Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Hatchbacks Honda Fit Article Comments - 2008 Honda Fit vs. 2008 Toyota Prius
92 messages, Last post on Jan 25, 2009 at 10:36 AM
You are in the Honda Fit Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
2008 Honda Fit vs. 2008 Toyota Prius - Thanks to a proprietary function called Edmunds.com True Cost to Own, we can answer the $8,425 question when it comes time to determine the relative value of the 2008 Honda Fit and 2008 Toyota Prius. (more)
|
Replying to: backy (Aug 05, 2008 8:17 am) Just go sit in a Toyota Prius, then in a Honda Fit. You'll understand real quick. "It is very possible that they will be cross-shopped." If people looking at $15K cars are also shopping for $23K cars (yeah, right), then Edmunds should do a comparison of the Prius to several $35,000 cars. Obviously, people looking to spend $23K on a car can boost their budget another 50%, right? To put it another way; why is the hybrid comparison always DOWN the scale of comfort and convenience? Why do NONE of the horsepower-happy auto writers ever compare hybrids to more expensive, more luxurious automobiles? If features such as cruise, sound system, leg room, etc. are all meaningless, then the semi-annual "hybrids suck" articles should include upscale cars in their comparisons. They should write paragraphs about how GPS systems and stability control and heated seats will never pay for themselves. They should tell us how the keyless ignition systems will go bad in 10-15 years, and leave us stranded. Satellite radio .... OnStar .... these are all wasteful fads. Why would people squander their money on this stuff, when they can all get where they're going in a Chevy Aveo?
|
|
|
Replying to: kdhspyder (Aug 05, 2008 10:16 am) Sure. I am doing that right now in fact. Looking for a short-term (3 years) vehicle for my wife to drive before we get our 2011 Prius. I'm looking for what I can get for X dollars per month (lease). The search has included 4-door sedans, small SUVs, and compact hatchbacks. Ahh but you say it's not fair to compare a NEW vehicle to a USED vehicle. Sure it is. People do that all the time. I have, and I am doing that right now. My recent search included some used minivans, for example. I am looking for a monthly payment in a certain range, on a vehicle that meets certain requirements including a warranty. Either a new or used car can meet those requirements. I don't agree that all buyers first and foremost classify themselves into a price strata. I read a post by someone the other day who was seriously considering a $35-40k luxury car, then had a bad shopping experience at the dealer and went back to a dealer he liked--and bought an Accord. Then there are buyers like me, who could easily afford a $30k+ car, but have an attitude that it's better to buy only as much car as is needed, and use the extra money for other purposes--retire earlier, charities, etc. So I might buy a Prius (and probably will in 2011), but right now a car like the Fit could fit my needs just fine (assuming ESC were more widely available on it, but that's another discussion). Anyway, I'm not sure why I'm bothering to reply, since you've already told us what I would say. 
|
|
|
Replying to: 1stpik (Aug 05, 2008 10:43 am) If you can find a small, high-FE, 5-door hatch that costs $35k, go ahead and compare it to the Prius. Why compare the Prius to the Fit? It's all about FE, baby. And comparing two cars of similar utility, e.g. small 5-door hatchbacks. You could certainly compare the Prius to an Aveo. Maybe some folks have. The Aveo is not something I'd want to drive every day, though, so I struck it off my list pretty fast. |
|
|
Replying to: tiff_c (Aug 04, 2008 1:41 pm) The Fit is a good city car but we have very little city up here and while a good car it's a bit underpowered for all the highways we have up here. I drove sticks and autos and it just didn't have enough Oomph! for merging with big trucks and SUV's." This is not accurate. Every day I merge onto the freeway where the speed limit is 75, two lanes, with big rigs abundant (the 1-10 between LA and Phoenix). I do just fine, have no problem getting to 70mph by the top of the INCLINED on ramp. If you think the car is underpowered, I think you are an over-aggressive driver, who likes to cut into the right lane, speed up, and then cut back into the left lane to get one car ahead. Those types.
