The Fit isn’t dead. It’s just ignoring you.
Honda keeps the small hatchback alive in Japan, dropping an updated model for its 25th birthday. They tweaked the trim names and polished a few knobs, but kept the price shockingly low. The rest of us are out of luck.
Under the Hood
No manual transmission. That hurts.
Standard power comes from a 1.5-liter engine. 119 horsepower, 107 lb-ft torque. Adequate. If you want more, there is a hybrid option. Two electric motors help the gasoline engine out for a combined 207 hp.
Front-wheel drive is the base setup. All-wheel drive is optional on higher trims. The lineup structure got a bit confusing. The old Basic trim is now called the X. The old Home is the Z. Then there is the sportier RS and the crossover-looking Crosstar, but you only get those if you buy the hybrid.
Tweaks, Not Changes
Forget a redesign. Honda prefers subtlety.
On the base Fit X, the drinks holder got some black garnish. The gear selector lever got chrome-plated. That is mostly it.
The Fit Z looks better though. It borrows the front grille and bumper from the sporty RS. Even the shark fin antenna matches the body color now. Inside? Leather-wrapped three-spoke wheel, heated seats, more black accents. It feels less cheap without actually changing the shape.
The RS wears piano black everywhere. A piano-black grille. Black trim on the license plate area. Sixteen-inch black alloys. Inside, they went for the sport look—black headliner, red stitching on the suede combi seats, sport pedals, wireless charging, heated steering wheel. All standard.
“The biggest change happened to the trips.”
The Crosstar sits at the top. They made sure the seats and steering wheel stay heated on this one, too.
Price Is a Joke
Let’s talk about money because it is absurd.
In the US, average car prices passed $50,000. The entry-level Fit X in Japan starts at $11,134 (¥1,806,240).
Eleven grand. That is cheaper than a Fiat Topolino scooter which technically isn’t a road-legal car in many places. Even the fully loaded hybrid Crosstar with AWD costs $18,220 (¥2,955,600). Front-wheel drive version of that is $16,864 (¥2,735.600).
Do we still need affordable cars? Yes. Can we buy them? Not really.
The last US model was the 2020. An LX cost $17,195 back then and actually had a manual option. The top-spec EX-L went up to $21.575. It got 36 mpg highway. Decent. But gone now.
The Pain Remains
Honda produces the Fit elsewhere while American consumers beg for cheaper cars. They hear us, but they don’t care. Not enough. The volume just isn’t there for a tiny, low-profit vehicle when they could be selling trucks and crossovers that make bank.
The Fit joined the Mitsubishi Mirage and Toyota Yaris in the graveyard. The Mazda2 is there too. The Nissan Versa fared better but is also shifting forms. They aren’t coming back.
So you look at those Japanese prices and sigh.
