I currently do not own a Scion but am shopping for a fuel efficient comuter vehicle. I have narrowed the field to the xD and the Fit. Now I need some help.

I have test driven both of these cars. First the xD, then the Fit. Both 5 speed manuals which is what I will be purchasing. When I drove the xD my first impression when taking off in first gear was that it had decent exceleration. Then I dropped it into second gear and wondered were the power went! Understand that I was not revving the crap of it. I don't like to beat an engine on a test ride. I was just surprised. and disappointed, that a 128 HP engine felt so slow in second gear.

Then I drove the Fit. A car with almost 20 less HP. I was quite surprised to find that it had as good a feel in first gear and felt just as snappy in second, third, etc.

Has anyone else driven the Fit? What was your impression compared to the xD in this regard? Does anyone notice the same enemic feel with the xD second gear?

Thanks for any help you can provide in this decision. I am still leaning toward the xD but I am wondering if I should wait until the fall when the new Fit comes out first.

 

I test drove the Fit first then the xD and thought the Fit was very vanilla, nothing wrong with that but lacked personality and acceleration was uninspiring (I was shopping for an auto after driving a standard all my life). One thing I know about a DOHC 4cly engines is that RPM's need to be kept up to keep the torque going strong and since you did not "beat it" (like you stated), your not keeping it in the torque curve.

 

well, if you aren't shifting at the proper engine speed, yeah, you'll get weak ACCELERATION in the next gear. and the xD is about a second quicker in 0-60 time than the fit.

and usually it is the other way around, hondas tend to have smaller higher revving engines that make more high end hp and toyotas tend to be bigger making more low end torque.

could be an issue of gearing, maybe the fit has much closer gear ratios than the xD, but really, the xD is actually underrated in terms of bhp, it is somewhere higher than 128, but you aren't going to know that if you don't take the rpms up a bit.

 

My sister has the Fit and I have the xD and actually she likes my xD more! Her Fit (sport package) is much more bouncy because of the shorter wheel base and much noisier than mine. My parents have sat in the back of both cars and they say mine is more comfortable.

While the compartment area in the Fit might be more flexible than the xD, I like how solid the xD feels. Also the interior doesn't feel as cheap as the Fit, but its still cheap

If you were able, I would attempt to test drive both cars on a fast street, possible the highway or freeway around the dealerships to make the final decision.

Oh and if modifying your car is of interest to you, the Fit is a nice car to customize since its been out longer (soon to be replaced with the new model though), but I like the Scion community much more

 

I took a look at the Fit myself when shopping around (well, my wife made me look at it) and we found it to be a good vehicle if you want small with lots of cargo room, but that's about it. It had so-so acceleration but I noticed the xD had a much easier time merging onto highways. Also, the xD seemed much more fun to drive.

Besides... the xD is sexy and different... the Fit is, well, kinda ugly...

 

I looked at the Fit, too, but I quickly ruled it out after a test drive. It feels like a go-cart, and it looks and feels cheap on the inside. It is also pretty fugly. The minute I drove the xD, it was love. 1260 miles later, it is still LOVE.

 

Drive an XD that has over 500 miles on it. Mine did a total personality change at 500 miles which I think has somthing to do with the brake in peroiod. Also I drove a fit and yaris wen shopping before I bought my xD. Really not sure why your xd was slower than the fit even under 500 miles on the odo, but the xd I drove had way more power than the fit through all gears, especially on the highway. Both the fit and the yaris had a super hard time passing anything, xd had no issues passing.

 

Honda SUCKS when it comes to RELIABILITY. I used to own a Civic and before it reached 90,000 miles, all these problems were popping up:

1) Alternator broke TWICE during the 4 years I had it. As a result, my car died on a red light when I rolled down my power windows a couple of times.

2) Crappy caulking on the front windsheild that buldges out. The front windsheild finally gave out and started to crack. Police officer cited me and I was forced to replace it.

3) Had a flat on the front left tire on the highway so went to use the donut. Turns out the donut DOES NOT FIT the front, only the back. I spent two hours fixing the flat by taking off the rear tire and putting it on the front and the donut on the rear axle.

4) Corrosion is so obvious. Rust ate away the connection between the muffler and the long exaust pipe leading to the manifold. Muffler broke on highway and used some twine to hold it. Mechanic told me to replace both the muffler and the pipe but could only afford the muffler. After 3000 miles, I noticed the new muffler was rusting again.

5) The headlight clips are badly designed that it won't hold the bulb in place. Whenever I stopped the right headlight would go out. Folded up some newspaper to wedge it in between so it would stabilize.

