Fit Sport vs Honda Civic (DX)

arisenfury · 04-14-2007, 08:43 AM

Seems there was some interest in a write up between the two cars comparing them so I'll do a quick one for those who are interested.

First the Civic: I loved the Civic, the styling is great, the engine is wonderful and the highway MPG was pretty nice. However in basic suburban driving I never saw anything near 30 after the first few months of owning the car. On average I would usually get about 25 with conservative driving, dealer kept telling me it was fine. Which brings me to another point, on the Civic I had the 5 speed auto. I'll never get an automatic transmission in a new car again. The ECU "learns" your driving style and if you drive it spiritedly enough it tends to cruise in 3rd or 4th gear, instead of 5th and downshifting when you need to accelerate. I'm guessing this was a major cause of the gas mileage. The interior of the Civic looks nice, I definitely miss the two tier output and the digital speed readout. However the interior quality, like many know, is pretty crappy. Back seats in the Coupe sucked for anyone other than my nieces and sisters. Another factor of me changing out were the two doors, as i was sick of the interior getting torn up with people crawling into the back. Decent sized trunk, hard to get some items in there, and the seats don't fold perfectly flat. The Civic was Honda's entry level car, it used to be priced cheaply with a good deal of standard equipment, however to get a Civic with auto, a/c, power door locks/mirrors, a radio, center armrest, etc. is in the 18k range MSRP. But you still get the entry level quality. So there is the DX which I opted for, and I would have kept the car if it had any of the basic features that it should. Or even if they brought a DX-G model stateside. I priced it out to add on the features myself its astronomical.

Honda Fit: I really like the styling of this car, it's not as sleek and sporty as the Civic, but I don't want a sports car anyways. The motor is on the weak side on paper, but surprisingly the car is quick. I think it was Motortrend that did a write up on the car vs the other new 4 and 5 door sub compacts... The Fit had the second smallest engine, and the best acceleration to 62mph at around 8.7 seconds and the 1/4 in the mid 16s. That's about on par with my Civic. In addition the car is getting better gas mpg than the Civic, which is expected due to the smaller engine. Many people say the Fit and Civic have about the same MPG, which isn't the case. There's a big difference between 30 city and 33 city. On a 10 gallon tank, that's an extra 30 miles. Where it hurts is the highway, with the 5 speed manual to cruise at 70 is in the mid 3,000rpm range. If you go up to 80 you'll be cruising in VTEC. For this the Fit only gets about 38 on the highway to my Civic Auto's 40. The interior of the Fit is much more durable so far than the Civic's. Although I miss the gauges of the Civic as well the Fit's still look pretty nice. Interior space is huge compared to the Civic, despite it being much more narrow. The rear seats are closer to the space provided by an Accord. The trunk it's self is pretty small and my subwoofer takes up most of that room. However the 60/40 seat can fold completely flat to the ground as the gas tank is under the front seats instead of under the rear seats. This provides a loading space on par with my old Chevy Blazer. The hatchback is nice as well, so much easier than working with a trunk. The 6 speaker 200 watt radio is nice as well. Built in equalizer, mp3 jack, mp3 cd support, etc. Also there is TONS of aftermarket support for this car. Price wise you can't go wrong. The Sport models are pretty much the same as DX pricing was. The Fit Sport 5MT is cheaper than my old Civic DX Coupe 5AT, and it comes with keyless entry, power everything, alarm and radio. This was a huge factor as I was actually pricing to upgrade to an LX, I considered a Fit but I couldn't find them, just so happened to find one hiding while looking at LXs. And for everything that's in a Civic LX, you can get for 2,000 cheaper in the Fit.

If anyone has any other questions between the two that I didn't answer, feel free to ask.

***Cybergypsy*** · 04-14-2007, 08:58 AM

My civic is getting 39.2 MPG at the average, I had a XA and will never go back to a lower HP then i have on a civic...I also love the Fit....But more HP is a must

**wing_gundam** · 04-14-2007, 09:29 AM

nice write up!

jasongg06 · 04-14-2007, 12:30 PM

Nice review, i also get around 25mpg city for my civic. I also agree that for $18-20 (my ex) the car should be of higher quality. I'm disappointed when i get into my friends civics (mid-late 90's) and their interior STILL doesn't have any scratches and their seats don't show wear, whereas my ex already does.

doug piston · 04-14-2007, 01:25 PM

i also enjoyed my fit more then my ex civic.... but both werent what i was lookin for si i got the si. but still kept the fit and love it. you can haul a llama with it

victor · 04-14-2007, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cybergypsy

My civic is getting 39.2 MPG at the average, I had a XA and will never go back to a lower HP then i have on a civic...I also love the Fit....But more HP is a must

my civic started with 42mpg and now at 19K miles its down to 32 = (

***Special Ringpop*** · 04-14-2007, 01:55 PM

I love that color on the Fit...better than Fiji Blue, I think.

