Used 2012 Honda Fit for sale 

The 2012 Honda Fit is available in two trims. The base trim starts at $15,325 while the Sport trim is available at $17,060. Standard features include 15-inch steel wheels, telescoping steering wheel, power windows, mirrors and locks, auxiliary input jack for your iPod, MP3/WMA playback, a USB interface, 160-watt stereo with four speakers, stability control, cruise control, and remote entry. New for 2012 is console ambient lighting and body-colored exterior mirrors. 

The Fit Sport upgrades with new dark-machined-finish 16-inch alloy wheels, new black headlight bezels, and a new and unique design for the front grille and bumper. Inside you'll find a new dark metallic instrument scheme with chrome accents, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls, and upgraded seat fabric. Lower body flares, a security system with keyless entry, leather-wrapped steering wheel, two more stereo speakers, map lights, fog lights, and other amenities are also available.

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The 2012 Honda Fit is an eager and responsive hatchback that delivers decent driving dynamics and is a good suggestion. The flexible second-row Magic Seat folds flat to accommodate long items and flips up for tall ones. The hatchback also has good mileage but not the best in class where a few competitors provide better mileage. When it comes to choosing one trim, the top-end Sport trim would be the value for money proposition.

The 2012 Honda Fit does not provide impressive performance from the 117-horsepower, 1.5-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder engine, but provided that you don't have a stopwatch, it'll feel quick. Especially with the five-speed manual gearbox, the Fit feels lively and responsive, at least at city speeds.

The available five-speed automatic comes with paddle-shifters in Sport trim, and in comparison to some other automatics in this segment, it tends to work pretty well for perkiness, though it brings out some additional coarseness and engine noise. The hatchback touches the 60 mph mark in 8.2 seconds and completes the quarter-mile in 16.3 seconds.

While sheer velocity might not come all that easy in the Fit, its handling and maneuverability are stellar, with this small hatchback possessing a responsive, tossable feel around town or in tight corners. The Fit feels just fine at 80 mph, with none of the twitchy, pitchy feeling that can make long highway cruises more exhausting than they should be. Honda claims to have made the Fit even quieter for 2012 with more insulation from road noise.

EPA estimates rate manual transmission Honda Fit at 27 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. The Sport trim of the hatchback with automatic transmission offers the same as the manual, whereas the base Honda Fit with the five-speed automatic fares slightly better, with EPA estimates of 28 mpg city and 35 mpg on the highway. In a class where 40 mpg highway ratings are becoming the norm, that's not all that impressive.

With a 10.6-gallon fuel tank capacity, the Fit can cruise for 297 miles in cities to 371 miles on highways. If you get a 2012 Honda Civic, you'll end up with better mileage than you will from the Honda Fit. However, the rivals too have comparable gas mileage ratings, with Ford Fiesta standing a step ahead by offering a combined mileage of 33 mpg.

Blue-lit gauges are surrounded by a curvaceous instrument panel flanked by equally elaborate door panels and seats. The Fit’s interior is as fun as it is functional, with high seating positions both front and back, generous head and legroom all around, and convenient storage areas such as the cup holders built into the lower doors.

When not carrying passengers, the 2012 Honda Fit’s 5-door configuration can be utilized to load up all manner of gear. The hatchback comes with a cargo capacity of 20.6 cubic feet.

The 2012 Honda Fit’s cabin is constructed with basic materials, but its eye-catching design and accent lighting make it look cheerful. The Fit’s front seats offer generous head- and legroom and are set high for good visibility. The Fit also earned praise for the amount of head- and legroom in the back seat. With the rear seats folded, the Fit has an exceptional amount of cargo space for a subcompact car. Major interior features include-

• 60/40-split folding rear seat
• Rear backrests can be left upright and the bottom cushion can be raised to provide a large, vertical space for tall items
• Air conditioning
• Tilt/telescoping steering wheel
• Standard cruise control

Infotainment 

The base 2012 Fit comes with a four-speaker sound system with a CD player, auxiliary audio input jack, and an iPod/USB interface. The Fit’s audio and climate controls are easy to reach and simple to use. A package adding the navigation system, which now includes Bluetooth hands-free connectivity and streaming audio, is offered on Fit Sport models, but that's, unfortunately, the only way to get Bluetooth. Major infotainment features include-

• CD stereo
• Auxiliary audio input jack
• USB port
• Four-speaker sound system
• Bluetooth hands-free connectivity on Sport trim

With a wedge-shaped front end on the 2012 Honda Fit, it has a presence that reaches beyond its subcompact status. There's a very little nose, however, there is a drop steeply from the A-pillars, which are raked radically down from the roof, hitting the fenders above the middle of the front tires.

The roof has a very subtle arc, back to the small spoiler over the rear window on the Sport model, and again the lines speak a graceful language. The window outline is like an elongated horizontal teardrop. 

In the 2012 Fit Sport model, the new black-bezel headlights now integrate with a wider, coarse-textured grille to form a single visual unit. The side pods flanking the lower air opening seem to contain more grille and less fog light. Although it's a matter of taste, of course, we like the new Sport face even better. It certainly lends the Sport more visual distinction than the base model. Exterior upgrades include an underbody kit, a roofline spoiler, fog lights, rear stabilizer bar, and 16-inch dark "machine surface" finish alloy wheels. Major exterior highlights of the hatchback are-

• 15-inch steel wheels with covers
• Optional 16-inch alloy wheels
• Sport models have a body kit, rear roof spoiler, and fog lights
• Body-colored side mirrors

The Honda Fit has earned great safety ratings from the IIHS, earning back its Top Safety Pick award for 2012 with an improved 'Good' rating for roof strength. However, its results in the federal NCAP testing program are less impressive, mostly four stars, although with a worrisome two-star rating in the side pole test. The 2012 Honda Fit offers an especially strong body structure along with a long list of safety features, including front-seat side airbags, full-length side-curtain bags, electronic stability control, and anti-lock brakes. Few standout safety features include-

• 3-point seat belts in all seating positions
• 4-wheel anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake distribution (EBD)
• Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure
• Child-proof rear door locks
• Daytime running lights
• Dual-stage multiple-threshold front airbags

The Honda Fit offers a compelling balance of economy, fun, interior convenience, and comfort. It delivers decent engineering excellence and value. From a healthy list of standard safety equipment to multiple seat configurations and ample storage room, the Fit simplifies your life. It's relatively pricey among subcompact, but it's more fun to drive and the interior is nicely designed and well thought out. In the end, the 2012 Honda Fit is a worthy pick in the segment.