Insanely Space Efficient Honda Fit Sport Wins!
The 2010 Fit Sport won a four-car comparison of four-door hatchbacks with automatic transmissions conducted by Motor Trend. Competitors included the 2011 Ford Fiesta SES, 2010 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL, and 2010 Toyota Yaris. Motor Trend editors noted the Pros and Cons for each vehicle.
Fourth Place: 2010 Toyota Yaris
Pros:
· Lowest base price
· Standard stability and traction control, ABS, electronic brake force distribution, and brake assist
Cons:
· 4-speed automatic
· Slowest 0-60 mph acceleration
· Slowest figure-eight time
· Second longest 60-0 mph stopping distance
· Noisiest
· Worst ride quality
On the road, just about everything Yaris does gets tempered with, but you know, its base price is only fifteen grand.
Third Place: 2010 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL
Pros:
· Quickest 0-60 mph
· Spacious interior especially back seat
· Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) operation
· Quietest
Second-best recorded ride quality
Cons:
· Flummoxed by pavement with oddball cambers
· Lack of design
It's not that [Versa's] bad looking. It's that it simply doesn't look like anything, really.
Second Place: 2011 Ford Fiesta SES
Pros:
· Styling and build quality
· Second-best acceleration
· Best lateral grip
· Transmission Low mode functions magnificently as a Sport mode
· Solid thunk when doors close
· Quality of soft-touch dash
· Second quietest
· Best ride quality
Cons:
· Sloping roof compromises rear visibility and rear seat access
· Scrambled center stack controls
· Uncertain shifts in normal driving
...the Fiesta's triumph of styling comes with the defeat of a whole lot of practicality.
First Place: 2010 Honda Fit Sport
Pros:
· Real-world kart-like handling
· Most constantly entertaining
· Fishbowl view outward visibility
· Paddle shifters (Sport trim)
· Space efficiency fanaticism
...in the end, a winning checklist in this category necessarily needs the box labeled insane space efficiency boldly Xed and the Fit is about as space crazy as they get.
