It's very annoying to hear these guys complain about the look of a car. This is such a subjective area and it doesn't do anyone any favors. Reporting on things that we can't see as viewers like: torque, power, road feel, steering feel etc., would serve everyone much more.
I'm 6 foot tall, and the Fit didn't have enough leg room for me. Also, as others have said, comparing a CVT to a manual transmission is not a fair comparison. I drove both a manual Fit and a manual Versa Note, and I ended up choosing the Note. While the Fit had a little more pep, neither of them are sports cars, and the Note's added comfort made and easy choice for me.
Just purchased a 2105 Nissan Versa Note SV edition and I'm absolutely in love with it. Granted its my first car so I don't have a lot of experience knowing what's good in a car or not, but it is hands down comfortable to drive for a new driver and first time car owner.
I have a 2015 Fit EX (Same as the video, but black) and here are my thoughts: the car is extremely practical and is great if you want something that can do a little of everything but not commit to a boring car. I have heard multiple reviews about the seats being uncomfortable. During the last 2 weeks I took a long road trip and put on just a shade less than 6000 miles. I found them comfortable, but I am a fairly thin guy. They don't feel as comfortable at first, but long term I liked them. Rear seats I don't really have an opinion on except that I know you can slide your seat all the way back and not bottom out on your 6'4" friend's knees sitting behind you. The interior in general is really impressive, particularly for its segment. The lack of a volume "rotary dial" is something to get used to but now I actually prefer the little steering wheel switch. The touch volume control kinda sucks. The rest of the touch controls on the radio work surprisingly well. Audio is pretty decent. You can turn up the volume to exceptional levels (more than I need at least), and it doesn't overdrive or distort. Gearing could be a little higher. You're sitting right around 3800rpm when you're at 80, but in fairness I was still getting 31mpg driving the whole tank at that speed. **Car guy talk incoming, skip this for the normal review*** One thing that I'm going to mention that a lot of people may not notice or agree with is that I think this car is Honda's subtle nod to the tuner crowd. They have included a lot of not-at-first-noticable features that will apeal to the performance seekers. Example: the fender wells will fit approx 1" wider tires with no mods. Power to weight has been improved. The engine is now dual cam and his i-VTEC. The crank counterweights have been lightened by HALF since the last generation, but the flywheel is heavy (notice the little climb in the video when he shifts hard). What's a common upgrade for the performance seeking crowd? Clutch and flywheel. Keep the car easy to drive for the people that want a normal car. Make it a rev-happy beast for the tuners with one fairly simple mod. They've included a really close-ratio 6-speed. Also direct injection (inherently less efficient than port injection) means that it was a purely performance-based decision. Turbos were a common route in the last gen Fits for serious modders. Direct injection is awesome for boost. The rigidity of the new chassis has also been improved. So I think Honda knew that a lot of guys know that is is what the Civic used to be before it got fat. It's no Si but still. It's a simple, easy to work on (so much room in the engine bay that some guys have swaped K20's already!) simple hatch. ***Car guy talk over*** In conclusion, I love this car. It has a couple flaws but it more than makes up for them by just not feeling cheap alone. The fun-to-drive bit is a bonus. Magic seats are 100% more awesome after you actually use them. If you need a car and you can afford a new one, buy it.
Hempflakes Yeah, the truth is that this is a Japanese car in design (other than LHD of course) and Americans tend not to fit in the same space as the Japanese. Oh well, I guess.
Absolutely epic burnout at 0:44 !!!! The best I've ever seen. You can only get this kind of thing when you've got real horse power under your right foot !!!!!!!
Hi Guys, you both are a great team :) and I enjoyed a lot the review!, you make them fun because you guys are very sincere, honest with what you really feel, and that's great!. Thank you! Keep It Up!
Rented the versa yesterday for a trip from nyc to boston. It was pretty good. Only thing id complain about is the steering feel and hamdling. I drove a ford fiesta over the same distance and it handles way better
I'm delighted to see you're finally testing a couple of real cars for real car guys. I was sick of seeing those wimpy, underpowered Dodge shopping trollies.
