The Fit gets good gas mileage, achieving an EPA-estimated 33/38 mpg City/Highway with the manual gearbox and 31/38 mpg with the automatic. It's a flexible engine that's comfortable for running errands and commuting, yet ready to squirt away from any situation. It's smooth and quiet, very pleasant.

The Fit is acknowledged to be the quickest car in its class. And, indeed, the 1.5-liter engine delivers brisk acceleration performance, revving smoothly to 6500-rpm, generating 109 horsepower and 105 pound-feet of torque. That's a little shy of the Nissan Versa, but the Fit is lighter. Its all-aluminum engine comes with Honda's VTEC variable-valve setup, four valves per cylinder and single overhead-cam, though it doesn't produce the explosive burst of power associated with the larger VTEC engines in Civic Si models.

The five-speed automatic is popular and fun. Put it in drive and it does a good job of responding to the driver's wishes. Select the manual mode and the automatic can be shifted manually using paddles behind the steering wheel. Touch the one on the right with your fingers and it shifts up a gear, touch the one on the left and it downshifts. Do this in the normal Drive mode and it shifts up or down temporarily, a great feature when you just want a little boost going up a hill or for passing or when you want to short shift for better economy and smoothness. Put it in the Sport mode and it won't shift again until the driver shifts up or down. It's a nice setup.

We like the five-speed manual gearbox. It's smooth and easy, efficient and very enjoyable. The shift throws are short, giving it a sporty feel and the shifting is silky smooth.

The ride is smooth and comfortable, possibly the most refined in the class. Noise and vibration levels are low, thanks to extensive effort on Honda's part in these areas. At times the Fit feels like an econobox, as it jostles about, tossing the heads of its occupants. But it's a pleasant car, one that we feel like we could live with happily.

Handling is excellent, the best in the class. This is a highly maneuverable car, able to zip around traffic. It would be our choice among subcompacts for an autocross. The steering is precise and accurate, allowing the driver to steer the car exactly as intended. Front wheelspin is likely when accelerating from a standstill on wet, slippery pavement; there's no traction control. The turning radius is relatively wide at 34.4 feet for the Sport, nearly two feet wider than that of the Toyota Yaris, so it takes a wider road to make a U-turn.

Braking is easy to control. The driver can easily modulate the brake pedal for smooth, accurate slowing or stopping. The brake system uses drums in the rear, less desireable than four-wheel discs, but they work fine for this lightweight car.