Richmond Toyota
5601 National Road East Richmond, IN 47374Sales: 888-848-7311
- Service: 888-850-8129
Introduction
While the Honda Civic has never shown a big thirst at the gas pump, its ever-increasing dimensions (and price) have squeezed it out of the entry-level market. Korean-built subcompacts have eagerly filled the void, hungry for the chance to secure new customers. Enter the Fit, which burst onto the U.S. market in 2006. We tested the Honda Fit Sport, more fully equipped and vastly more popular as well. For $15,765 our Fit Sport features 15-inch alloy wheels carrying 195/55HR15 tires, cruise control, keyless entry, foglights, aero-style bodywork trim and a better stereo with an auxiliary input.
Every Fit features a 16-valve DOHC inline-4 with Honda's step-type VTEC variable valve timing, and the engine develops 109 horsepower.
Scion Marketing Success
As a branding exercise, the Scion experiment has been a huge success. Out of nowhere Scion has become the No. 1 Internet brand, with 80 percent name recognition among online shoppers under age 35. Even so, only 28,033 examples of the Scion xA were sold in 2006, less than half the number of Scion xB sales.As a result, Scion has decided to renew the entry-level Scion's identity at the same time that it renews the hardware, so the xD has appeared. Banished is the anemic 103-hp 1.5-liter engine, and it's replaced by a 128-hp 1.8-liter mill with variable valve timing for both the intake and exhaust cams. The tires have grown to 195/60HR16s, and electronic stability control is available as an option. Features such as cruise control and keyless entry are now standard.
Standard content costs money, so a 2008 Scion xD will cost more than an xA when it goes on sale in August. Of course our test car had the optional stability control, a stereo upgrade and illuminated door sills, so we believe its as-tested price sits around $16,368, give or take a bit.
Comparing The Engines
The Honda Fit and the Scion xD rest on nearly identical wheelbases, some 96.5 inches for the Honda and 96.9 inches for the Scion. Their other dimensions are also nearly the same, with the Fit measuring 2.7 inches longer while the Scion spreads 1.7 inches wider. These cars are both 60.0 inches tall.
Both of these front-wheel-drive cars have transverse four-cylinder engines. Both have strut-type front suspension. Honda even improves the Fit's space-efficiency by locating the fuel tank under the front seats. As a result, the floor height goes down farther still, enabling the second-row seatbacks to fold forward all the way into the footwells, creating a dead-flat loading floor and 41.9 cubic feet of cargo capacity. In comparison, the Scion affords 35.7 cubic feet once the conventional split-back folding seats have been laid down.
The Honda Fit Sport offers 90.1 cubic feet of passenger volume and the Scion xD has 84.5 cubic feet of living space. In our experience, a wide variety of body shapes can find a comfortable fit behind the wheel of both cars, perhaps helped by the high hip point for the seating position. The Honda Fit's driving position and control layout did seem sized for smaller drivers, though, as the steering wheel fouled the knees of our tallest driver and the pedal action seemed designed for drivers who sit very close to the steering wheel.
Although we had VTEC-inspired expectations of extreme performance from the Fit Sport, our Honda hatch proved loath to accelerate without judicious rowing of the five-speed gearbox. The Scion xD has 128 hp and 125 lb-ft of torque underfoot, so it moves out with much less fuss, despite weighing 2,615 pounds (143 pounds more than the Fit). At the test track, all this boiled down to an 8.4-second run to 60 mph in the Scion xD, compared to 9.0-second acceleration to 60 mph for the Fit.
Fuel economy laurels go to the 2007-model Fit, but just barely. At first the Fit's rating of 33 mpg city/38 highway seems to trounce the 2008-model Scion xD's estimated 27 city/33 highway. Once you convert the 2007 Fit to the new 2008 EPA methodology, the Honda's rating changes to 28 city/34 highway, just 1 mpg better than the xD.
How the Cars Handle
Agile handling is one of the Fit's strong points, and our nimble 2,472-pound test car felt light on its Dunlop all-season feet. The Fit's electric power steering didn't seem to compromise steering effort or feedback from the tires.Our track tests bear out the Fit Sport's edge in agility, as its 63.3-mph slalom run and 0.81g skid-pad performance were a bit better than the Scion's efforts of 61.1 mph and 0.78g.
The Fit's firm suspension also transmitted too many details of the road's texture to the interior, and the car frequently felt somewhat tense or even nervous and could have used a little more straight-line stability.
The xD has a different vibe altogether. The electric power steering doesn't deliver a natural, transparent feel, and there's too little natural realigning steering torque. But the Scion almost always feels solidly planted on its Bridgestone all-season tires. It's calm and stable at freeway speeds, with better mastery of road imperfections than the Fit and good straight-ahead sense.
Safety Features
On the safety front, both the Honda and the Scion stack up well. Both have standard four-wheel ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution and the Scion adds brake assist if it senses a panic stop. At the test track, both cars stopped equally well from 60 mph, with the Fit coming to a halt in 122 feet and the xD stopping in 123 feet.
With the Fit, Honda has made a point about "Safety for Everyone," committing itself to providing even affordable cars with the best safety technology available. What this means for the Fit is lots of safety as standard equipment, including ABS, front-seat side airbags and curtain-type head-protection airbags for both front and rear passengers.
Summary
The 2007 Honda Fit Sport seems the more practical of the two, with fractionally better fuel economy and huge cargo space.