Can you do some interior shots of the two? We always see the outsides, never the insides.

bLaCkAnGeL07 · 04-14-2007, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasongg06

Nice review, i also get around 25mpg city for my civic. I also agree that for $18-20 (my ex) the car should be of higher quality.

Inflation's a bitch isn't it?

arisenfury · 04-14-2007, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Special Ringpop

I love that color on the Fit...better than Fiji Blue, I think.

Can you do some interior shots of the two? We always see the outsides, never the insides.

Circuit City had a bitch of a time putting in my subwoofer today after work. They don't have write ups on the car and I told them that if anything got messed up I'd more or less mess them up, so they took their time and now it's dark out. I have the day off tomorrow, it's supposed to be raining cats and dogs out here but if I get a chance I'll take some shots. The rear seats are as flexible as a russian contortionist, it's amazing.

Skylinegtr06 · 04-15-2007, 03:29 AM

Nice car, are the automatic fits in the US cvt?

arisenfury · 04-15-2007, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylinegtr06

Nice car, are the automatic fits in the US cvt?

Nah. If they were I might've looked into that a little more. But they're just regular 5 speed autos. They have the paddle shifters on the Sport model but from what I've read they're more or less a joke. The only paddle shifters I'd get would be on a DSG.

Avenger · 04-15-2007, 10:32 AM

I too have a Civic DX coupe, I could've bought a DX-G for $2000US more money, but IMO it just wasn't worth it for power locks, keyless, and A/C......I put in an armrest because I couldn't stand not having one, I also plan on installing an MP3 jack. The dealers here also weren't willing to negotiate on the price of a Fit, but I got nearly $2000USD off of my DX so I ended up paying about $500 more for my Civic DX over the price of a base Fit (is that a Fit DX?). I love the dashboard, and the feel of the cloths in the Civic, not to mention the amazingly good looks for an econobox. Sure, my door panels have a bunch of scuffs from getting in and out, I can live with that. The rear seat room is great in my coupe IMO as I came from driving a '91 Plymouth Laser (rear seat room was a joke but I still managed to drive people around sometimes). The engine in the Civic is a HUGE downgrade from the Laser, good thing it gets much better fuel economy, and I don't NEED to run 94 octane anymore. Does the Fit's paint suck as much as the Civic's does? I mean paint should NOT be flaking from the factory.

The big thing about the Fit (and even the Civic) was that I was afraid of getting in an accident, and personally I don't even think the Civic is really safe enough (not enough weight to the car), I'd be scared of dying if I was driving something even smaller and someone hit me.

arisenfury · 04-15-2007, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avenger

I too have a Civic DX coupe, I could've bought a DX-G for $2000US more money, but IMO it just wasn't worth it for power locks, keyless, and A/C......I put in an armrest because I couldn't stand not having one, I also plan on installing an MP3 jack. The dealers here also weren't willing to negotiate on the price of a Fit, but I got nearly $2000USD off of my DX so I ended up paying about $500 more for my Civic DX over the price of a base Fit (is that a Fit DX?). I love the dashboard, and the feel of the cloths in the Civic, not to mention the amazingly good looks for an econobox. Sure, my door panels have a bunch of scuffs from getting in and out, I can live with that. The rear seat room is great in my coupe IMO as I came from driving a '91 Plymouth Laser (rear seat room was a joke but I still managed to drive people around sometimes). The engine in the Civic is a HUGE downgrade from the Laser, good thing it gets much better fuel economy, and I don't NEED to run 94 octane anymore. Does the Fit's paint suck as much as the Civic's does? I mean paint should NOT be flaking from the factory.

The big thing about the Fit (and even the Civic) was that I was afraid of getting in an accident, and personally I don't even think the Civic is really safe enough (not enough weight to the car), I'd be scared of dying if I was driving something even smaller and someone hit me.

