Honda Fit

2001 June 22: Honda tells us that the new Honda Fit went on sale in Japan. Is this Honda's interpretation of the A-class?

The Honda Fit has a 1.3-litre engine (63) with acronyms - i-VTEC and i-DSI intensive combustion technology and said to achieve 4.35 litres per 100km. This is achieved through a lot of `swirl', narrow valve angles, and dual spark plugs/cyl. The piston skirts are "molybdenum impregnated" to reduce friction.

Safety features include a centrally positioned fuel tank, and a body claimed to "withstand a full-frontal barrier collision at 55km/h, a side offset collision at 64km/h, side impacts at 55km/h and rear collisions at 50 km/h." Twin front airbags are standard.

The rear seats fold in a 60:40 split, and can be folded flat, to make the most of the interior space.

Go to the Honda pages