The funny thing is this -- the subcompact class is now highly competitive. Not only you have the Versa Note and Fit, you have a variety of great vehicles in the subcompact class -- Chevy Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Kia Rio, Mazda2, and Hyundai Accent. I don't think there's a bad one in this group
About the touch volume at 3:02, I'm pretty sure I watched a dealer slide his finger up and down the volume bar to change the volume quickly. What takes forever is tapping the plus or the minus symbol, trying to go from zero to max volume, which is meant for small increment changes.
Kinetis Can confirm. I have a '15 Fit EX and you can change the volume by: 1) the steering wheel buttons. 2) sliding on the bar on the side of the screen. 3) tapping +/-. And 4) taping the middle (about where "VOL" is), and a slider appears on the screen along with a mute button. Then you can slide on the screen itself. Hope this helps.
You compared the cvt of the Versa to the manual of the Fit saying it's better than the Honda. That's not so accurate. Keep in mind the base Fit actually gets slightly better mpg than that of the Versa. It gets 33/41. I realize you get what you get from these guys and it might not always be dead on (as I can see you don't even have a base Fit as your tester), but for people who don't know all about Honda's, it might be nice for you to mention stuff like that. Sorry for the little rant. :P Love the videos guys.
Nice video. I have a '12 Fit Sport and it's such a fun car to drive, especially with spirit! It's does tend to crash a bit over potholes and bumps but the suspension is rather taut for a sub-compact so that's to be expected but it handles wonderfully. As a side note, the Versa Note, which came out in 2014, borrowed a lot of design cues from the 2nd gen Honda Fit so it stands to reason why both of these cars look more or less the same. I actually like how the '15 Note was subtly redesigned but to be honest, I wish Honda could have been more subtle in their redesign. It looks too busy to me with all its angles, lines, and creases. It reminds me of a puffer fish.
If you are looking for horsepower, handling, sportiness, and don't give a damn to fuel economy, why even shop in this car catagory? I'd say the versa makes more sense
THE HONDA FIT MODEL IN THIS VIDEO WAS THE EX. The Fit LX model looks and drives very much the same as the EX, but cost's considerably less. also, the Fit LX might have been more appealing to these critics who disliked the touch-screen radio. The LX also has a screen for the radio and rear-view camera, but it's smaller and has an actual control knob as well as hard buttons for station pre-sets.
The fit follows the Honda's new line of design, based on the Honda City (for Latin America and Asia) while the Versa is following the European approach for a world car, very utilitarian, and design to be a fun car to drive in tight places. I was more about the Honda but after this review is making me see and think more on the Nissan.
They're both nice cars in their own right. It just depends what you want from a subcompact hatchback. The Versa is larger inside with plusher seats and a more relaxed demeanor. The Fit is a bit more sports oriented.
I have a Fit and rented a Versa Note once for 3 weeks. This is a very acurate review. Just like a you I prefer the Fit but I miss the more comfortable seats of the Versa. I also noticed that the Versa is a lot noisier.
everyone's familiar with "buyer remorse" but with my Fit all i feel is buyer's ...overjoy? Not as catchy but the more i dig into my Fit the better i feel about my purchase. Partner & i just finished a 4,000+ mile road trip and it was a dream. For me the Honda Fit (or Jazz for you oversea'ers) is the perfect combo of utilitarian, thrifty & fun!
It is time that colourful cars make a return, its just a sea of silver, white, black, red and blue over here. With my old orange Protege5, it wasn't hard to find in a parking lot.
I have the fit and it's an awesome car! Yes, people are gonna judge, but once you get in, you will be shocked. It's fun to drive and you can go drive on mountains. You can also camp inside the Fit and carry a lot of stuff. Adding a little bit of tuning will make it more fun.
With the Honda Fit (U.S.) you can get the base model (The LX) which doesn't offer as much as the EX/EX-L. The Fit LX offers 1.5 inches of more headroom, analog controls/buttons for audio (instead of the touchscreen display), and saves you the extra $2,000 USD. The EX/EX-L is more of a luxury and the LX is more of a bare necessity daily driver. All models comes with either CVT or Manual transmission. As for the Nissan Versa Note, from what I can see you get better MPG at a lower price point which is a good deal. I went with the Fit LX CVT and I do not regret a single thing. Do your research before buying/leasing and good luck!
