I have decided to share my new found love affair with the Hatchback. It all began when Sora saw this cute little number at a Honda dealership while he was shopping for his Acura. I decided to test drive this baby because I liked the idea of better gas mileage and the layout of my Toyota Camry was becoming more and more cumbersome for hauling anything of any height. (Please note: I am too lazy to look up exact numbers, but I am close)
Now, I am still learning stick so they wouldn’t let me actually drive it but the dealer did let me ride along and showed me all of the bells and whistles.
Specs that I care about:
- MPG - 33/38
- Passenger Volume - 90 cu. ft.
- Horsepower - 109
- Starting Price - $13,850 / $15,170
What I liked:
I must say, I was impressed. You can really fit quite alot in this little guy, especially with the back seats folded down. Also, the bottoms of the back seats fold up to give you a tall area when you don’t want to have the whole back of the car laying flat. The gas mileage is a great selling point, as well. It gets between 35 - 40 mpg from what I recall. It also looks pretty sporty. All good things.
The above seems to be a goat–completely relevant. (UPDATE - Holy shit! It’s an alpaca)
A snapshot of the folding I spoke of.
Lots o’ junk would fit in dat trunk.
The cons I found with it were the following:
- Road noise
- Lack of some, what I consider, standard features such as Daytime Running Lights
- Power - only 109hp, but still pretty decent if you use it right.
- PRICE
I had gone in there expecting to drive out of there with a Fit for say $11- 12k. No way. It came out to about $17k and that was a barebones sport model. Also, I can’t justify buying a ’sport’ model when the only difference is tires, stereo, and a spoiler but the price increases $2,000.
All in all, I could deal with the cons for a cheaper price and be VERY happy with all of the room I was getting. Sadly, though, this was more than I paid for my Camry and I just can’t justify that when my car is paid off already and a pretty decent ride.
Whatever my decision, I was not deterred and began researching all sorts of fuel efficient hatchbacks and hatchbacks in general. The love affair has blossomed and I will continue to share the fruits of my labor.
For further lusting–The Fit site.
Next… the Toyota Yaris.
Nostalgic for a generation that you probably weren’t alive to see, much less able to lay claim to? Me too. If that generation is the 1950’s, then Plan59 should be your next destination. Plan59 is a fantastic site that is “THE MUSEUM (AND GIFT SHOP) OF MID-CENTURY ILLUSTRATION”.
