Honda Fit attracts with price, mileage and overall quality

The newest generation of Honda’s gas-sipping Fit subcompact hatchback has arrived at dealerships.

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Honda

The five-door hatchback Honda Fit is just 13.5 feet long, but it’s roomy inside and has 20.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seat that expands to 57.3 cubic feet with the rear seat folded down. Plus, the gas mileage will put a smile on your face. The base automatic transmission model has an EPA rating of 28 mpg city/35 highway.

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The big draw of the Fit, of course, is its great fuel economy — up to 35 miles per gallon — along with a starting price of $15,220 (including freight) for the five-speed manual-transmission model, and $16,020 for the model with a five-speed automatic.

And that’s not to mention Honda’s legendary quality, which is the main reason many people choose this automaker’s products over those of other manufacturers.

“With the all-new Fit, Honda is offering premium features and advanced technology within a high-function, small-vehicle package,” said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co.

The Fit comes in just one body style — a five-door hatchback. Although it’s just 13.5 feet long, it’s quite roomy inside, and even three people can fit in the back seat if necessary.

There is 20.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seat — more than that of most full-size sedans. With the rear seat folded, the cargo area expands to a whopping 57.3 cubic feet. Total interior space is 90.8 cubic feet.

It appears that some of that cargo space comes at the expense of fuel capacity. The tank, under the rear cargo deck, holds just 10.6 gallons of gasoline. But, hey, that’s a lot less to buy each time — especially compared with SUVs that have 22-gallon tanks — and should go nearly 300 miles between fill-ups even in town.

There are two trim levels offered — the base Fit and the uplevel Fit Sport, whose prices begin at $16,730 for the manual version and $17,580 for the automatic.

A variation of the Sport model adds a GPS navigation system in the center of the dash, adding $1,850 to the price, making the Sport manual $18,580 and the automatic $19,430.

Under the hood of all Fit models is a new 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that cranks out 117 horsepower. The best fuel economy comes from the base automatic transmission model, with EPA ratings of 28 mpg city/35 highway.

All of the other models — manual or automatic — are rated at 27 city/33 highway. But Honda says the automatic has a combined rating of 31 mpg, while the manual is listed at 30.

For those on a budget, though, there are lower-priced options to the Fit, and some of those are quite worthy competitors.

Among them is the Nissan Versa, which starts at $13,640 for the hatchback model and is rated as high as 27 city/33 highway.

The Chevrolet Aveo5, another close competitor, begins at $12,120 and has EPA ratings of 27/34.

Toyota’s entry in this segment is the Yaris Liftback, whose 2008 prices begin at $12,270, and whose EPA mileage is higher, at 29 city/36 highway.

Honda says the Fit “is designed to lead the subcompact segment with a quality feel and a multifunctional interior.”