so it doesn't slope and make the front windshield a "bubble" style, and you're pretty close. Although, and I didn't realize this, the engine family is totally exclusive to the Fit. I thought they shared. I was wrong.



But I digress. Excellent car bro :thumbsup:

The thing that TOTALLY redefined the Fit was moving the gas tank to under the front seats. That gave an incredible amount of extra room in the rear cargo area. Add to that the Magic Seats that fold down completely flat and also fold up vertically, and you've got an unsurpassed cargo area for a small car.

I don't believe the Civic Si had any of these features. They may look the same from the outside, but then again so does the new Subaru XV versus the Honda Fit, yet the interior dimensions are totally different.

Every other auto maker is still putting there gas tanks under the rear seats and employing a simple rear back fold down design, rather than having the entire seat fold into a compact unit.

 

[LTC8K6]

The thing that TOTALLY redefined the Fit was moving the gas tank to under the front seats. That gave an incredible amount of extra room in the rear cargo area. Add to that the Magic Seats that fold down completely flat and also fold up vertically, and you've got an unsurpassed cargo area for a small car.

I don't believe the Civic Si had any of these features. They may look the same from the outside, but then again so does the new Subaru XV versus the Honda Fit, yet the interior dimensions are totally different.

Every other auto maker is still putting there gas tanks under the rear seats and employing a simple rear back fold down design, rather than having the entire seat fold into a compact unit.

It only benefits certain body styles to have the back seats fold away like that.

 

[Throckmorton]

I really don't think you should try to explore the world in a Honda Fit. You need an old but reliable truck that won't attract attention, not an expensive (by third world standards) car that can't offroad.

Remember when your sport bike got stuck offroading? Now imagine that happening with a Fit on a dirt road in Vietnam. How are you going to get unstuck?

 

[2timer]

The thing that TOTALLY redefined the Fit was moving the gas tank to under the front seats. That gave an incredible amount of extra room in the rear cargo area. Add to that the Magic Seats that fold down completely flat and also fold up vertically, and you've got an unsurpassed cargo area for a small car.

I don't believe the Civic Si had any of these features. They may look the same from the outside, but then again so does the new Subaru XV versus the Honda Fit, yet the interior dimensions are totally different.

Every other auto maker is still putting there gas tanks under the rear seats and employing a simple rear back fold down design, rather than having the entire seat fold into a compact unit.

True, that did define the rear cargo space.

 

[LTC8K6]

Do you think AWD has anything to do with it?

 

[Greenman]

I went and checked out the Outback, XV, and Forester because I want an AWD car for traveling the world in:

Honestly? My Honda Fit is the most cavernous in the back and for sleeping. No joke. WAY more headroom in the back compared to any of these cars. The Outback is longer though and the seats fold *perfectly* flat for sleeping, but the ceiling is LOW. And it's a long car and the fuel mileage suffers. I'm used to getting 32mpg combined and with the Outback I'd be only getting 25-26 with CVT. And the CVT on the Outback had some serious lag that frankly surprised me quite a bit.

I instantly discounted the Forester because, even though the attack angle is much better for off-roading, the interior has a huge bump when you lay flat. Plus I don't personally like the look of the car.

And last is the XV. I was surprised by how small it is on the inside. My Fit interior feels almost twice as big. I can lay flat, but that would require me to put boxes in the passenger foot spaces and additional padding on top to artificially extend out my sleeping platform into what would normally be the empty space of the foot spaces. And even then you would only have a max of maybe 5'9" of length. The front seat doesn't fold forward hardly at all, so you are met with a nearly vertical front seat back instead of a sloping one that you can use as a comfortable reclining backrest, such as in the Fit.

In summary, I'm actually quite disappointed in all of them. I was really hoping that the XV would by like my Honda Fit, just with added AWD. But alas, the Fit is still the most practical, spacious, and fuel efficient car by far. The get the same sleeping capability as my Fit I'd have to go for the must longer and less efficient Forester. So now I've got something of a dilemma. I don't know which car to pick.

