My girlfriend purchases a 2009 Honda Fit Sport in orange. Unable to resist the temptation of riding anything dubbed sporty, I wait patiently for an opportunity to hijack the orange pod and whip it all over town.
The opportunity, my girlfriend’s keys on the kitchen table, presents itself. I promptly seize the key chain and slip out the door. I am sitting in the all black cloth interior Fit, the first thing I notice is the bubble windows, they give the feeling that I am sitting in a fishbowl and make for great visibility. I pop the key into the ignition and turn on the car. I am greeted with the purr of the engine and the dashboard’s blue glow envelopes me. This creates the illusion that I am about to take off in a spaceship. The digital speedometer over the tachometer is a stylish feature that renders irrelevant the statement, “No officer, I could not tell how fast I was going.” I back out of the driveway and head down the road.
Speeding is not something to worry about in the Honda Fit. Fortunately, the Formula One style paddle shifters on the Honda Fit Sport make up for the 0-60 speed of about 9-10 seconds. The small car’s nice exhaust note gives the illusion of speed. For a split second as I am barreling down a windy side road, I forget, I am driving a sub compact and imagine I am Michael Schumacher. Using the paddle shifters to downshift as the tires squeal and the car dips around the corners nimbly. I stare down at the speedometer in disbelief when I realize I am having this much fun at 50mph. Wow.
I decide, it’s time to try the sound system. I attach the iPhone onto the adapter in the glove box and attempt to change the song on the phone’s screen. It takes me a few seconds to realize, the phone, once plugged in, is controlled by the radio dial. This great feature makes navigating play lists much easier while driving. I select Steve Lawler’s 21st Century Ketchup and a beautiful bass line flows up over the windshield and fills the car. I take a moment to adjust. I cannot believe the stock audio system performs so well.
I pull up to Wendy’s for a junior bacon cheeseburger and I see the car in the window. The reality dawns on me that I am in a Honda Fit, but then I realize I am in the Wendy’s drive through. Whatever. I order a cherry coke and a junior bacon cheeseburger. I devour the j.b.c. Once I finish drilling the last bit of cherry coke from underneath the ice cubes. I throw the soda cup and bag out the window into the waste basket and roar out of the parking lot.
The car makes short work of the retirement community traffic on Route 9. I turn onto my road, pull into my driveway. I reflect on how I had misjudged this subcompact. Honda has definitely taken a car that at first glance seems unexciting grocery getter and turned into an exhilarating, fun driving machine that is perfect for my little sister or a dad who wants to an efficient commuter car.
Throwing this car into corner is a pleasure. The paddle shifters and sound system completely blow my mind. The 117 hp engine is by no means fast but the car accelerates well on the low end. Great for moving quickly through city traffic. Honda takes the stereotypically dull efficiency car, and makes it fun to drive. The genius behind the Honda Fit Sport is instead of high horse power performance, it delivers the sensation and excitement of driving fast. Minus the high gas price tag and the excessive speeding. The icing on the cake is I averaged 32.5mpg according the the in dash read out. And I definitely did not baby the Honda Fit.