I had thought the same thing too, before the Civic I had a 2 door pickup with no A/C, windows or locks. With a pick up though you can slide the rear window open and it cools off really fast with the small cab space. However the summers down here in CT can and do get really hot, and last summer I was dying in the Civic. I've also been doing more driving of other people around since I got into something that had more than 2 seats. And it's really a pain to bring a bunch of friends around through the two doors, especially during the summer when it's hot and they asked me to turn on the a/c and I had to tell them "nun4u." I'm not sure if you've sat in the inside of the Fit Sport, but the cloth they use on the seat is really neat. I'm trying to get interior pics ASAP. I don't have any response for the paint yet since I've only had the car since Monday. But I can attest that Vivid Blue Pearl is really amazing. A brand new FA5 FBP pulled into my work the other day, saw the fit and parked next to it, I saw him look it over real quick and later in the store he told me he wished that shade of blue came on the Si.

As far as accidents go, the ACE body in both is great for front and rear impacts, as it directs the energy of the crash around the cabin. However if you get t-boned then you'll have some problems. Which is the case in many cars however.

They're both excellent cars though, like I said before, if they offered the DX-G here I would've gotten that either from the beginning or when I decided to upgrade my features.

High201 · 07-15-2007, 03:29 PM

I was looking at the Honda Fit, but at the time they were hard to find. I then opted for the honda Civic and went for the EX model. I have to say i am a bit dissappointed in my decision. I wish i would have settled for the Fit. My civic has rattles everywhere making driving not that much fun. The headrests are not that comfortable as well. I also noticed that backing up and parking is a little tough sometimes because you can't see the front and the back end of the car. I know the Fit would have been a better car for me and probably more fun to drive. I think I made a mistake. oh well no sense complaing about the past. What's done is done. I will learn to love my civic, I hope!?

ps. does the fit really go 0-60 in the 8 second range?

PeterC. · 07-18-2007, 01:39 PM

I had a Fit and I would get a Civic Sedan if I went and did that thing all over again. $18k was way too much for that thing. It didn't get nowhere near the estimated fuel economy for me but the car was fun to toss around.

Hopefully, the next Fit comes soon, because I am sure that car will be killer considering the state of this generation relative to the time it's been out around the world.

King Bob · 07-18-2007, 02:05 PM

My wife just bought a fit sport and I have an Si. For the most part I agree with everything you said I was personally shocked with how quick it feels. I had a 7th gen ex before the Si and my ass dyno says the fit is faster than the old em2 was.

NARFALICIOUS · 07-18-2007, 11:17 PM

hmm the fit seems really worth the price.

i've been looking at the Yaris myself, but the 5 door fit seems more practical for the city than a 3 door yaris.

arisenfury · 07-19-2007, 10:22 PM

Yeah the Fit is surprisingly quick. It weighs in at only 2400 pounds so the 109hp doesn't have much to move. Also, the steering ratio is really really responsive as well.

The Fit really isn't a fast car, it's just a practical car that's fun to drive. I just got back after doing a round trip drive from Connecticut to South Florida (3000+miles) in the Fit with my friend and I have no complaints what-so-ever.

***Cybergypsy*** · 07-19-2007, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NARFALICIOUS

hmm the fit seems really worth the price.

i've been looking at the Yaris myself, but the 5 door fit seems more practical for the city than a 3 door yaris.

i love the yaris........

PR8thgen<ivi> · 07-19-2007, 11:26 PM

not a bad change bro, from what I have read in magz, the fit seems to be more mod friendly than the R18, and they are even turbo kits for it too, so I think the fit has more potential than the r18.