EDIT: Just to give an idea:

Crosstrek: height of center of rear cargo floor to ceiling: 30" - 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek- specs, details, options, colors, prices, and more
cargo floor length to top of rear seat, not including headrests 55"

Forester: 32" - 2013 Subaru Forester- specs, images, details, prices, options and packages
Cargo floor length to back of rear seat 35.5"

Outback: 33.5" - 2013 Subaru Forester- specs, images, details, prices, options and packages
length to top of rear seats folded flat 66" (not to the back of the front seat)

Honda Fit: 40" - 10 inches more than the XV!
length to top of rear seats folded flat 55" (not to the back of the front seat - length to the back of the front seat is about 67")

The only issue is, almost no one buys a car as their primary residents. An RV maybe, a motor home for sure, but not a car.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I really don't think you should try to explore the world in a Honda Fit. You need an old but reliable truck that won't attract attention, not an expensive (by third world standards) car that can't offroad.

Remember when your sport bike got stuck offroading? Now imagine that happening with a Fit on a dirt road in Vietnam. How are you going to get unstuck?

I'm not going to be taking the Fit. Too likely to get stuck in the places where I want to go.

The truck idea has two problems:

1. I'd like to get financing. I don't have $10,000+ lying around to just drop in one go on a truck. Financing for used cars is a lot harder and higher interest than new cars, right? I'd rather pay $450 / month at 1-2% interest than try to scrape together $10k+ or pay 5%.

2. Gas. 15 mpg scares me.

3. As for things like a CRV, I'm just not convinced on their AWD effectiveness. I've seen these things get stuck. A lot. One time I saw a Mitsubishi "AWD" incapable of going up an incline due to having two of the wheels sliding on, wait for it.... wet leaves. The other two wheels were on solid pavement.

That kind of "performance" to me might as well not be AWD at all. I'd be just as scared taking something like that on a bumpy rocky dirt road as I would the Fit. But I'm enamored by the effectiveness of the Subie AWD - I got my dad's 2008 Forester stuck in 3 feet of snow after sliding off the road into a ditch. And I was able to drive myself out, up the incline of the ditch while being absolutely buried in snow.

The following week my friend's Jeep Liberty got stuck in just 4 inches of snow because his AWD system couldn't back our of the slight decline that he was in. It was really quite pathetic but I think you would need to be there to appreciate the pathetic-ness of it.

 

[Capt Caveman]

My gf has a Fit. It's a nice little car with awesome cargo space but a completely different vehicle than the Subaru's you're comparing it too. For it's size and weight, you'd think the Fit should even get better mileage. And the AWD and clearance that the Subaru's have make them vehicles that can be used off-road, unlike the Fit.

Need more storage space, throw on a roof-top box.

 

[2timer]

I really don't think you should try to explore the world in a Honda Fit. You need an old but reliable truck that won't attract attention, not an expensive (by third world standards) car that can't offroad.

Remember when your sport bike got stuck offroading? Now imagine that happening with a Fit on a dirt road in Vietnam. How are you going to get unstuck?

Surely you are joking. :hmm:

 

[LTC8K6]

I'm not going to be taking the Fit. Too likely to get stuck in the places where I want to go.

The truck idea has two problems:

1. I'd like to get financing. I don't have $10,000+ lying around to just drop in one go on a truck. Financing for used cars is a lot harder and higher interest than new cars, right? I'd rather pay $450 / month at 1-2% interest than try to scrape together $10k+ or pay 5%.

2. Gas. 15 mpg scares me.

3. As for things like a CRV, I'm just not convinced on their AWD effectiveness. I've seen these things get stuck. A lot. One time I saw a Mitsubishi "AWD" incapable of going up an incline due to having two of the wheels sliding on, wait for it.... wet leaves. The other two wheels were on solid pavement.

That kind of "performance" to me might as well not be AWD at all. I'd be just as scared taking something like that on a bumpy rocky dirt road as I would the Fit. But I'm enamored by the effectiveness of the Subie AWD - I got my dad's 2008 Forester stuck in 3 feet of snow after sliding off the road into a ditch. And I was able to drive myself out, up the incline of the ditch while being absolutely buried in snow.

