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Will it fit?: Determining no matter whether Honda’;s new tiny hatch can fill its predecessor’;s huge shoes.
If the personal-transportation options of Americans were primarily based solely on require and practicality, we’d have a considerably narrower spectrum of automobiles on our roads. From the hundreds of models accessible now, we’d need to have just 4: 50-cc mopeds for single people, bitty 5-door hatchbacks for couples, minivans for bigger families, and pickups for those who pack nail guns or pilot a Ditch Witch. In truth, we’re quite confident this is how they do it in Europe.
If they ever put us in charge, the Honda Match will be mankind’s hatchback. Because it appeared on the scene in 2006, the fun-size Honda has been our reflexive recommendation for pretty significantly everybody on a spending budget, such as the old lady in the shoe. To date, this spacious, bodacious cube has pulled in 6 10Best trophies and 3 comparison-test wins. So its redesign for 2015 makes us nervous. Can the new Fit possibly live up to the untouchable regular set by the old?
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Dressier interior fittings justify a slightly greater price tag. |
It sits on a new platform, it’s powered by a new engine spinning new transmissions, and it wears a new look. That final point, at least, is a definite plus. For the very first time, aesthetics appear to have been a prime consideration in the Fit’s design and style. As with the styling of numerous minicars, it is polarizing. But the past 2 Fits haven’t polarized anyone they’ve looked dorky to everybody.
The 2015 Fit appears much bigger than its predecessor, but it is in fact the identical height, 1.6 inches shorter, and just .3 inch wider. The engorged appearance comes from a substantially decreased glass-to-body ratio. The greenhouse is shorter, even if the car itself is not. This provides the Match a much more substantial look. And it is more substantial, despite the fact that only slightly. This car’s curb weight of 2572 pounds is up 52 from the final Fit we tested. As far as vehicles are concerned, that’s just water w7
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In spite of the small increase in mass, the car sees big gains in rigidity. It’s still a playful chassis for an reasonably priced stuff-shuffler. There’s small roll, and wheel and body motions are effectively controlled even when you smack a mid-corner bump. With out an available rear anti-roll bar like that on the outgoing Match Sport, the 2015 model isn’t very as neutral. But it’s enjoyable, and undoubtedly more so than any of the nonexistent vehicles that supply a Fit-sized interior at this value. The rack-mounted electric power-steering motor takes orders from a sturdier shaft whilst a modicum of feel remains, it’s a bit muted and less instant than ahead of, and this flattens the exciting on turn-in. Each the .79-g skidpad grip and 178-foot stopping distance are typical for its B-segment cohort (Chevy Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2). But the brakes are actuated by a pedal that is squishier than the final Fit’s, once again sapping a touch of the old car’s charm.
There’s a shade much less zeal underhood, also. Even though far more potent, the engine is missing the touch of rasp that reminded its driver of other higher-profile VTEC screamers. It nevertheless displaces 1.5 liters, but that is about it for similarities among Fit engines new and old. Now it’s stuffed with direct injection and dual overhead cams (exactly where ahead of there was port injection and just 1 lobestick). In addition to i-VTEC’s dual-profile intake cam, the 1.5 packs VTC, or Variable Timing Handle, which retards intake valve timing at low rpm and advances it at higher engine speeds. New oil jets cool the undersides of the pistons, and the crankshaft has been lightened 27 percent by way of smaller journals and a 50-% reduction in counterweights, from 8 to 4. An extra 13 horsepower and 8 pound-feet of torque, for totals of 130 and 114, respectively, do not sound like much achieve for all of that work, but this is just a 1.5. That increase in energy and shorter gearing drop the zero-to-60-mph time from 8.4 seconds to 8.. At 16.2 seconds and 86 mph in the quarter-mile, the Fit would have outrun every single vehicle in our last comparison test of this class [“Appetizers,” November 2011]. Fuel economy with the manual hits 29 mpg city and 37 highway. Shifting mainly at the 6800-rpm redline, we logged 30 mpg.
Continued…
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