2015 Honda Fit Video Road Test

If you’re looking for a small hatchback that delivers both fuel economy and flexibility, only a handful of new cars come to mind.

Add in top safety ratings, and your list may narrow down to just one car: the latest 2015 Honda Fit.

To Honda’s credit, the latest Fit looks less like a scaled-down minivan than either of the two previous generations.

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It’s a wedgy shape with a steeply raked windshield and hood, deep side creases, and a rear end that looks quite Volvo-like—at least until you get to the big chrome bar across the tail.

The exterior is nicely restrained, but the designers were a bit too ambitious inside. This instrument panel has too much going on with shapes, pieces, trims, bezels, and surfaces all being thrown together.

Still, it’s a nice cockpit-like layout, and it doesn’t feel cheap. It just doesn’t necessarily have a good flow.

The Fit has always done incredible things with its interior, and this model is no different. Up front, these seats are fine, but cushioning and support are basic. We’d like to see the front seats have more rearward travel.

In back, soaring headroom means even those over 6 feet tall will have no issue.

The Fit’s most important feature has always been in back, where the latest “Magic Seat” continues to give unparalleled interior flexibility. The seatback folds forward, and the bottom cushion can flip up, to open up maximum floor-to-ceiling height with all sorts of useful storage space.

As for performance, the Fit is powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 130 horsepower. Power is sent to the front wheels through either a CVT or six-speed manual transmission.

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