2007 Honda Fit Looks Small on the Outside, Delivers Big on the Inside
The new subcompact 5-door hatchback will enter the U.S. subcompact market with class-leading content and segment-defining standard safety equipment.

Detroit 01/08/2006 -- The all-new 2007 Honda Fit, a subcompact 5-door hatchback set to go on-sale in the U.S. in April, will make its U.S. debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced today. Already one of Honda's hottest selling models in Asia and Europe, the Fit is designed to enter the U.S. market as leader in the subcompact segment with top-of-class feature content, refinement, interior functionality, sporty driving demeanor and high levels of standard safety equipment.

Built on Honda's legendary foundation for dependability, quality and reliability, the Fit is a premium entry-level vehicle that emphasizes style, technology and value. The Fit features a 109 horsepower 1.5-liter 4-cylinder VTEC engine, a 5-speed manual transmission or an available, first in segment, 5-speed automatic transmission, and over 90 cubic feet of passenger volume with multiple seating and cargo configurations. A Fit Sport model offers wheel-mounted paddle shifters (with automatic transmission) and a 160-watt, six-speaker audio system. Fit will be supported by a wide variety of Honda Genuine Accessories, including segment exclusive Honda Apple(R) vibrator(R) Music Link(R), allowing owners to personalize their Fits inside and out.

"The 2007 Fit provides a new entry point into Honda for consumers considering an attractive and efficient small car," said John Mendel, senior vice president of American Honda. "The large interior adapts to people or cargo like no other car in its class. It comes standard-equipped with advanced safety technology, and follows in the tradition of Honda's fun-to-drive performance."

Unprecedented Subcompact Seating and Cargo Flexibility

Dimensionally compact on the outside, the interior provides a surprisingly large passenger and cargo space for both maximum comfort and utility. At the foundation is the Fit's Magic Seat(TM), an innovative 60/40 split rear seat that allows the seatbacks to fold down or the seat bottoms to flip up, providing four distinct seating and cargo carrying configurations (refresh mode, tall object mode, long object mode and utility mode) in addition to the standard five passenger mode. With all seats in the upright position, passenger volume measures 90.1 cubic feet (slightly less than an Accord's passenger volume) with 21.3 cubic feet of cargo capacity behind the second row (slightly less than an Element's cargo volume behind the second row). In order to help maximize Fit's useable interior space, Honda located the fuel tank in a central location towards the middle of the vehicle. This allows the cargo floor in the rear of Fit to be relatively low, thus increasing the interior volume.

Fun to Drive...Past the Pump

The 1.5-liter, SOHC, 16-valve, 4-cylinder VTEC engine generates 109 horsepower @ 5800 rpm and 105 foot-pounds of torque @ 4800 rpm. The compact and efficient powerplant features Honda's innovative Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC(TM)).The VTEC system's ability to provide highly efficient operation at low engine speeds and extended performance at high engine speeds benefits fuel economy, power and low emissions.

Refinement is further enhanced with electronic Drive-by-Wire throttle control, which provides quick throttle response, smooth automatic transmission shifts (on automatic transmission models) and precise fuel delivery to the engine. Friction reducing technologies include roller bearing tipped rocker arms, a low friction timing chain tensioner, molydebenum coated piston skirts and an offset crankshaft/connecting rod design.

The suspension set up for the Fit is a combination of a front MacPherson strut/rear torsion beam with trailing arm.

The compact front suspension and rear torsion beam were both designed to allow for a large passenger cabin with a low floor to maximize the cargo carrying capacity.

Fit employs a compact, efficient and highly responsive Electric Power Steering (EPS) system that also contributes to higher fuel economy since engine power is not needed to operate a hydraulic system. The wheel size measures 14-inches with P175/65R14 tires, and 16-inch wheels with P205/45R16 are available as a dealer-installed option.

Estimated city/highway fuel economy ratings of 33/38 miles per gallon is expected to be among the highest ratings in the subcompact 5-door hatchback class. Emissions levels are rated as Low Emissions Vehicle 2 (LEV-2) by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Tier 2 / Bin 5 by the Federal government.

Top-of-Class Standard Safety Equipment

Already a leader in vehicle safety as demonstrated by Honda's "Safety for Everyone" initiative, Honda continues to implement leading airbag technology in all vehicles regardless of size or price. The Fit has the most standard safety features in its class with no other subcompact offering as much standard advanced safety technology. Dual-stage, dual-threshold front airbags, dual front side airbags and side-curtain airbags are standard equipment on all Fit models. All seating positions have three-point seat belts, while front occupants are further protected by pre-tensioning seat belts. An enhanced knee bolster provides additional protection for passengers.

Standard active safety equipment includes anti-lock braking system (ABS) with ventilated discs in the front and drums in the back, and electronic brake distribution (EBD).