6) Broke the timing belt going up a hill doing 35 mph. Good thing I reached the top of the hill when it broke. Steering wheel became unresponsive, brakes were not functioning. I immediately put on hazard and neutral and coasted down the hill until it stopped on its own. Thank god I wasnt killed.

7) Manual door locks are faulty. I was locked in the car twice after I turned off the car and the door handle would not open the door on both doors. Had to pry the door open with a screwdriver.

The placement of the drain plug of the engine oil is a failure. It is not in the open and situated on top of some device so instead of removing the nut from the bottom of the car, you remove it from above. Normal tools are too big to unscrew that nut and you waste money buying special tools. Better buy some Bengay cream because I burnt my arm and wrist was sore from bending into a tight space.

9) The release procedure for draining antifreeze is complicated. Unlike Toyota's where all you do is unscrew the drain plug, you have to unscrew at a certain position to let all of the gas out first before you can drain out the coolant.

10) It's bad enough that the Civic is designed so low it feels like your sitting on the floor but the seat design is far worse. The seat is curved downward so when you sit, you are looking up at the sky even when the back is vertical. Had to use a pillow.

So next time if your friend says *I've never seen a dead Honda* they should come pay me a visit because HONDA EATS HORSE SH*T.

And you wonder why NASCAR races with Toyota Camry rather than Honda Accord?

 

bier, how old was your Civic when it started having these problems? Hondas used to be very crappy in quality when they go over a certain amount of years, but now they're a bit better.

 

For a better comparison.... you guys need to compare the UPCOMING 2009 FIT (totally improved and revised) and compare it to the 2009/08 Scion xD.

The upcoming 2009 Fit is a world apart from last year's model. INCREASED HORSEPOWER for one thing? At 118 horsepower, obviously Honda listened to their customers and made some internal changes. A little extra horsepower is just what it needed, without totally jacking up the price class of that car.

It also has Honda's ACE body structure, which is a major factor for safety when we are talking about these subcompacts. It is pretty much the same body strength structure that Honda uses in all its bigger best-seller cars such as the Accords and Civics. This is something that should be considered especially since you are getting it standard feature in an entry-level subcompact.

iPod Integration for the "younger crowd"? Standard feature in the new 2009 Fit Sport. So now, you REALLY have a very very closer comparison to the Scion xD (which already had the iPod integration as standard feature to begin with). The feature-per-feature list is now really close between these two cars.

I like the fact that there is a very close competition in this car class. Competition forces companies like Toyota/Scion and Honda to keep improving their cars every year.

Edmunds.com has a couple of very good head-to-head comparisons of the Fit versus the Scion xD. Both cars were reviewed favorably.... if I remember, Edmunds narrowly favored the Scion xD, but also said that the Honda Fit came in as a close 2nd.

 

Chels, it was a 1993 Civic EX and I bought it pre-owned with only 8000 miles on it back in 1994. After 6 months of saving cash, I went to buy a pre-owned 93' Camry with 11,000 miles. Today, it still runs perfect with 170,000 miles. She's going to be 15 years old this September.

 

I hope they've fixed the rear end so it gets a "Good" rating in rear end crash tests and improve the function of the AC (which I've heard is horrible). More HP is good. Bumping the windshield 4.7" out is a waste, as are 10 cupholders. Kinda hard to compare the two when the Fit isn't out yet and we don't know what the price is. Oh, ya, & is has no spare tire. BUT, it does have a conventional fuel gauge & telescoping steering wheel, which the xD does not. Don't get me wrong, I'm not down on Honda's.............just not overly impressed w/the Fit.

 

You know, one of my favorite things about Scions is the no trim idea. Having to upgrade to the Fit Sport just to get Ipod integration is a little silly, if you ask me.

Plus, no matter what you do inside or under the hood of a Fit, they're still fugly.

In all honesty, though, the Fit is a well-thought out vehicle, it just didn't fit us as well as the xD. I have to say the xD was much much more fun to drive.

 

massadar: It would make much more sense if the specs of the new Fit were out instead of the current one so we can better compare the two cars. Unfortunately Honda's site only lists a bare minimum of information with pictures. Even edmunds doesn't seem to have information on the 2009 Fit.

I was looking at the new Fit last night and I saw that for the iPod hookup you actually have to use your USB cable that comes with the iPod in order to plug it in to the cord you get with the Fit. Meaning the cord that comes with the Fit sounds likes its a USB cord. Thats a nice feature but I wouldn't want to use my only iPod cord in my car and have to take it out when I want to add more music to my iPod.

