In the UK, the Honda Jazz has established itself quite nicely in the highly competitive supermini class as a well-built and spacious car that whilst not as fun to drive as cars such as the Ford Fiesta has definite ownership appeal especially to the older demographic. It’s not the sort of car that you long to own, but as practical transport that is easy to drive and painless to own, it leads the class. Successive generations, and we have recently the transition from the third to fourth model, have deviated little from this formula. It’s all a bit different in the US. Smaller Honda models have tended to appeal to young drivers and there is quite a market for let’s call them modifications to make them at least appear more sporting. Whilst the Civic is the car that the young really want, they have also been attracted to Honda’s entry level car, thanks to its low purchase price and affordable running costs. Here it is called the Fit, retaining the Japanese market name, and the cars are built in Mexico. The third generation car made its global debut in 2013 but it was not until the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit at the start of 201 that the US model appeared, sales starting a few months later as a 2015 model year car. This time there were more trim versions available and the car incorporated the latest technology and safety features. A Mild facelift arrived in 2017 with new bumpers, a revised radio with Apple Car Play on all bar the entry level model, and LED headlights with daytime running lights incorporated into the headlights. The fourth generation Fit/Jazz was revealed in October 2019 and went on sale in Europe just as the various Covid lockdowns took effect, but the older car stayed on sale in the US for the 2020 model year. I sampled a UK market Jazz back in 2018 and found plenty of strengths in Honda’s entry level (for Europe) car, but the US version, only seen very occasionally in the rental fleets had eluded me ever since launch. That all changed with the fleet as it exists in early 2022 where cars that you never used to see before are now on offer thanks to the need to buy whatever is available from whatever source, even as pre-owned cars, simply to restore the fleet to the size that is needed to match returning demand. I noticed that there are currently a number of Honda Fit models among the cars now available, so decided to pick one for a day to see how it fares in an automotive market where cars of this size do not have the commercial significance that they do in Europe. The test car turned out to be a 2020 model year car and it was in the entry level LX trim.

All US market Fit models have a 1.5 litre 4 cylinder engine which puts out 130 bhp. That sounds like a lot and it should endow the car with decent performance, but it really did not fell that lively.  Blame for that must go to the optional automatic transmission which featured on the test car. This is a CVT box and it is one of the worst I’ve experienced in recent times. It simply did not seem well connected to what the engine was doing, so the car was constantly labouring with the gearing struggling to catch up. It was even worse in Eco mode. Once at a steady speed, things were actually quite refined, but getting there was not pleasant. An automatic gearbox obviously makes for easy urban driving,  but anyone interested in the Fit would be well advised to consider the standard 6 speed manual. I covered 380 miles in my time with the Fit and it needed 8.3 gallons to refill it which works out at a very impressive 45. 78 mpg US or 54.7 mpg Imperial.

Looking past the frustrations of the transmission, the Fit was otherwise not bad to drive. The steering is light but has some feel. The car corners tidily and has plenty of grip, so whilst far from an enthusiast machine, it is actually a decent drive. I have seen adverse comments about the brakes but I had no issues with them, finding the pedal well weighted and the stopping action reassuring. This version of the Fit came on 185/60 R15 wheels, which were steelies with wheel cover. Even with small and high profile wheels, the ride was a bit jittery. All around visibility was good, with no significant issues being apparent, parking being particularly easy thanks to the short overhangs and the help of the rear-view camera. Safety features on the Fit are impressive, too. If you opt for a base-level LX but upgrade to the automatic transmission, you’ll get forward collision warning with emergency automatic braking, lane departure warning and intervention, and adaptive cruise control. That’s quite a bit of equipment for a relatively low price.

The interior of the Fit is quite neat and build quality is good, though of course there are lots of plastics used here, including for the moulded steering wheel but most of the surfaces are soft to the touch and there is no particular impression of a poverty spec finish here unlike in some rivals. The instrument cluster comprises a large central speedometer with a rev counter to the left and fuel gauge to the right. Twin column stalks operate not just indicators and wipers but also the lights which do have an Auto function even on the entry level car. There are audio repeaters and cruise control buttons on the steering wheel hub. The centre of the dash has a simple and rather old-tech style 5” screen for what turned out to be an old school radio, which was AM/FM only with not a lot of other functions. There is the now rather rare CD slot. Beneath this are three rotary dials for the air conditioning.  The whole set-up is refreshingly simple and easy to use.