The following week my friend's Jeep Liberty got stuck in just 4 inches of snow because his AWD system couldn't back our of the slight decline that he was in. It was really quite pathetic but I think you would need to be there to appreciate the pathetic-ness of it.

Snow tires should be used in the snow. Most people don't put them on. That's why they often get stuck, even in an all wheel drive vehicle. Snow tires on a front or rear drive vehicle will usually do better than m/s tires on a 4wd vehicle.

Jeep Liberty can have two different 4wd systems, an okay system, and a great system. The great system costs more.

 

[Kaido]

I went and checked out the Outback, XV, and Forester because I want an AWD car for traveling the world in:

Honestly? My Honda Fit is the most cavernous in the back and for sleeping.

Funny you say that. Our Fit just went back (off lease) and we have a 2013 Civic now. It's a great car, but my wife has been complaining about how it's just not as...spacious as the Fit. It was such a handy car to have!

Also FYI, the newer Fits (mine was a 2010) don't have fold-flat seats. My buddy's did (older model) and I thought it was great (actually I think we've had this conversation, haha).

So anyway...if you're really going to travel the world, I'd either look at a Subaru or a Landrover. I know the Subaru's (especially the wagons) aren't quite up to your liking, but they are AWD and are typically easy to work on with interchangable parts, so depending on where you plan on traveling, it'd be a pretty diehard choice to go with. Landrovers are the other really common one, from what I've seen, and can handle a lot of rough roads. Or an old VW :biggrin:

 

[RossMAN]

Funny you say that. Our Fit just went back (off lease) and we have a 2013 Civic now. It's a great car, but my wife has been complaining about how it's just not as...spacious as the Fit. It was such a handy car to have!

Since you've probably driven both, I'm assuming the Fit is easier to park?

How's the turning radius?

 

[Throckmorton]

I'm not going to be taking the Fit. Too likely to get stuck in the places where I want to go.

The truck idea has two problems:

1. I'd like to get financing. I don't have $10,000+ lying around to just drop in one go on a truck. Financing for used cars is a lot harder and higher interest than new cars, right? I'd rather pay $450 / month at 1-2% interest than try to scrape together $10k+ or pay 5%.

2. Gas. 15 mpg scares me.

3. As for things like a CRV, I'm just not convinced on their AWD effectiveness. I've seen these things get stuck. A lot. One time I saw a Mitsubishi "AWD" incapable of going up an incline due to having two of the wheels sliding on, wait for it.... wet leaves. The other two wheels were on solid pavement.

That kind of "performance" to me might as well not be AWD at all. I'd be just as scared taking something like that on a bumpy rocky dirt road as I would the Fit. But I'm enamored by the effectiveness of the Subie AWD - I got my dad's 2008 Forester stuck in 3 feet of snow after sliding off the road into a ditch. And I was able to drive myself out, up the incline of the ditch while being absolutely buried in snow.

The following week my friend's Jeep Liberty got stuck in just 4 inches of snow because his AWD system couldn't back our of the slight decline that he was in. It was really quite pathetic but I think you would need to be there to appreciate the pathetic-ness of it.

There's really just one option... a Toyota truck. But unfortunately the HiLux and the Land Cruiser trucks (whatever they're called) aren't sold here.

 

[NutBucket]

Do you think AWD has anything to do with it?

Obviously there's no way to get a low cargo floor when there's a differential and drive shaft back there.

 

[Baked]

You know who drives Honda Fit? Girls. I couple of my female friends drive that car. I drove it a number of times. It's ok. Love the way it can fit a big ass lounge car though.

 

[styrafoam]

Snow tires should be used in the snow. Most people don't put them on. That's why they often get stuck, even in an all wheel drive vehicle. Snow tires on a front or rear drive vehicle will usually do better than m/s tires on a 4wd vehicle.

Jeep Liberty can have two different 4wd systems, an okay system, and a great system. The great system costs more.

I think it was more of the friend getting stuck and less of the jeep getting stuck, 4" of snow is nothing.

 

[Kaido]

Since you've probably driven both, I'm assuming the Fit is easier to park?

How's the turning radius?