04-14-2007, 08:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
arisenfury Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Central CT Age: 21 Posts: 1,562 Nikon & dSLR squad #6 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Fit Sport vs Honda Civic (DX) Seems there was some interest in a write up between the two cars comparing them so I'll do a quick one for those who are interested. First the Civic: I loved the Civic, the styling is great, the engine is wonderful and the highway MPG was pretty nice. However in basic suburban driving I never saw anything near 30 after the first few months of owning the car. On average I would usually get about 25 with conservative driving, dealer kept telling me it was fine. Which brings me to another point, on the Civic I had the 5 speed auto. I'll never get an automatic transmission in a new car again. The ECU "learns" your driving style and if you drive it spiritedly enough it tends to cruise in 3rd or 4th gear, instead of 5th and downshifting when you need to accelerate. I'm guessing this was a major cause of the gas mileage. The interior of the Civic looks nice, I definitely miss the two tier output and the digital speed readout. However the interior quality, like many know, is pretty crappy. Back seats in the Coupe sucked for anyone other than my nieces and sisters. Another factor of me changing out were the two doors, as i was sick of the interior getting torn up with people crawling into the back. Decent sized trunk, hard to get some items in there, and the seats don't fold perfectly flat. The Civic was Honda's entry level car, it used to be priced cheaply with a good deal of standard equipment, however to get a Civic with auto, a/c, power door locks/mirrors, a radio, center armrest, etc. is in the 18k range MSRP. But you still get the entry level quality. So there is the DX which I opted for, and I would have kept the car if it had any of the basic features that it should. Or even if they brought a DX-G model stateside. I priced it out to add on the features myself its astronomical. Honda Fit: I really like the styling of this car, it's not as sleek and sporty as the Civic, but I don't want a sports car anyways. The motor is on the weak side on paper, but surprisingly the car is quick. I think it was Motortrend that did a write up on the car vs the other new 4 and 5 door sub compacts... The Fit had the second smallest engine, and the best acceleration to 62mph at around 8.7 seconds and the 1/4 in the mid 16s. That's about on par with my Civic. In addition the car is getting better gas mpg than the Civic, which is expected due to the smaller engine. Many people say the Fit and Civic have about the same MPG, which isn't the case. There's a big difference between 30 city and 33 city. On a 10 gallon tank, that's an extra 30 miles. Where it hurts is the highway, with the 5 speed manual to cruise at 70 is in the mid 3,000rpm range. If you go up to 80 you'll be cruising in VTEC. For this the Fit only gets about 38 on the highway to my Civic Auto's 40. The interior of the Fit is much more durable so far than the Civic's. Although I miss the gauges of the Civic as well the Fit's still look pretty nice. Interior space is huge compared to the Civic, despite it being much more narrow. The rear seats are closer to the space provided by an Accord. The trunk it's self is pretty small and my subwoofer takes up most of that room. However the 60/40 seat can fold completely flat to the ground as the gas tank is under the front seats instead of under the rear seats. This provides a loading space on par with my old Chevy Blazer. The hatchback is nice as well, so much easier than working with a trunk. The 6 speaker 200 watt radio is nice as well. Built in equalizer, mp3 jack, mp3 cd support, etc. Also there is TONS of aftermarket support for this car. Price wise you can't go wrong. The Sport models are pretty much the same as DX pricing was. The Fit Sport 5MT is cheaper than my old Civic DX Coupe 5AT, and it comes with keyless entry, power everything, alarm and radio. This was a huge factor as I was actually pricing to upgrade to an LX, I considered a Fit but I couldn't find them, just so happened to find one hiding while looking at LXs. And for everything that's in a Civic LX, you can get for 2,000 cheaper in the Fit. If anyone has any other questions between the two that I didn't answer, feel free to ask.

04-14-2007, 08:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
*Cybergypsy* Mini Me! Join Date: Apr 2006 Age: 48 Posts: 7,216 iTrader: 3 / 100%	My civic is getting 39.2 MPG at the average, I had a XA and will never go back to a lower HP then i have on a civic...I also love the Fit....But more HP is a must __________________ I feel like I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe.

04-14-2007, 09:29 AM	#3 (permalink)
wing_gundam Smooth Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: T dot Posts: 17,189 Civic Type Stock iTrader: 8 / 100%	nice write up! __________________ Trying to sell? Read the updated for sale forum rules here

07-15-2007, 03:29 PM	#14 (permalink)
High201 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 5 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Should gave bought a Fit! I was looking at the Honda Fit, but at the time they were hard to find. I then opted for the honda Civic and went for the EX model. I have to say i am a bit dissappointed in my decision. I wish i would have settled for the Fit. My civic has rattles everywhere making driving not that much fun. The headrests are not that comfortable as well. I also noticed that backing up and parking is a little tough sometimes because you can't see the front and the back end of the car. I know the Fit would have been a better car for me and probably more fun to drive. I think I made a mistake. oh well no sense complaing about the past. What's done is done. I will learn to love my civic, I hope!? ps. does the fit really go 0-60 in the 8 second range?