Can you get a Fit under 15 grand? That is the issues I have with Honda, they do not have any reasonably priced entry level cars anymore. Too many features I dont care about.
True. They are not the nicest cars. But they save gas, are very fun to drive and you can fit anything in them. Specially in the Honda fit. You can fold the back seats
I would have liked to get Roman's opinion on the leg room driving the Fit. To me the Fit is a better value, you get much more for the money. In the Versa the seats don't fold down flat, and there is a huge hump between the seat and the load floor AND as "noted" it's a rental car. I looks and drives like a rental car.
nathan adlen You have the best taste in T-shirts Sir. I used to go to the Lions games at the Pontiac Silver Dome!!! 1st the Big Trouble In Little China Shirt and now this.. I'm Impressed....
I see that in the U.S are better looking Hondas than what we in Europe can buy. We bought/rent ourselfs the Nissan Note for the same reason. We have the 1.2 version 90hp with turbo. Still is a nice car to drive
Yep,,that is true,,they say that there isn t a market for hot hatches in the U.S. I think that they are wrong. Its getting stranger,,Renault owns Nissan for 40% so i don t see why Renault doen t ship some to the U.S
I would choose Honda, I drove Fit (Jazz in Europe) and realy this is so joyful car to drive and even sounds nice for a small engine, great steering feel, happy engine, nice suspension, really great gearbox, you always smile when you drive Fit/Jazz :)
I really like that Fit.. that interior looks good, better than the civic and the exterior is nice too.. If they put the 2.4 Vtec from the Si in the Fit.. it would be perfect, heh.
Not going to happen.. The way they got the magic seats in the back was by putting the gas tank under the front seats. Incidentally, this is also why the seats don't go back far enough for very tall drivers. Problem is, there's only room for a 9 gallon tank in that spot. Even with the Fit's incredible gas mileage, range is still pretty poor. The 2.4 would get much worse gas mileage yielding a horrific range. That would lead to Honda having to put the gas tank back in the rear, getting rid of the magic seats. In the end, you end up adding a lot of cost to the car and sacrifice its practicality as a cargo hauler.
oldtwins I don't give a shit about "magic seats" I want the 2.4 vtec in the Fit because it's small, light and the interior looks better than the civic interior.. and hell I think the exterior looks better than the civic too.
Sigrafix Doesn't matter what you think. What matters is that the selling point of this car are the magic seats. Honda isn't in the business to lose money.
Nissan has the right idea, but it really does need an engine with 15 more bhp. I drive a 2015 Honda Fit EX (CVT) and the drivetrain certainly has enough power not only for merging onto freeways, but actually fairly steep hills on freeways (for example the southbound Sunol Grade on Interstate 680 just north of Fremont, CA).
+Hempflakes Sadly, it's _very_ hard to find a manual-transmission Honda Fit--you almost have to special-order one. I do like my 2015 Honda Fit, because even with the CVT going uphill or merging onto the freeway doesn't take a bit of planning like I did with my 2012 Honda Fit Sport.
Sacto1654 Here in the northeast, the only Honda Fits left were manual. When i went to multiple dealerships, they were sold out of CVTs, and only had m6s left xD You walk in like "Hi, i would like to see your 2015 fits" "oh..we're sold out" "but i saw a listing for a manual..." "OH..you don't mind manual?" Not many people buy them in the states i guess.
I don't know guys, the Fit looks like Honda finally built something up to the standards of the Ford Fiesta, but that car is 5 years old, so not exactly a huge accomplishment. Plus, I disagree with roman talking about the Fit's solidity when closing the doors. That's the ONE thing that stuck out to me after driving it - weak light feeling doors that sound hollow....not a quality sound or feeling.
They also said that the Versa is also available with a 6-speed manual...which it is not. It was offered with a 5-speed manual only in the bottom S trim, which cannot be equipped with power locks or power windows. Also, as of 2017 model year they canned the manual altogether. Plus, the manual felt rubbery and didn't click into gears as well as the Honda.
Think the note would be a better car to go to work and back more comfortable and better mpg. How often do you race around to justify the sporty handling and hp. If you really wanted to race around get the note 6 spd and put mags and fat tires like a teen boy racer.
