I just read the May issue of "Car & Driver" and they had a "roundup" of econocars that cost under $15k. The Honda Fit came in #1 by a huge margin. It scored 89 out of a possible 100 (it lost points only for rear-view visibility.)

I like everything about this car! Even the maniacs at C&D couldn't drop the gas mileage below 34 MPG, and they took the car up to 114 MPH!

I called Honda Customer Relations and told them that I'd buy a hybrid version of the Fit in a New York minute. The rep wouldn't comment on whether Honda is actually going to *build* one, however.

If I didn't already own a hybrid, I'd buy the Fit Sport. But once you go hybrid, you can never go back!

 

If they made a hybrid FIT I'd probably be at the Honda dealership today to buy one.

As it is, It's a front runner along with the Xb for the wife's new vehicle.

 

I heard a rumor (and I stress, RUMOR) that Honda may be dropping the Insight in favor of a hybrid Fit.

 

Is it just me or is the Fit an Insight? Look at the front styling and the section with the rear seats. It looks to me like they pretty much just took the Insight body and extended it to make room for two seats. Although, I suppose the Fit is not aluminum and this is probably an oversimplification, you can still see some pretty striking similarities.

For most people a hybrid Fit would probably be a bit more practical than an Insight, albeit mileage will be slightly less, still better than Prius or HCH.

 

if this car is a reality i might just go bankrupt for it.

 

A hybrid Fit would be a worthy competitor to the Prius. It would have almost as much passenger volume, and I would guess it would get HCH city mpg, but somewhat lower Hy mpg. All in all it would a heck of a car. It should list at $18,500-$2k more than the Fit Sport(Fit sport auto is $16500 with delivery).
I've read some absurdly low estimates of the MSRP, but at least $2000 over the Sport auto seems right to me.
I don't think it would match the Prius mpg wise, but it would be about 90-95% of Prius mpg. I expect the Fit auto will get about 75% of the Prius-mpg.
Luck,Charlie

 

Isn't Honda about to do a Fit redesign in a year or two, anyway? (It's new to us but not new to their product line.) If so, that's when I would expect to see an IMA-equipped Fit if at all. It would be kind of sad to see the Insight go but it sort of makes sense when you consider how far advanced the Fit is in terms of safety. Maybe it would be a contender if they work over the aerodynamics and offer the 5-speed manual in hybrid trim?

 

The 03 civic hybrid was introduced mid cycle for 7thgens. So it wouldn't be a strech to see it happen to the fit.

 

I'd hope Honda would put more of an effort to make the Fit more fuel efficient - it's not up to par with the Civic, let alone the Insight.

If there is a hybrid Fit, I'll bet someone will transplant it's engine to an Insight - they both use a 1.0 liter, three cylinder engine.

 

how much torque does the electric motor needs to propell to not overload the 1.0 engine?