Two years ago, this story would not appear here, in its lead-article, three-page glory. No, driving a bargain-price, 1.5-liter fuel-sipper would have warranted a miserly, quarter-page nugget tucked into a corner and paying deference to the likes of a Ferrari, a large rear-wheel-drive V-8 sedan, or some hot-rod version of a full-size SUV.
But as time has moved forward, fuel prices have shot upward and priorities have taken an entirely new direction. A segment once derided is now basking in relevance. A car with expected annual sales of 50,000 has managed to find almost 30,000 additional buyers per year. Honda's Fit is-dare we say it-hot. There's no telling if the past two years of surging entry-level sales make a trend, but the time is certainly ripe for automakers to be taking small cars seriously.
The latest iteration of the Honda Fit arrives just when we would typically be expecting a midcycle refresh. Instead, we get an all-new Fit, but that's because the car had already been on sale globally for almost five years when it first landed here in 2006. The driving experience of that car was predictable and competitive, although not brilliant. Still, in the exploding entry-level market, that first Fit maintained a class-leading reputation bolstered by ingenious packaging, unexpected interior chic, and spacious comfort.... Read full article