2012 Honda Fit Review and Prices

Styling: The 2012 Fit marks the maturing of a second-generation Fit design that debuted for model-year 2009. Our sources say an all-new third-generation Fit will arrive for model-year 2014. If Honda decides model-year 2012 is the right time to give Fit a midcycle freshening, it would not alter the car’s basic shape or size. Instead, changes would almost certainly be confined to a subtly reshaped grille and front bumper, slightly revised taillamps, and perhaps some new wheel styles, exterior colors, and dashboard trim.

What would remain is a front-wheel-drive car just 12 ½-feet long but with a relatively generous wheelbase (the distance between front and rear axles). Combined with a tall roof and a compact powertrain snuggled smartly under the briefest of noses, Fit’s ability to carry four adults in comfort while also boasting class-topping cargo utility is a revelation.

Honda could use the occasion of a Fit facelift to introduce a fourth model to the lineup. But the 2012 Fit is just as likely to return in three levels of trim:  the base Fit, the Fit Sport, and the Fit Sport with Navigation. Styling differences are evident in the Sport models’ larger tires on alloy wheels and their rear roof spoiler, fog lamps, and shiny exhaust pipe.

Mechanical: The 2012 Honda Fit will retain a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, which almost certainly will repeat at 117 horsepower and 106 pound-feet of torque. Expect 2012 Fit base and basic Sport models to be available with a five-speed manual transmission or a five-speed automatic. Honda withdrew the manual-transmission Fit Sport with Navigation model for model-year 2011, so expect the 2012 version to return with automatic only. In any case, automatic-transmission Sport versions will again have steering-wheel paddles that allow manual-type gear control.

Typical of subcompact cars with engines similar to this, Fit feels liveliest with manual transmission, labors a bit with automatic, and never really counts acceleration among its assets. Also in the negative column has been Fit’s stiff ride over bumps and its paucity of sound insulation against wind and road noise. Solidly on the plus side is responsive handling. Fit is downright fun to drive, and its nimble road manners should again be most vivid in the Sport models, which are expected to continue with 16-inch wheels and tires versus the base Fit’s 15s, plus a suspension fortified with a rear stabilizer bar.

All 2012 Fits will continue with antilock brakes as standard to aid control in emergency stops. Honda took a step in the right direction with the 2011 Fit when it made its Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) antiskid system standard on all Fit models, not just the Sport with Navigation. This safety feature helps keep the car on course in sharp turns.

As for the possibility of a 2012 Fit Hybrid, Honda has begun sale of a gas-electric version in overseas markets but insists it has no plans to offer such a model to American buyers. Instead, it’s preparing a fully electric Fit model, which will likely join the lineup for model-year 2013. (See the What’s Next for the Honda Fit section below.)

Honda’s U.S. hybrid lineup includes the Insight, a four-door hatchback that builds on Fit’s basic engineering by adding a unique body and Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) gas-electric powertrain. The subcompact Insight is priced from around $19,000, but has less passenger and cargo room than Fit and has not been a critical or commercial success. The overseas-market Fit hybrid debuted with a U.S.-equivalent starting price of around $18,600.

Features: The 2012 Honda Fit’s generous wheelbase, tall roofline, and compact exterior dimensions wouldn’t be nearly so efficient if not for a feat of engineering the carmaker calls the Magic Seat. Using a clever concoction of hinges and levers, Fit’s 60/40 split rear seatback and cushions can be folded nearly flush with rear load floor. That takes advantage of Fit’s unusually low floorpan to create a cavernous cargo bay.

Indeed, the 2012 Fit will continue as the pacesetter for subcompact-class cargo volume, with 20.6 cubic feet aft of the rear seatbacks and 57.3 cubic feet with the Magic Seat fully folded. These volumes rival those of some compact crossover SUVs. But wait, there’s more: the Magic Seat’s bottom cushions hinge rearward to open a transverse channel behind the front seats big enough to hold a flat-screen TV box or a standing bicycle. And Fit’s front passenger seatback tips forward to make room for long objects like skis. No other subcompact is so versatile.

The 2012 Honda Fit also will continue among the few cars in this class to offer a factory navigation system. Expect it to again be exclusive to the Sport model where its addition creates, appropriately enough, the “Sport with Navigation” model. Fit’s nav system employs a 6.5-inch dashboard screen, responds reasonably well to voice commands, and includes a digital audio-card reader.

Continuing as standard on all 2012 Fits will be a USB iPod interface, but Honda should, bring the 2012 Fit abreast of the class leaders by making available Bluetooth hands-free mobile-phone connectivity. Few cars in this class offer a sunroof or leather upholstery, and Fit doesn’t, either. Credit Honda with bolstering the 2011 Fit’s standard equipment list by migrating desirable features such as cruise control, remote keyless entry, and the USB audio interface – not to mention the antiskid system – from the Sport versions down to the base model.

Unless Honda adds a super-stripper discount model to the lineup, expect standard equipment on every 2012 Fit to again include a tilt/ telescope steering column, air conditioning, power locks, and power windows with an automatic up/down driver’s window. Honda isn’t apt to break tradition by offering factory options in the traditional sense, so a 2012 Fit buyer will again need to step up to a Sport model to get a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a security system, and cabin map lights. The 2012 Fit will likely repeat with a 160-watt single-CD audio system that works through four speakers on the base model and six on the Sports. An auxiliary plug for digital players is standard along with the USB interface for iPods.