The drivetrain has been upgraded to “Earth Dream” spec and is up 13 hp to 130 hp. Torque has been boosted from 106 to 114 lb-ft, but fuel economy has improved from 7.7 and 7.5 L/100 km in manual and CVT trim to 7.3 and 6.4. Full specs are 7.0/5.7/6.4 L/100 k city/highway/combined (CVT) and 8.1/6.4/7.3 (manual). These are all five-cycle figures. The change comes from the addition of direct-injection to the engine and improvements to the CVT. We saw 5.7 L/100 km during our combined drive. The only subcompacts with better economy figures are the 123 hp/125 lb-ft 1.0L EcoBoost Fiesta and the 74 hp/74 lb-ft 1.3L Mitsubishi Mirage.
The engine feels peppy around town and pulls well from a standing start but is high-strung at cruising speeds. 100 km/h has the engine turning at around 3,000 rpm, 120 km/h about 3,800 rpm in the manual model.
  2015 Honda Fit engine bay, . Click image to enlarge |
The curvy egg shape Fit is gone for 2014. In its place is something Honda calls “Crossfade Monoform” and what the rest of us call “a wedge”.
It’s a design that ties in with the current vogue of “motion, even when standing still” and the wraparound headlights combined with an aggressive character line down the side help imbue the Fit with a sense of sportiness not really found in the previous generation.
Here’s something else that’s new about the Honda Fit – you don’t need to row your own to enjoy the drive. Yes, the manual is more fun and engaging, and personally I prefer it, but the CVT is surprisingly quiet and unobtrusive around town. On the highway my colleagues complained about its noisiness but I didn’t experience that. With Sport mode engaged, you can access seven simulated gears via the paddle shifters but if you’re going to go to all that bother, you may as well save $1,300 and buy the manual.
The manual has been redesigned by Honda to be a little lighter and a little easier to use. The result is a light and simple gearshift mechanism that isn’t the joyous “schnick schnick” of other Honda items, but is very forgiving. Given that one of the largest Fit demographics is of retirement age it might be more appropriate to have a lighter, easier manual. And while the gearbox is lighter it’s not vague. The gates are well-defined and easy to find. The throw is short enough to be effortless, but long enough for you to know which gear you’re in should you lose track. The clutch is light as well and could use a little more definition for the bite point.
   2015 Honda Fit wheel, gauges, shifter. Click image to enlarge |
Braking feel is good but fades quickly after repeated stops which I found disconcerting.
The steering rack is revised for 2015 too, and while it’s direct and sharp in the city it feels vague out on the highway. The steering itself remains sharp, and small movements of the wheel result in immediate response from the chassis, it’s just that the communication back through the wheel doesn’t match the handling. The result is that you might find yourself making larger corrections with the wheel than necessary.
