A blue Honda Fit is shown from the rear three-quarter view, parked on a wet road with city buildings in the background. The car features a license plate that reads "SZ05241".

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©2011 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (ZO2011-13)

Honda Fit Micromanager.

NO SOONER HAD THE FIRST-GENERATION Honda Fit alighted on U.S. showroom floors than it shouldered its way onto our 2007 10Best list. Now it's a five-time champ, maintaining its entertaining demeanor through a comprehensive 2009 makeover. Since its debut, the Fit Sport has won a seven-car comparo [May 2006], then faced a pair of brand-new challengers—the Ford Fiesta SES and the Mazda 2 Touring—to score another triumph [October 2010]. One-hundred seventeen horsepower ain't much—there exist Montanans with lawn mowers as powerful—but the 2500-pound Fit nails 60 mph in 8.3 seconds, 1.8 seconds quicker than the Fiesta and 0.8 second sooner than the Mazda 2. We're equally zinged by this Honda's upscale interior, its quick and precise steering, an engaging shifter, spot-on ergonomics, a windshield as big as a minivan's, and a rear seat that is both adult-habitable and drops to the floor faster than a Marine pumping push-ups. All of the foregoing, plus an observed 34 mpg¹. Although it's close, the Fit isn't perfectly fit. Its 197-foot braking distance is substandard, the front seat's lumbar support is too aggressive, and the air conditioning strains to keep up with the solar load caused by all that glass. Nonetheless, the Fit offers a fun-to-drive quotient that proves basic transportation isn't always basic.

THE NUMBERS

¹27 city/33 highway/30 combined mpg for Fit Sport with automatic transmission. Based on 2011 EPA mileage estimates. Use for comparison purposes only. Do not compare to models before 2008. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.

²MSRP excluding tax, title, license and optional equipment. Actual price will vary. Dealers set actual prices. Please see your Honda dealer for details.

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