|
|
|
Replying to: fitman548 (Aug 05, 2008 11:52 am) If you think the car is underpowered, I think you are an over-aggressive driver, who likes to cut into the right lane, speed up, and then cut back into the left lane to get one car ahead. Those types. You are wrong! I am not an aggressive driver and I live in a different part of the country than you do. The Fit is underpowered. You make a bold claim about my driving abilities when you base it all on the belief that you are a superior driver because the Fit has enough power to merge where YOU live. I could make a lot off ASSumptions about you, your life, the kind of wife you have etc... They would be no more accurate than you are about my driving style which is pretty opposite to what you describe.  The Fit which I drove a long time before they were available in the US, plus I have driven them in the US as well, is underpowered. You don't agree fine, but I did not make any ad hominum attacks against you. You are probably the type of person doing 55mph in a 65mph and causing all sorts of accidents for driving too slow and causing other drivers to get ticked off and drive over the yellow lane to get around your moving too slow vehicle and causing accidents because you underceed the speed limit. There, how's the Tit for Tat?
|
|
|
|
|
Did anyone mention that the Fit is extremely fun to drive?.. I haven't driven a prius but knowing toyota I can assume it probably rides like a boat. And as for fuel economy, it really depends on how you drive it. My gf who owns the Fit Sport (auto) has never gotten under 29mpg, ever.. It varies though, as i hear some people get 25 city which is understandable. If you're in a hurry to get somewhere then those mpg numbers will fall of course. I'm just saying, with efficiency in mind, if you drive the Fit calm and cool, you're going to average 30 or more city mpg, and have a lot more fun doing it than in the Prius. ps. A Used prius is going for more than new ones.. no joke.. http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/31/used-prius-prices-higher-than-new-models/ so estimating that a used prius will save you money, is not necessarily true. crazy huh? A used Fit (S) is going for about 15-16, about 1-2k less than a new one. And again, I must say, the Fit is extremely fun to drive. It's been recorded on the slalom at 69mph!! faster than a corvette z06!!
|
|
|
Replying to: thedoctor29 (Aug 05, 2008 4:13 pm) In Edmunds TCO calcs the largest single expense is Depreciation. In the case of the Prius it's over $12000. So if on the one hand the requirement was that you must consider depreciation ( even if there is little or none ) then the USED Prius is a better buy. The original contention from above. If on the other hand one were to say that currently with preowned Prius' bringing higher values than NEW ones then obviously with no depreciation the NEW Prius is a better buy. Buy it new, drive it then sell it for a profit. Either way the comparo with the Fit is dumb. A comparo with a bicycle is just as valid. So why not compare a Prius to a bicycle? But Edmunds has to do something in this slow season - even dumb comparo's, stupidly written. |
|
|
I find that comparing the Fit to the Prius in terms of utility, MPG, and cost (including TCO), is very valid. If I were shopping for a small car, I would check out both. But I would also drive the Civic and probably other small cars with good FE. I believe that there are some Prius supporters who simply cannot see that the comparison is based on FE, utility, and cost, not just amenities in the vehicles. They insist on comparable "feature sets" for each vehicle, but the bottom line is - does the buyer care about these features? I understand that people want to point out that the Prius may have more standard features, but that doesn't make the Fit an invalid comparison. The additional features are either an attraction (if the buyer likes them) or a detraction (if the buyer doesn't want the features, and prefers a more basic model).
|
|
|
Replying to: stevedebi (Aug 06, 2008 4:01 pm) Yes. That's why Honda makes the Fit, the Civic, the Accord, etc. If features didn't matter, everyone would drive a Chevy Aveo (and save $5,000 off the cost of the Fit). Like I keep saying, if you want a valid comparison, it's easy -- simply compare the Honda Civic with the Civic Hybrid. They're exactly the same, except for the propulsion system. Anyone who avoids THAT obvious comparo, and instead compares a $15,000 car to a $23,000 hybrid, makes it clear that he's cherry-picking the criteria to draw a pre-determined conclusion.
|
|
|
Replying to: 1stpik (Aug 06, 2008 6:00 pm) Although you would not compare a $15k car to a Prius for your own buying decision, realize that there are those of us who would do it, and have done it. Empathy is a useful thing.
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Hatchbacks Honda Fit Article Comments - 2008 Honda Fit vs. 2008 Toyota Prius
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2010 Honda Fit
2010 Toyota Prius
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