Horsepower is now at 118? Thats better but in the area I live in, you need a lot more to get on the freeway. Doesn't it make more sense to have more HP and torque for a more punchy feeling? Not sure though. I'd prefer to gain the extra 10hp with my xD and loose a bit of gas miileage than to not have that peppyness I enjoy.

I wonder if ACE would make the Fit heavier than before, which is why they had to increase the horsepower, which would mean it might not get as good of gas mileage as it is now.

The new styling of the 09 Fit looks much better than the current Fit, but I prefer the Toyota family over Honda That and the community with Scions is much more friendly when comparing it to Hondas. At least in my area.

 

I did a lot of comparing between the fit and the xd before deciding on the xd. My main reasons for going with the xd:

1) The Honda dealers I went to were unorganized, deceptive and didn't listen to me when I explained what I wanted. Oh, and they tried to trash talk Scion. Not a good way to win over a customer

2) The XD has more features for the price than the Fit. Steering wheel controls, ipod connection, stability control, more HP....etc.

3) IMHO, the fit looks cheap. And it felt cheap too. I've seen a couple on the street since getting my xd, and I'm so glad I got the xd instead! Even on my test drive with the fit, I thought it felt a bit cheap.

4) My dealers at Scion were way cool, casual and no pressure at all. They gave me all my pricing up front so there was no surprises, no misleading and no deception. It was the greatest experience!

 

I'll play devil's advocate here since all the other opinions are a bit one-sided.

I've owned SEVEN Toyota's. Huge Toyota fan over the years, used to have a 1st gen xB and I loved it.

On paper, I was 99% sold on the xD. I was ready to buy one until I drove it and the Honda Fit. Yes, the xD has more power but that was the only notable advantage for me. Practicality wise the Fit's interior is much more well designed, much better at carrying things.

Put the practicality aside though, what won me over was the DRIVE. If you really like to DRIVE then the Fit is very very hard to beat for the money. It didn't make Car and Drivers 10 Best for nothing. The handling, steering feel, shifter action etc are amazing for a car in this price range. It is ridiculous fun to drive.

The xD feels sturdy and has a nice torquey motor, it reminded me of a micro-highlander or something. Definitely nice, but the steering is disconnected and it drives more like a small SUV than a sporty car. The interior is not nearly as well thought out, the gauges are bizarre just for the sake of being "different" and the rear C-pillar blind spot is just plain scary IMO. I could see an entire 18-wheeler disappearing back there.

Bottom line, this are inexpensive "appliance" type cars and they are both fine choices, but the Honda Fit won me over in the test drive. It has a healthy helping of spiciness which is too rare in this class of cars. If you just want a point-A to point-B machine then there are many good choices. If you are the kind of person who likes to row the gears and clip apexes then the Fit is going to put a wider smile on your face than any other car in its class and the automotive press agrees heartily.

 

I find the design of the xD interior superior to the Fit. For instance, in order to lay the back seats flat on the fit you have to completely remove the rear seat headrests and then find somewhere to put them which takes up valuable cargo space. On the xD, the rear headrests are designed to fold down nicely into the seat so no removal is necessary to take advantage of the cargo area.

That's just one example. Plus the fit has NO option for steering wheel audio controls.

 

This to me points to the fact that you absolutely HAVE to test drive these cars to make an informed decision. I did not like the way the fit handled, cornered, or was geared in the 5 speed (not simply from a power perspective, but I definitely found the power lacking uphill on the freeway on-ramp). To me, its only advantage (and it is a major advantage) is the usage of space in the back. But again, the instrument panel... I found the Fit's to be boring and conventional, while the xD's is stylish. Fit Sport, with dealer BS will cost you $1000 more than an xD b/c of pure pricing in today's market (and you have to have the sport to get ipod connections and cruise control). A lot of these things, though, are tastes and preferences. It was the xD for me, by a lot (and it would have been easier to like the Fit... they had the color and model I wanted in stock on the test drive... I'm waiting on my xD).

 

^^ This is really what it breaks down to. No matter how much you don't like another brand or vehicle, it all boils down to which one you like the most in the test drive.

I found the xD to be a lot more fun to drive than the Fit, plus my wife took to it on her first time in the driver's seat, which is rare, so that's what works for us. Your experience may be different, who knows...

 

That's actually not true... you do have to slide/flip the front seats up first, but the fit's headrest will actually slide under the front seat to give you a flush floor in the back.