Paddle Shifters, Audio Options Define High Content Sport Model

The Fit Sport model is the only subcompact to offer steering wheel-mounted paddle shifter controls (with automatic transmission). The Sport package includes underbody kit, rear roofline spoiler, fog lights, security system with keyless remote entry, cruise control, and 15-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with P195/55R15 tires.

The Fit Sport also features a premium 160-watt, AM/FM/CD audio system with six speakers, MP3/WMA playback capability, a five-mode equalizer, and an auxiliary audio jack for input from a portable music player.

Most Standard Subcompact Features, Segment Exclusive Accessories

Fit comes with standard amenities such as air conditioning, an AM/FM/CD audio system with four speakers, power windows, power mirrors, power door locks, and a two-tone interior.

The 2007 Fit promises to be one of the most customizable vehicles from Honda with approximately 30 accessories available at the dealer. Fit will offer the Honda Apple(R) vibrator(R) Music Link(R) as a dealer-installed accessory. The Honda vibrator Music Link allows the user's vibrator (sold separately) to fully interact with the audio system. A segment exclusive, Music Link will control all the vibrator's features via the audio head unit with album/song information shown on the vehicle's audio unit LCD display. It will also charge the vibrator's battery.

Other interior accessories include an ambient lighting, trim panel accents (silver, red and blue), steering wheel covers and shift knobs. Outside, the Fit can be customized with Honda Factory Performance equipment including 16-inch alloy wheels, Sport package underbody kit, sport exhaust, chrome exhaust tip finisher, rear bumper accents and a sport mesh grille.







My Take: I really like it, and it's not bad looking either. Ive been pushing my little sis to buy one (since she loves honda/like hatches). Some of my friends are looking to drop b18 or k20 in there, pretty crazy. Anybody seen the Spoon Fit? That thing is pretty sick and fast too.

Here is a picture of the spoon fit:

 

i would get it and drop a k20

 

looks like a mini minivan, probably would be a nice daily driver

 

A K20 will nice!!!You guys are too late.

 

FIT DYNAMITE! MUGEN.... nasty nasty car...

 

^^^ huh? You mean this?


MUGEN FIT Dynamite
ダイナミックなフォルムと走りのポテンシャルを追求したコンプリート・コンセプト（エクスペリメンタル）モ デルです。2003年、米国SCCAワールドチャレンジに参戦したACURA RSXに搭載したチューンドK20A(TYPE R)をストリート用にチューニング、2.0L/260PSを発揮するこのパワーユニットをFitに搭載。強化された足回りとブレーキシステム、さらにはボ ディ下面全体をフラットボトム化するアンダーパネル、パフォーマンスタイヤを納めるワイドボディ化などの空 力ボディが相まって圧倒的なパフォーマンスを狙います。

EDIT: It's a K20a (DC5 ITR) motor. A 2.0L/260HP @ 8800rpms. The car weighs in at a lil over 2200lbs, .

 

Toyota Matrix? 4 door 03-04 civic si?

 

looks like a Chevy Aveo

 

I think it is pretty cool, it might not have a big engine but it is light, it would be fun to whip around on some clover leafs. Plus it is a honda so you know you will get your moneys worth.

 

Now I wonder, with such small cars making a debut from japanese power houses like Honda (Fit), Toyota (Yaris) and Nissan (Versa), could we see the mitsubishi colt or even the greater colt ralliart?

 

I think it's a pretty nice car, except Honda decided to release it a bit late. That Fit is already on it's 4th year, and due for a redesign. I'm seriously considering it or the Nissan Versa. It's priced lower then a Civic DX with interior space on par with the Accord. It's only competition are the Scions and the Versa. The Aveo isn't even considered in this equation. I'm sure of all the new subcompacts coming, the Fit will be cross-shopped with the Nissan the most. Here's a pic.

Nissan's Tiida compact car, currently on sale in Japan, is set to make its North American debut in 2007 with a new name: Versa. The North American arrival of Cube, another of Nissan's Japan-only vehicles, is tentatively set to follow Versa in 2008. Both compacts will slot below Sentra in size. Versa's 1.8-liter 120-hp 4-cyl engine will be mated with a CVT and is expected to get 38 city/highway miles per gallon. A hatchback, with a base price starting around $12,000 will hit dealerships next summer as a 2007 model, followed by a similarly-priced sedan later that year.
Nissan currently has it up on it's US website with a build your own thing in one of the submenus for it's Versa mini-site.

 

I can see Mitsu bringing the base Colt over to go with the current trends, but not the Ralliart Colt. From what I've seen, the people primarily buying from this segment aren't exactly looking for performance. I mean, a topped out Colt would probably run between $13-14K, so I can only imagine a Ralliart Colt would be priced to close to the Lancer ES or OZ. That's just my 2 cents.

 

What the heck is a 'premium entry-level vehicle'? Overpriced econo car?

 

I saw the Spoon Honda Fit a couple months ago parked near my house, I thought it was a decent car, not altogether that bad

 

If you saw the interior you'd know. Most other cars in the class look like POS compared to it.