Is the Honda Fit Fit For Families?
CARS.COM — In the months since we welcomed the 2015 Honda Fit to Cars.com’s long-term fleet, we’ve thrown a lot of stuff into it and the subcompact hatchback has accommodated most of it like a stretchy pair of maternity jeans. But what about our most precious cargo? How well-suited to family duty is the Fit? From child-safety seats and sippy cups to strollers and diaper bags, we put the Honda to the test.
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As the mom of three kids in car seats, I knew the Fit wouldn’t fit my family — heck, there are few vehicles that can safely and comfortably accommodate three car seats. But for families with one or two children, it might just work — depending on their age, size and activities.
I was able to do a full grocery run for my family of five in the Honda Fit thanks to its generous cargo space. With 16.6 cubic feet of space behind the backseat, I had room to spare. It also aced the stroller test, easily accommodating my small umbrella stroller as well as my large UPPAbaby Vista double stroller.
When it comes to child-safety seats, however, the Fit didn’t impress. The backseat fits two car seats, but it handles some better than others. My young twins are in rear-facing car seats, which take up a lot of legroom, and I felt the pinch when installing both an infant car seat and a rear-facing convertible. I had to move the front seats up quite a bit to fit them in the backseat. My kindergartner’s high-back booster, however, fit well on the flat rear seat. The outboard seat belt buckles are on floppy bases, so children may have difficulty using them on their own.
Cars.com Managing Editor Jennifer Newman’s two sons are older than my kids. She said that the Fit offers plenty of legroom for her older, 5-foot-1 son, but her 6-foot-tall husband feels cramped as a passenger in the front seat.
It’s more spacious than the previous generation, however. With its redesign, the Fit grew not only in exterior length but also in rear legroom. The 2015 Fit has 39.3 inches of rear legroom and 41.4 inches of front legroom.
“A few years ago, we owned a 2007 Fit Sport. While we enjoyed its zippy ride, my family often felt cramped in it,” said Newman. “We had to be strategic about where our boys sat in the backseat, with my older son always sitting behind me to get a little more rear legroom. My younger son was stuck behind his dad, and with only 33.7 inches of rear legroom, that wasn’t a comfortable spot for longer trips.”
While the subcompact Fit won’t work for all families, it handles kids and cargo better than its tiny dimensions would suggest. It offers an impressive blend of space efficiency and cargo versatility that makes it live like a much larger vehicle.
Check out the gallery below.
