cars part review: 2013 Honda Fit Hatchback Review Specs MPG Photo

2013 Honda Fit Hatcback is the Best affordable small cars and the Best Hatchback for the Money because it has the best combination of ownership costs and positive reviews those classes

The 2013 Honda Fit hatchback offers ample passenger and cargo space for such a small car. The 2013 Honda Fit is brand’s hatchback go-to choice when you don’t need quite as much space as the Civic provides. It’s a subcompact hatchback that’s nearly Civic-sized, but with a few touches that earn it even more respect in the small-car universe.

2013 Honda Fit Hatchback has been efficient, fun to drive, astonishingly versatile and blessed with Honda’s long-standing reputation for reliability. It also helped that its scant few competitors weren’t worth considering unless a dealer gave you an offer you couldn’t refuse, not to mention a free gym membership. Things have changed, though, and now the 2013 Honda Fit is now just one among a slew of thoroughly impressive subcompacts.

With the automatic transmission, the Fit averages up to 28/35 mpg city/highway, with four-cylinder engine isn’t powerful. Critics still say the Fit is pretty fun to drive for a subcompact, thanks to its standard manual transmission and nimble handling. Although those ratings aren’t the highest in the class, they’re still good for a hatchback with as much cargo space as the Fit. Still, some reviewers mention that competitors have quieter interiors, better brakes, higher fuel economy ratings and more powerful engines. Some car reviewers may think that the 2013 Fit falters for its performance, but the Fit trumps many of its better-performing competitors, like the Volkswagen Golf and 2013 Mazda2, with above-average reliability.

2013 Honda Fit Hatchback Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options

The 2013 Honda Fit is a subcompact, four-door hatchback available in two trim levels: Fit and Fit Sport.

The function-over-form approach is obvious in the way that the 2013 Honda Fit interior tends to make much better design sense than its exterior. Just don’t expect even a gram of sex appeal; from some angles, the Fit looks a bit like a scaled-down minivan on the outside. Inside, the Fit has an airier feel than in some other small cars, with a relatively low beltline and a vast expanse of dashboard ahead, due to the rakish windshield.

The 2013 Honda Fit base comes standard with 15-inch steel wheels, full power accessories, keyless entry, air-conditioning, cruise control, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, a 60/40-split backseat (folding seatback, flip-up seat bottom) and a four-speaker sound system with a CD player, an auxiliary audio jack and an iPod/USB audio interface.

The 2013 Honda Fit Sport adds 16-inch alloy wheels, foglamps, a rear spoiler, sporty styling elements, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, transmission paddle shifters (automatic transmission), a driver armrest, floor mats and a six-speaker sound system. The only option available for the Sport is a navigation system, which includes a touchscreen interface, Bluetooth phone connectivity and voice controls.

2013 Honda Fit Hatchback Powertrains and Performance

The 2013 Honda Fit Hatchback only offers 117 horsepower; yet it has a way of feeling surprisingly frisky when you’re driving around town. One of the keys to that isn’t its power output, but that the attention given to steering, handling, and maneuverability all help make the most of it. On tight streets and in places where precision matters, the Fit feels crisp and tossable. Take it out on the highway, and it’s stable and secure, though a bit noisy.

2013 Honda Fit Hatchback EPA-estimated fuel economy is 27 mpg city/33 mpg highway and 29 mpg combined with the manual. The base Fit with the automatic returns 28/35/31, while the Fit Sport automatic returns 27/33/30.

2013 Honda Fit Hatchback Safety

Every 2013 Honda Fit Hatchback comes standard with antilock brakes (front disc, rear drum), stability and traction control, front side airbags, side curtain airbags and active head restraints. In Edmunds brake testing, the Fit came to a stop from 60 mph in a class-worst 134 feet — more than 10 feet longer than average.

In government crash testing, the 2013 Honda Fit received four out of five stars for overall crash protection, with four stars in all frontal crash and side crash protection categories. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Fit the highest possible rating of “Good” in the frontal-offset, side and roof strength tests.

2013 Honda Fit Hatchback Interior Design and Special Features

The Fit isn’t quite the highest-rated subcompact for safety, but it remains one of the better picks in its class and includes a respectable roster of safety features. It’s been an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick, although in federal NCAP testing it hasn’t fared as well–with a four-star rating overall.

Packaging, seating, and cargo versatility are phenomenally good in the 2013 Honda Fit Hatchback. If you’re cross-shopping many small cars, you’ll have no problem picking out the Fit’s key differences, in that it manages to fit (yes, the name’s appropriate here) a lot more usable space into a parking footprint that’s strictly subcompact. In back, there’s enough headroom and legroom for two adults—or three kids—and the so-called Magic Seat folds flat by lifting a single lever and pushing the seatback forward, with no need to remove rear headrests in the process. Factor in a low cargo floor, and even under-seat storage, and you get the sort of vertical space to fit the sorts of things, like loveseats, potted plants, or in some cases bikes.

The Fit’s passenger cabin gets points for stylish design, though the quality of the materials is just so-so. Cars like the Ford Fiesta and Kia Rio have a more premium feel. Seating comfort is good all around, including a rear seat that can accommodate two adults with nary a complaint. Unfortunately, the lack of driver seat height adjustment means some drivers will struggle to get comfortable.

What really sets the Fit’s interior apart, though, is the cleverly designed 60/40-split “Magic” rear seat. Flipping up the seat bottom creates a tall, narrow opening that accommodates taller items that would not otherwise fit within such a small car and also reveals a handy storage compartment. The Fit is also a great choice for those with large dogs — Fido can easily lie across the floor. Fold both rear seatbacks down and you have a flat load floor with 57.3 cubic feet of cargo room, which is just as much as in several small crossovers. If that’s not enough, the Fit’s front seat also folds flat to allow you to squeeze in items nearly 8 feet long.

2013 Honda Fit Hatchback Driving Impressions

The 2013 Honda Fit’s light weight, lively four-cylinder engine and responsive steering combine to make it an enjoyable car to drive. It can zip happily through traffic and possesses that wonderful nimble quality that has characterized small Hondas for so long. Manual-transmission-equipped models are the most entertaining, and possess much quicker acceleration than automatic Fits.

Unfortunately, the 2013 Honda Fit lacks the ride comfort and refinement of most competitors. The acoustic insulation added for 2012 has helped reduce wind, engine and tire noise, but this is still a rather loud car. It also feels very much like a lightweight subcompact when you are behind the wheel, especially amid larger vehicles on the highway. Many newer rivals feel more substantial at highway speeds.

Whether or not the 2013 Honda Fit satisfies with respect to features could depend a lot on your expectations surrounding connectivity. On one hand, it’s definitely no stripped-down small car, and you won’t find manual windows or have to skip air conditioning. But on the other hand, you won’t find satellite radio on offer at all, and Bluetooth connectivity is reserved for top Fit Sport models optioned with the navigation system–stickering over $20k.