For the Fit, I recommend getting the trim level that does not come with that touchscreen, seriously, it has all the options minus the leather seats, which in most cases, why for a Fit?
I own the 2009 fit and the 2015 model has improved in every way to the previous-generation much better car than my 2009 and every way !!! But I live in Missouri and I really would like to have a Subaru at this point I would like to maybe trade my fit in for a Subaru crosstrek
Forget the EPA numbers. If you drive the Versa Note like a grown-up it'll get you in excess of 40 mpg in mixed driving, and that out of a 1.6 litre four cylinder is a miracle in itself. If you drive it like a go kart you bought the wrong car, and should go to the local county fair to have fun. Oops, that is for kids, isn't it, or for big fat boys who don't act their age.
I recently drove a CVT Nissan Versa Note as a loaner car. Second worse car I have driven. Transmission was constantly hunting. Seats were very uncomfortable. My personnel worst car to drive was a 78' Datsun B210.
I'm thinking of getting the Fit, manual. I have a '12 nissan versa, manual and now is sitting on our driveway beacuse of the fuel pump, only 65,000 miles and the fuel pump went. Sucks
Never heard of either of those cars... I looked them up and apparently the Honda Fit is the Honda Jazz here in Europe and the Nissan Versa was the Nissan Tiida, before they cancelled it on the EU market due to lack of demand... The Nissan Versa Note however is sold in Europe just under the name Nissan Note. A bit confusing all this...
The Versa is actually a chassis mate to the Dacia Logan so they were competing against themselves. Here in the US the Versa sedan is sold as the no-frills new car alternative to a used car, much like the Logan is in the EU.
You got to get the 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage and compare them to these two cars. Nissan thinks they get that good of gas mileage, i think not. Only thing about Mitsubishi, interiors haven't caught up with the rest of the industry in terms of looks and technology
Eh, I tested a Versa Note recently and it's way cheaper feeling and driving than my 2nd gen Fit. There's no way it really competes with the 3rd gen Fit beyond slightly better mpgs and price. Not enough to offset the Fit's better resale value and reliability.
Brandon Sayre I have a '15 fit just like the one in the video (but in black, don't judge me), and I have driven multiple manuals. It's by far the easiest thing south of the Cummins Ram I drove.
Thanks for trying, this could have been a very useful comparison, but I think you should have compared both units with CVT or both manuals, and both with or without sunroof as with, that reduces your head room (but adds luxury), and similar exterior and interior colors, for equal comparisons. You didn't even mention the models..Since you were primarily judging comfort, drive, drive, and power delivery, You should have noticed the Fit has tilt, and Telescoping Steering wheel and height adjustable driver seat....instead of focusing on knob controls on the dash (tip, the less expensive LX version of the Fit, has the entertainment center knobs that you guys seem to desire), Did you notice you had to share seating space while sitting in the Versa??
Chris McManus Because no one on this website knows what a car class is. "Oh, the back of my longbed Tundra has more cargo room than that pissant Fit! Huurr durr! More HP too!"
Honda FIT is a much better car and with the new 2018 facelip they fixed the interior issues (for example volumen knob). Both are practical but it is fastest than the Note and very efficient considering that it has a smaller engine offering more horsepower. And nothing compares with the quality and confibility of HONDA. (I have a HONDA FIT EXL)
These cars are so similar looking, not only in design, but the line of the hood cut out and such. I could be persuaded to think they were platform mates.
I owned a 2015 versa Sr With the cvt, cause the Sr model here in Canada only comes with the cvt. Last week 2 kids racing lost control and totalled the car. So now I have to decide if I'm going to buy another one or not, and I decided not to get another one because of that cvt transmission. It's a nice car but I would not buy a car with a cvt transmission ever absolutely BORING drive. Stupid of Nissan to only offer the SR model with a cvt transmission.
It is more than $3k more to start, does NOT get 33/41 MPG (CVT) for $18,900, has way less cargo room, and is not more fun to drive, as they just spent 10 minutes going over. Every one who drives the Fit says it is great to drive. Fact the facts, the Honda Fit is a better Mazda 3 at a $3k discount.
Honda did a really good job with the Fit it's more premium than the competition plus it doesn't look cheap at all like the rest! No one is going to know that your paying 16k unless you actually ask ;)
