by James Hamel

Created on: March 10, 2010

When it comes to small cars nobody does them better than Honda Motor Company. You can see that truth evidenced throughout the manufacturer’s history in North America selling vehicles like the 1974 Honda Civic CVCC. That little hatchback was the first car in America to pass newly stringent smog standards back in the 1970’s.

The Big Three at the time, of course, said that there was no way to meet the upcoming clean air regulations (sound familiar?) because they knew that they would have a very difficult time not only matching how efficient and clean the Civic CVCC was but also how something so small had such a big interior(sound familiar?). So began America’s great love affair with all things Honda ranging from hatchbacks to sedans to SUVs to coupes and crossovers.

The 2010 Honda Fit Sport hatchback starts at $16,410 and comes with essentials like air conditioning, power windows, door locks, 160-watt audio system (with surprisingly good sound quality), alloy wheels, auxiliary USB/iPod input jack, cruise control and a whopping 10 cupholders. Really? Does anyone need ten cupholders in a car that seats five? That’s two cupholders for each passenger!

Wouldn’t you just know, however, that the cup holder I chose to use at the base of the dashboard wasn’t the right size for my gas station Big Gulp? After that brief encounter with accidental soda spillage I learned something else about the 2010 Honda Fit. The interior of this genre busting subcompact has the same solidity and build quality of any old Civic or Accord of yesterday. Because someday, there are going to be worn, used and abused 20 year old Honda Fits roaming the streets of whatever town you live in.

An Economical, Efficient and Fun to Drive Car for Uncertain Times

Powered by a fuel sipping (28 city/35 highway) 1.5 liter 4 cylinder with 117 horsepower, the 2010 Honda Fit isn’t quite as peppy when equipped with an automatic as it is with a manual. Having driven both (the tester was a five speed auto with paddles behind the steering wheel) I must say I recommend the manual over the automatic as Honda makes the best self-shifters in the world and it cuts down on acceleration times pretty much across the board.

A manual is also better suited to the zippy, fun to drive nature of this commodious five door hatch. If ever there was a really inexpensive car with the steering feel of a Mazda Miata this is it. That may sound like hyperbole but on a twisty two lane road the 2010

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