Surprisingly not bad. I took a 2013 Forester out a few months ago (they didn't have the 2014 redesign ready yet) - amazing visibility! It's not as refined of a ride as say the Altima, but it has AWD and you can fold down the back seats and fit a ton of stuff in it, without having to own a truck or have something that drives like a truck. Didn't have any trouble in the parking lot. The Fit is nicer just because you can squeeze in anywhere you want, but the Altima was actually easier to park (has some sort of electro-hydraulic power-steering magic that makes it ridiculously easy to turn into a parking space, despite the larger size of the car). I've been leaning towards a wagon lately though just for the extra space...it'd be nice to have the extra room when I need it.

The downside is their lease deals are pretty crappy. A $23,495 Outback is currently $1965 down, $265 a month for 42 months. I can get a $24,246 Camaro (323 HP and surprisingly good & comparable MPG!) for $0 down, $285 a month for a 36 month lease. So the lease total for a $23k wagon is $13095 versus $10260 for a more expensive $24k sports car...a $2835 difference (almost $3k cheaper to get a fun car, what the heck!). Plus you have to keep the Outback 6 months longer, and usually at the end of a 3-year lease is when the brakes & tires start getting ready for a change (which can be up to a grand to do, depending on the car), so that's a little too long for me - might as well buy it instead of leasing it.

Picking a car can be a tricky thing, because then you're stuck with what you chose and also stuck with the maintenance headaches that may or may not come along with it. I really enjoyed the Fit when I had it and would just rent a truck from Home Depot when I needed to move something bigger than the Fit could handle. My Kia Soul supposedly had more cargo space, but since the layout was kind of crappy (small trunk & the rear seats didn't fold down completely flat), I ended up using the Fit anytime I needed to move something. Although, the downside of the hatchback is that it's no fun to have to pop the rear if you have something mega-long (it's like having the back door on a van open vertically), but I fit in my wood parts for a 90" soundbar I'm working on in there without any problems the other day.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I don't think there was anything even close to the Fit from a previous Honda? The Fit's definitely nothing close to an old Civic or anything...

Ohh really?

Also if you want utility and maximum bang for the buck, Minivan is where it's at.

 

[Viper GTS]

I'm not going to be taking the Fit. Too likely to get stuck in the places where I want to go.

The truck idea has two problems:

1. I'd like to get financing. I don't have $10,000+ lying around to just drop in one go on a truck. Financing for used cars is a lot harder and higher interest than new cars, right? I'd rather pay $450 / month at 1-2% interest than try to scrape together $10k+ or pay 5%.

2. Gas. 15 mpg scares me.

3. As for things like a CRV, I'm just not convinced on their AWD effectiveness. I've seen these things get stuck. A lot. One time I saw a Mitsubishi "AWD" incapable of going up an incline due to having two of the wheels sliding on, wait for it.... wet leaves. The other two wheels were on solid pavement.

That kind of "performance" to me might as well not be AWD at all. I'd be just as scared taking something like that on a bumpy rocky dirt road as I would the Fit. But I'm enamored by the effectiveness of the Subie AWD - I got my dad's 2008 Forester stuck in 3 feet of snow after sliding off the road into a ditch. And I was able to drive myself out, up the incline of the ditch while being absolutely buried in snow.

The following week my friend's Jeep Liberty got stuck in just 4 inches of snow because his AWD system couldn't back our of the slight decline that he was in. It was really quite pathetic but I think you would need to be there to appreciate the pathetic-ness of it.

PenFed fixes #1, but I doubt they (or any lender) will appreciate you exploring the 3rd world with their collateral. Every lender will require you insure it, & IMO the odds of working out an acceptable solution for the places you plan to go are slim.

I think you really need to come up with the money to own whatever you get outright.

Viper GTS

 

[IronWing]

Also FYI, the newer Fits (mine was a 2010) don't have fold-flat seats.

What! Someone at Honda needs to commit ritual suicide in atonement for this outrage. I have a 2008 Fit and I wouldn't have bought it w/o the fold flat seats.

 

[MixMasterTang]

What about a Jeep Liberty Diesel: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/jeep-liberty-sport-4x4-diesel-short-take-road-test