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28 city, 34 highway, Fit S equipped as close to the Passion coupe as possible, MSRP $16,705, incl destination charge.
Not trying to start a peeing contest here; I still think the smart is the right car but am continually looking to see if any other cars are getting close. You can probably get a Yaris for less than the Fit, but you'd be driving a Yaris. At least the Fit S is a fun car (paddle shifters w/the auto trans, even), has a ton of room inside and runs like a Honda. If we had to change cars, which we don't, and the smart wasn't in the mix, the Fit S would be at the top of our list.
I agree but for me it'd be the USA FIT 2009 model which is currently available in Japan. Looks great in the articles I've seen on the web. But are you ready to wait yet ANOTHER year for it or buy a car (the 2008) that will soon be out of date?
And in all candor the FIT just doesn't ring my bell the way the Fourtwo does. There's just something emotionally special about the 4/2 that the FIT lacks- despite the fact that the FIT is probably the more rational choice.
We bought a 2007 Fit Sport (hate, hate hate the name Fit though) and are quite happy with it. We got it for about $15k and my wife just hit 40 mpg on a couple of tankfuls which was mostly interstate driving at the speed limit. I have a Smart on reserve and have to agree that it is hard not to see the Fit as the more rational choice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwight
28 city, 34 highway, Fit S equipped as close to the Passion coupe as possible, MSRP $16,705, incl destination charge.
Not trying to start a peeing contest here; I still think the smart is the right car but am continually looking to see if any other cars are getting close. You can probably get a Yaris for less than the Fit, but you'd be driving a Yaris. At least the Fit S is a fun car (paddle shifters w/the auto trans, even), has a ton of room inside and runs like a Honda. If we had to change cars, which we don't, and the smart wasn't in the mix, the Fit S would be at the top of our list.
Different strokes for different folks. When it comes to car, Rational thinking is pretty much out of the window. The LOOK first, then comes PERFORMANCE, then you try to justify and rationalize the purchase by telling yourself that you need it because of etc, etc. If not, every one would be driving the same boring vehicle and then nobody would be talking or posting about anything at all.
The Fit Sport and the Smart are both great cars . I have sat in one at the local dealer, but haven't driven it yet. My wife and I first saw the Fit in 2005 during our trip to Bermuda and we thought wow what a great little car. Bermuda has very strict vehicle size requirements so of course there are small cars everywhere.
I may purchase a Fit in the future in addition to the Smart and my MINI.
The Fit and the Yaris are both viable competition for the Smart, and less expensive, but I'm like the some others in that they don't get my attention like the Smart does. This where just pure emotion enters the picture. When I lower myself to driving a car purely for transportation and nothing else I'd consider one of those...don't get me wrong, they are both probably great cars, but of no interest.
when I was researching a 'first car' for my son this past spring when he graduated from college. As he was going to maintain it and wanted some utility we opt'd for a '06 Scion Xa instead. It does drive pretty well, is as reliable (or more) than a Yaris and the interior materials looked better than the first gen Fit (which he thought looked too econo as well as the Yaris for his tastes). We needed to top out at $16K (with tags, tax, etc.) so with an automatic, Sirius radio, fog lights, etc. we think we did OK. Tried to talk him into a tC or Xb but he didn't want a coupe and even though most other folks (including myself) really liked the funky boxy look of the Xb, he loves his silver Xa and kept his money in the bank ... the kid sees driving as a necessary evil unlike his younger brother.
The wife on the other hand (future main driver for our smart) doesn't want just the utility/low cost but something fun for her 7 mile round-trip commute and the short errand runs she does. She works at a high school so when the smart does finally arrive she expects a bit of a mob scene (and this at a high school with high-end MB's, etc. that the KIDS drive!). I think its great that we have all of these choices but let's face it, the smart (at least for now) is really in a class to itself until more micro-mini's are available ... love to see the 'new' Fiat 500 come on over but won't hold my breath, Fiat reliability in the U.S. was never that great!
... love to see the 'new' Fiat 500 come on over but won't hold my breath, Fiat reliability in the U.S. was never that great!
FIAT was nearly extinct 5 years ago due to the reliability issues all around the world, but they have made a huge turn around from what I have read. Given the choice between the Fortwo and the FIAT 500, I would probably opt for the FIAT, and I used to have a X-1/9...
It was very reliable... it broke down everytime I drove it.
I looked at the Fit a while back. It is a nice car, and I found it decent to drive. The interior materials were not what I would expect, and the fact that it is a closed, solid roof made it feel closed in around me. Add to this the fact that there are very limited options, which all boil down to dealer accessories, that killed it. So did a lack of heated seats.
I have a perfectly fine vehicle right now. I have no doubts that it has another 100K miles to go, easy. For a while, I was planning on selling it when I got myself a new car, but it costs me so little to own, I decided that I am going to keep it around.
The smart is more about me buying myself a toy... I've always had uber practical vehicles, and I want to let loose a bit now. Add to the fact that it has some MB in its background. has seemingly superb build quality, drives well, and follows in the Mercedes tradition of having a ton of options/ways to configure, and it became the winner. I hate how manufacturers like Honda and Toyota package EVERYTHING and limit certain options to certain model levels... I understand the logistics behind this, but it's one way to send a paying customer like myself packing.
I won't comment on my opinion of Honda, other than to say that the dealer installed options does have one advantage. It is easy to find the OEM accessories online and purchase them for half of what the dealer would have charged.
Last edited by DaveInTexas; 12-19-2007 at 10:11 AM..
. I have sat in one at the local dealer, but haven't driven it yet. My wife and I first saw the Fit in 2005 during our trip to Bermuda and we thought wow what a great little car. Bermuda has very strict vehicle size requirements so of course there are small cars everywhere.
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