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"Pacific Palisades, California \u2014 In the hills above Malibu, with the 1.5-liter i-VTEC 4-cylinder at full zing and the P185/55-16 Bridgestones whimpering from cornering loads, I was again reminded how fun it is to drive a slow car fast...a nice change from overachieving 400-bhp sedans that require &amp;quot;license and registration, please&amp;quot; velocities before the fun factor kicks in.   The car on the receiving end of this good-natured flogging? The Honda Fit, the company&amp;#039;s spry little 5-door whose former self amassed a considerable fan base with its combination of appealing style, space efficiency and Scrooge-like fuel consumption.   For this 2009 second-generation model, chief engineer Kohei Hitomi has adhered to the &amp;quot;machine minimum, man maximum&amp;quot; philosophy, so the new Fit is again a roomy passenger cell with wheels at the corners. At its core is a stiffer, reinforced unit body with increased usage of high-tensile steel (54 percent, up from 40) that&amp;#039;s been pulled out, taffy-like, in every direction, some of the key numbers being wheelbase (up 1.9 in., to 98.4) and interior width (growing 1.2 in. to 55.7).   So, the new Fit can easily seat four full-size adults (five with good hygiene) with minimal knee-splaying in the back seat. And those rear cushions, while looking pretty unremarkable at first, articulate in novel ways to maximize carrying capacity...there&amp;#039;s the Tall mode, where the squabs flip up and lock, making room for, say, a stuffed giraffe or half-scale Yao Ming doll; and the Cargo mode, where the seats pivot forward and down to form a flat load floor. Honda calls them &amp;quot;Magic&amp;quot; seats, but they&amp;#039;re really the result of clever engineering \u2014 the 10.6-gal. fuel tank&amp;#039;s positioning (under the front seats) and minimalist twist-beam rear suspension help to free up the space.   Up front, the view out over the dash is quite different. The base of the windshield has been pushed forward by a whopping 4.7 in. and the fixed front quarter windows are three times larger, for a more airy feel and better outward vision. And the dash itself \u2014 a theme park of shapes and finishes \u2014 is a real break from the old car and now carries the 3-spoke Civic Si steering wheel and vertically arrayed knobs for climate control. Among the thoughtful touches: a double-door glovebox, a steering column that now tilts and telescopes, and high-mounted cupholders near the dash/door panel intersection. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a14390/2009-honda-fit-2/>