Access to the Fit is only by key, there being no remote button on the key fob for the central locking, quite a rarity even in base model trims in this day and age. There is a real feeling of space here, compared to rivals, thanks to the almost SUV-live styling which means that headroom is particularly plentiful. Needless to say, in an entry level car, you get cloth upholstery and the seat adjustment is all manual. There is a height adjuster for the driver but not the passenger. There is a telescoping steering wheel which goes in/out as well as up/down, so it was easy to get the driving position I wanted.

For a small car, space in the rear of the Fit is excellent. There is no central tunnel, but the centre console does stick back a bit. The car is not quite wide enough for three adults anyway, but three children should be fine here, and even those with long legs will be comfortable thanks to relatively upright seating and the plentiful headroom from the car’s tall styling. There are map pockets on the back of the front seats and door bins for bits and pieces.

There is a large boot and for extra space there is a shallow tray under the floor. The rear seat backrests are asymmetrically split rear seats and by just folding these down, you get a flat and decently long load platform. The Fit’s styling means that there is plenty of height, too if you really want to pack things in. However, there are other options for a combination of passengers and luggage by taking advantage of what Honda calls their Magic Seats, with multiple configuration options which fold in several ways to accommodate cargo in varying shapes and sizes. For example, you can fold the rear seat bottoms up for transporting tall and skinny items (a TV, for instance) or recline the front passenger seat to store long ones. It’s a neat trick that makes the Fit feel far more utilitarian than the pint-sized competition. Inside the passenger compartment there is a modestly sized glovebox, pockets on the doors, a small armrest cubby and there are wells in the centre console for odds and ends.

The 2020 Honda Fit came in four trim levels: LX, Sport, EX and EX-L. Every Fit is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that drives the front wheels. A six-speed manual transmission is standard on LX and Sport models, while a continuously variable automatic transmission is optional. The CVT automatic comes standard on the EX and EX-L. With the manual transmission, the engine is rated at 130 horsepower and 114 lb-ft of torque. Selecting the CVT mildly reduces output to 128 hp and 113 lb-ft of torque. My test car was the entry level Fit LX, which gets you 15-inch steel wheels, automatic headlights, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, height-adjustable driver’s seat, a 5-inch central display screen, and a four-speaker audio system. You also get the Fit’s so-called Magic Seats. They consist of a fully reclining front passenger seat and a 60/40-split folding rear seat, and they can be positioned in a number of configurations. As a result, the Fit is able to handle more types of cargo than other hatchbacks. The Sport trim adds some sporty styling highlights as well as 16-inch alloy wheels, foglights, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. The Sport’s infotainment system is a 7-inch touchscreen interface that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also includes a six-speaker sound system and, with the CVT, wheel-mounted shift paddles that simulate gearshifts. Step up to the EX and the Fit receives a sunroof, keyless entry and ignition, and extendable sun visors. It also adds the Honda Sensing suite of active safety features, which includes adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and intervention, a blind-spot camera, and forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking. At the top of the Fit range, the EX-L brings heated side mirrors, heated front seats and leather upholstery.

There was much to like about the Honda Fit, with a particularly spacious cabin and Honda’s high standards of fit, finish and build quality being top of the list of strengths but that awful gearbox really did ruin things. Were I in the market for a car of this size in the US – and relatively few people seem to be, these days, with the number of alternatives steadily diminishing – then I would look to a version with a manual ‘box, which I am sure would prove to be far more pleasant to drive. Thus configured you would then have a car that is very economical, spacious and which would prove to be a good ownership proposition. Clearly not enough people in the US are looking for those attributes in a car of this size and price, as Honda decided not to bring the latest generation Fit/Jazz model to America, so this was the last model year for the Fit and the number of sub-compact alternatives reduces by yet one more car.