2004 Honda Fit 1.4A review from Sri Lanka

The car has been used in Japan for around 3+ years before it was shipped to our country to be sold as a "reconditioned" car.

The car seems to have the common problem with carpets on the drivers side, which has torn off, as it does not have the clips to hold it, and Honda or the previous owner had glue the carpet, resulting in the tear in the carpet.

There are many parts internally which are removable for easy access for replacement of internals (E.g. Rear shocks, rear tail lights), and the manner in which these are fixed is not very rugged, and they can start to squeak/rattle over time.

Have had the car for a while, and running has been mainly in city conditions. After moving from a 2 liter Accord, I expected a quantum leap in economy (the Accord with a manual gearbox returned 7-8km per liter in city conditions, with a fair bit of spirited driving). However the though car was fully checked by the agents (plugs, engine tune, air filter, etc) the economy within the city conditions has been around 9.5-10 : (and not with as much spirited driving as with the Accord).

The ride of the car is frankly poor, as it cannot take any humps (a common problem in our roads) as it just bounces up, and rutty roads (where you feel as if you are on horse). I got the shocks tested, and the agent confirmed they were in good condition, so it seems the car is mainly suited only for smooth roads.

The acceleration is nippy for city driving, though the engine note is nothing pleasant when revved beyond 3500rpm : (Something sad as the Honda engines have a history of being acoustically pleasant! However the moment you start driving it, aggressively the economy comes closer to 9 km per liter.

The interior is very spacious, and the rear legroom actually is more than my Honda Accord, however the rear seats are not very comfortable for long trips. The front seats are much better, but still in the budget group. The fact that the headrest cannot be adjusted in tilt, means shorter passengers can find it jutting into their heads.

The fact that only a single bulb is used for both the normal beam and main beam seems a dangerous option in the event the bulb was to fail, as replacing the bulb is not a simple process (you cannot do it through the front bonnet), and requires removing the front tire guard, and some very deft work that would leave an expert surgeon at shame to remove the connectors!

The noise insulation is very poor, and brings in a lot of noise from the outside (and the sound from the inside speakers is also heard far too clearly to the outside!). This can be very irritating, and other cars in the same class (the Toyota IST, Toyota Vitz, Toyota Vios, Suzuki Ignis/Swift, Nissan March) all have much better noise insulation.

The only thing that still makes is pleasant is that the driving position and feel is more a proper car.