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04-14-2007, 12:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
jasongg06 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: 626 So Cal Posts: 1,262 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Nice review, i also get around 25mpg city for my civic. I also agree that for $18-20 (my ex) the car should be of higher quality. I'm disappointed when i get into my friends civics (mid-late 90's) and their interior STILL doesn't have any scratches and their seats don't show wear, whereas my ex already does.

04-14-2007, 01:25 PM	#5 (permalink)
doug piston Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: seattle Age: 27 Posts: 1,436 iTrader: 0 / 0%	i also enjoyed my fit more then my ex civic.... but both werent what i was lookin for si i got the si. but still kept the fit and love it. you can haul a llama with it

04-14-2007, 01:55 PM	#7 (permalink)
*Special Ringpop* VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Minneapolis, MN Age: 21 Posts: 6,600 Name: Mike iTrader: 0 / 0%	I love that color on the Fit...better than Fiji Blue, I think. Can you do some interior shots of the two? We always see the outsides, never the insides.

04-15-2007, 03:29 AM	#10 (permalink)
Skylinegtr06 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chula Vista SD Age: 18 Posts: 5,740 edwyn(male) iTrader: 1 / 100%	Nice car, are the automatic fits in the US cvt?

04-15-2007, 10:32 AM	#12 (permalink)
Avenger Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Kitchener, ON Age: 28 Posts: 896 Rob iTrader: 0 / 0%	I too have a Civic DX coupe, I could've bought a DX-G for $2000US more money, but IMO it just wasn't worth it for power locks, keyless, and A/C......I put in an armrest because I couldn't stand not having one, I also plan on installing an MP3 jack. The dealers here also weren't willing to negotiate on the price of a Fit, but I got nearly $2000USD off of my DX so I ended up paying about $500 more for my Civic DX over the price of a base Fit (is that a Fit DX?). I love the dashboard, and the feel of the cloths in the Civic, not to mention the amazingly good looks for an econobox. Sure, my door panels have a bunch of scuffs from getting in and out, I can live with that. The rear seat room is great in my coupe IMO as I came from driving a '91 Plymouth Laser (rear seat room was a joke but I still managed to drive people around sometimes). The engine in the Civic is a HUGE downgrade from the Laser, good thing it gets much better fuel economy, and I don't NEED to run 94 octane anymore. Does the Fit's paint suck as much as the Civic's does? I mean paint should NOT be flaking from the factory. The big thing about the Fit (and even the Civic) was that I was afraid of getting in an accident, and personally I don't even think the Civic is really safe enough (not enough weight to the car), I'd be scared of dying if I was driving something even smaller and someone hit me.

07-18-2007, 01:39 PM	#15 (permalink)
PeterC. Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SoCal Age: 23 Posts: 233 iTrader: 0 / 0%	I had a Fit and I would get a Civic Sedan if I went and did that thing all over again. $18k was way too much for that thing. It didn't get nowhere near the estimated fuel economy for me but the car was fun to toss around. Hopefully, the next Fit comes soon, because I am sure that car will be killer considering the state of this generation relative to the time it's been out around the world.

07-18-2007, 02:05 PM	#16 (permalink)
King Bob Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Age: 25 Posts: 471 Houma, Louisiana iTrader: 1 / 100%	My wife just bought a fit sport and I have an Si. For the most part I agree with everything you said I was personally shocked with how quick it feels. I had a 7th gen ex before the Si and my ass dyno says the fit is faster than the old em2 was.

07-18-2007, 11:17 PM	#17 (permalink)
NARFALICIOUS Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Location: Location Posts: 248 iTrader: 0 / 0%	hmm the fit seems really worth the price. i've been looking at the Yaris myself, but the 5 door fit seems more practical for the city than a 3 door yaris.

07-19-2007, 10:22 PM	#18 (permalink)
arisenfury Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Central CT Age: 21 Posts: 1,562 Nikon & dSLR squad #6 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Yeah the Fit is surprisingly quick. It weighs in at only 2400 pounds so the 109hp doesn't have much to move. Also, the steering ratio is really really responsive as well. The Fit really isn't a fast car, it's just a practical car that's fun to drive. I just got back after doing a round trip drive from Connecticut to South Florida (3000+miles) in the Fit with my friend and I have no complaints what-so-ever.

07-19-2007, 11:26 PM	#20 (permalink)
PR8thgen<ivi> Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 217 iTrader: 0 / 0%	not a bad change bro, from what I have read in magz, the fit seems to be more mod friendly than the R18, and they are even turbo kits for it too, so I think the fit has more potential than the r18.

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