Honda Fit Hatchback-2015

PREVIEW

Honda introduced the Fit eight years ago and pulled off an incredible feat: It made subcompact cars a legitimate, even desirable, category. With flexible interior seating and cargo configurations, a fuel-efficient engine and quirky style, the Fit proved that you didn't need to suffer an anonymous econobox just for good mileage. The 2015 Honda Fit marks the first comprehensive redesign in the model's short history.

Quirky style carries over, but grows more assertive with a new grille and headlamp design, LED taillights and larger, 16-inch wheels. The new Fit's overall body length shrinks 1.6 inches, but it's also slightly wider and rides on a 1.2-inch longer wheelbase and revised suspension components for improved handling and maneuvering. The longer wheelbase and revised interior packaging also yield more overall passenger room and rear seat legroom (up 4.8 inches).

The 2015 Fit's roomier cabin sacrifices 5 cubic feet of cargo space, however, although the versatile fold-flat "Magic Seat" still offers multiple arrangements suited to a full load of passengers, a few mountain bikes and most things in between.

The new Honda Fit will use a new 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine incorporating direct injection for improved efficiency. Rated at 130 horsepower and 114 pound-feet of torque -- better on both counts than the current Fit's four-cylinder -- the new engine will pair with a six-speed manual transmission or a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Honda says CVT-equipped models will return an estimated 36 mpg combined (33 city/41 highway), which is 5 mpg combined better than the current Fit.

Standard features include a rearview camera and Bluetooth connectivity, while premium options include a sunroof, leather seating, heated front seats, keyless entry/ignition, a front passenger side blind-spot camera, and a 7-inch touchscreen interface with smartphone connectivity.

Rather than import the Fit from Japan as before, Honda will build the 2015 model at a new factory in Mexico, which should translate into a better selection at dealers. This also paves the way for a new Fit-based crossover that will use the same 1.5-liter engine, be smaller than the CR-V crossover and possibly offer all-wheel drive in the United States. In Japan, Honda will call it the "Vezel." Expect a slightly less puzzling phonetic mash-up when it goes on sale in the U.S. in 2015.

The 2015 Honda Fit goes on sale this spring. Pricing has not been announced. Check back for more information on the new Fit, including specs, driving impressions and buying advice as it becomes available.