I’m trying to decide which hatchback car I should purchase. It’s between a Toyota Vitz or a Honda Fit between the years 2007 to 2008. Can anyone recommend any pros or cons between either car?
Your advice is always appreciated!
toyboy3,
Sep 8, 7:16am
I would choose the vitz although the back window is full of rear seat headrests but they are easy removed and not a WOF item . The Honda Fit has known transmission problems but I am not sure which years and models
kazbanz,
Sep 8, 12:35pm
stuckonyou- both are great cars both drive well. The real deciding factor I suspect will be body size vs boot space. -The Vitz (also called the Yarris) is a shorter vehicle so feels more compact than the fit (also called Jazz) The fit on the other hand has a fairly good sized boot space. The transmission issue with the Fit is confined to the first generation which the 07/08 aren't With only those two choices I would tend to go Vitz but Im a bit Toyota centric
stuckonyou,
Sep 9, 5:15am
@Toyboy - Thanks for the feedback about the rear headrests and your preferred choice.
@Kazbanz - Thanks for the feedback about the boot space. I've heard about CVT problem with the Fit, do you know what year the first generation transmission problems occurred? I'm assuming from your post that the 07/08 Fit don't have any transmission problems?
I would also be keen to hear from anyone else about what years the transmission problems occurred in the Fit and how do you tell if the Fit has a first generation transmission?
supernova2,
Sep 9, 5:24am
1st generation Honda Fit is 2001 - 2008 2nd gen is 2009 - 2014 3rd gen is 2014 onwards
The transmission problems with the Honda Fit is a shudder in the starter clutch which gets progressively worse. Its up to a $2500 fix to replace the clutch. Sorry to seem arguementative with the poster above but the change over year for the fit was 2007 --so some are the old starter clutch some are the new. The safest way I found to be sure is to check the chassis code. If the chassis code starts with GD (GD1,3 or 4) then its the old clutch --if its GE (GE 7,8 or 6) then its the second generation. So for example a Chassis number GD-123456 would be bad --GE-654321 would be good.
stuckonyou,
Sep 10, 9:18am
Thank you for the valuable information about the chassis number and what to look for! I'm presuming the chassis number is another name for the VIN number? My major concern about the Honda Fit was the CVT problem.
Even though I been driving for very long time, I'm still not very car savvy with different terms.
toyboy3,
Sep 10, 9:35am
Vin number is not the same as chassis number on used Japan import To identify check chassis or frame number
Chassis number is NOT vin number Chassis number on a Fit will be those three letters I quoted followed by about 6 numbers. VIN number for cars of this age is a NZ installed number.
stuckonyou,
Sep 11, 9:31am
@Peanuts Thanks for the tip and I already made use of the service after Kazbanz told me about Chassis number. @Kazbanz Thanks for clearing up the issue about the Chassis and VIN number for the Fit
Everyone has been really wonderful!
ema671,
Sep 16, 4:31pm
Honda fit is the best
franc123,
Sep 16, 5:54pm
Good on you for posting that, it would have to be VERY useful information for someone in the market for one. You don't happen to know if there would be any issue fitting an upgraded whole trans to an older Fit if you picked up say an 04 or 5 model cheap that had a buggered one? If its simply a hardware upgrade you wouldn't think there would be any electronic reasons why a late trans could be fitted?
kazbanz,
Sep 17, 9:36am
Sorry Franc I genuinely wouldn't have a clue but I suspect it should be possible. But to be honest unless you had an early model fit where the starter clutch was goosed I wouldn't bother. --ie don't fix what aint broke.
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 17, 10:04am
Honda Fit doesn't just have transmission problems, there are also issues with the poor design of ignition and engine sensor wires which tend to cause issues and miss diagnosis, among other things. They are not a "good Honda", cheaply made, not very nice on the open road and longer trips etc. In other words, they fail at the very things Honda are usually good at.
The Vitz is the more reliable car but despite the big names on the bonnet neither are particularly nice vehicles or very good value for money in my opinion. I also don't like how the Toyota behaves in crashes, air bags tend not to deploy when they should etc in my opinion.
Would give you some better options to compare to but the car dealers and there mates on here get upset if you say anything bad about Toyota and attack any alternatives, especially if not Japanese. This is problematic as the reality is the Japanese small car offerings in that age/price/size bracket are very underwhelming. Several of the popular options even have serious reliability issues (as you have already seen) so it's hard to find any advantage to consider against the better driving, safer and more efficient European options.
tsjcf,
Sep 17, 10:24am
Bit hard to beat the reliability issues of your choices when there running a DSG box. yes i know you like to overlook those problems and a few others.
trouser,
Sep 17, 12:07pm
Just took our 2008 1.5 fit rs cvt for a 1700k spin around the south island. 5 up and full of luggage it performed beautifully. No problems passing trucks and by engaging the manual mode plenty of engine braking. Clearly it's no grand touring car but it hauled up the Lewis pass twice and to Reefton and around Christchurch without complaint. Averaged 17.2 ks to the litre of 91 too.
trouser,
Sep 17, 1:49pm
And to add the 1.5 is just as economical as the 1.3. I have both and the 1.5 is a much better engine out of town.
It would seem you don't even need to know what options I would have suggested to attack them. You lot are pathetic.
BTW. would probably have been a panda or similar in this case without DSG, not that there is anything wrong with the DSG's I recommend (generally wet clutch or post 2011)
You do nothing but try to antagonise those that help and do a disservice to the OP as well. Also very rich to say I "overlook" things when your favorite link to post isn't even relevant to the models being discussed and just wastes peoples time figuring that out. Buzz off.
thejazzpianoma,
Sep 17, 4:40pm
I had the unpleasant experience of riding in the back of one for a 2 hour trip. They may seem great compared to the other Japanese city offerings but very poor when you compare them to pretty much anything from Europe. Peugeot 308, VW Polo/Golf, Citroen C3/4 etc. Yes they will go up a hill and get you to the destination but that is a measure better suited to the 1950's.
Japan just doesn't build small cars for use outside of the city. Europe builds small cars and also expects them to keep up with traffic at 100mph or more on their motorways for significant distance.
slarty45,
Sep 17, 4:43pm
With this thread being about Toyota Vitz or Honda Fit
you MUST have known your gaster would get flabbered
trouser,
Sep 17, 5:01pm
The rear suspension on the pre facelift first gen (gd) was quite harsh, this was improved some post first facelift (04ish). The second gen (ge) that we are talking about is much improved especially in rs spec. My mk2 Punto has a better ride but is to small and not powerful enough for that many people.
tsjcf,
Sep 17, 5:18pm
Considering you spam every thread with the same couple of options its not hard to work out.
ema1,
Sep 17, 7:29pm
That's a worthwhile suggestion, you try it sometime, sounds like you need to be vaccinated with a gramophone needle for verbal diarrhea nah you have been and it didn't work.
O.P. the Vitz would be a good choice for your purposes, not worth taking notice of the all pervading spam injecting Europhobe. He always bombs threads like yours and hijacks with Euro trash. it's a real shame and damn rude but he wouldn't know that if it hit him in the face, classic case of arrogance.
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