Test-drive-a-thon part 2: Fit vs. Versa FIGHT!
Today I finally got behind the wheel of the elusive Honda Fit and took a bus ride out to Bellevue to take the Nissan Versa for a ride. I was a much happier driver this time around, both these cars performing well in the first test drive. Both were, unfortunately, automatics again... But they drove well despite it ^^b
Honda fit --
Good: Good standard features for the price, lots of room for the odd swedish furniture run, felt roomy at the driver seat despite small size of car, MPG pretty sweet
Bad: Surprising not much to say thats really bad about the car. I guess the wait to get the one I want (if i go for it) will be the worst of it.
Ugly: With demand high and the current output of cars low in this area, dealership is cashing in with a 1500k over MSRP ><;; Maybe If i like the fit enough I can haggle something down
It lived up to the hype. Very responsive controls, the auto tranny wasn't shit, and I was pleased with the freeway and hill performance of the car. I took 'er up the belmont hill near the freeway and pushed it, getting a respectable amount of power out the small engine. After the Yaris, it felt good to drive this car. It was with me all the way, no fighting the transmission nor freaking out when the breaks didn't respond like i thought they should.
Nissan Versa --
Good: More powerful engine but still good MPG, roomy interior, felt very smooth on the ride
Bad: Again, not much to really rag on about the car. The material for the seats in the S model kinda replicated suede, which will hold on to sticky stuff (like chocolate) making it a little tough to keep clean. Felt nice though lol.
Ugly: With the car being famous from Heroes, steve will torment me till the end of time with Hiro impressions
I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Right off the lot I could feel the power of the engine compared to the Fit. When one hits the sweet spot on the auto tranny it slipped right up to 60 on an inclined on-ramp onto 520. Very sweet. The pseudo-suede interior was cush, but as I mentioned above, will hold onto chocolate and dirt like nobody's business. Like the fit, the car felt together in all its parts and didn't fight me.
All in all a good day for the driving. Now I'd like to go back and drive some manuals of these. Not too hard with nissan, they have a wide selection of Versa's to pick from. The Fit however, I needed to put in a special request to have them call me if they get a manual so I can drive it. I'm now stuck in a tough call 2-way-tie. Its really up to the nuauces of each car, and what I really want. The fit maybe the perfect one for inner city living. Its a mini-truck when you need it, gets great intown gas mileage, its small and quick. The versa seems to be more for the driving and longer trips. There's also the Rabbit, but the MPG puts it at the bottom of the list of contenders. The toyotas are out.
More research, more driving...