Consumer Reports, the car-buying Bible for normal people who don't read this website and aren't considering a first generation Miata as their next purchase, has once again burned Honda. This time the Fit is the target. Uh-oh.
The magazine says that in the wake of a poor crash test, the Honda Fit is no longer a Recommended vehicle. The Fit bombed the small-overlap front-crash test, and it wasn't the only small car to do so; of the 11 subcompacts tested, only the Chevrolet Spark was considered adequate in the tough test.
But Consumer Reports especially singles out the Fit here, saying it and the Fiat 500 performed the worst in the test.
The last time CR dropped a Honda vehicle from its coveted Recommended list, it was 2011 and the 2012 Honda Civic was dumped for its low-quality interior, ride, and lack of driving fun. This shocking move led to an emergency refresh for the 2013 Civic designed to address many of those issues.
Clearly, this is a different situation, since the problem is related to safety and not refinement or whether the Civic is as worthy as its predecessors. But in some ways, that may even be worse for Honda. Safety is a critical factor for car buyers, and losing the Recommended status over a crash test could sting hard.
Then again, there's an all-new 2015 Honda Fit headed to dealers in the spring, so maybe it won't matter all that much. If Honda's lucky, the new car will fare better in the overlap test.