The Fit Hybrid will most likely appear in 2008.

 

Thanks for the link - appreciated. It makes sense, given the central fuel tank location and smaller size of the car. I had understood that the Civic was the first US car getting ACE, and it would be carried forward to the other models at their redesign phases.

I had assumed that because the US is HMC's biggest market, that the technology would be introduced here, first, and that the Civic was the first car with it. Good to see that even the 'littlest' Honda has all of their advanced safety features from the outset.

 

So... if Honda *did* make a Fit hybrid, do you think it would have a 1.3L i4 (like HCH) or a 1.0L i3 (like Insight)? I also wonder if such a car would be a quasi-full hybrid (like HCH-II) or a mild hybrid (like Insight)?

Of course no one will know until it's built, but I can't resist speculating!

 

I was dissapointed with the mileage. 33/38 does not seem that good for some reason. Also why does the Fit and Fit Sport both have the exact same engine specs?

 

My guess - I think that they would put the HCHII IMA system in the FIT. I can't imagine that they would go back a few generations and put the 3 cyl into the FIT. Keep in mind that the Fit weighs I think 2514 to 2551 with CVT - a bit closer to the Civic (2875 lbs) than the insight (1975 lbs). I thank that the insight IMA system in the fit would be a bit on the slow side.

Eric

 

Well they always do much better on long ownership and drives (such as the one for the compact cars) than they do in their short, individual model reviews. The closest comparison would be their 2004 review of the Prius, HCH-I, Jetta TDI, and Echo. In that review, they got around 40-54mpg for the Civic depending on the test conditions and if they had econ mode engaged or not.

Lakedude: Yes, I too wished for higher numbers, like 35-40 at least, but keep in mind we're getting the Fit at the end of it's lifecycle, and we're not getting the i-DSI engine, which is the 1.3 liter high fuel efficiency engine. In Japan, it's rated about 20% more fuel efficient than the 1.5 liter model. We obviously only get the 1.5 liter here since average speeds in the US are a lot higher than urban Japan where they can get away with a lower powered 1.3 liter.

Still, the fact that they already announced they will have a Fit hybrid, and that it should be released in 2008 tells me that either we're getting an all-new Fit by the end of 2007, with the hybrid to follow a few months later, or possibly the year after, like in 2008. Considering the Fit is already one of their top selling cars world-wide, I can't see Honda delaying the new fit any longer than fall of next year. It's very possible it will have direct injection, which should bump up the fuel economy numbers by at least 10%. Knowing how good the current model is, an all-new one is pretty much what I'm waiting for to replace my 97 Civic.

Anyway, yeah, it would have been nice if there was a more meaningful difference between the Fit and Fit Sport besides just body sills, fog lights, cruise control, and a bigger stereo, but I think the reason for such a limited line is because they know they'll only be selling this version of the Fit for about 18 months in the US before it's replaced.

 

This FE is still better than most of the rest of its competition. It doesn't quite have the sleek shape of the HCH.