Day 49: Long Test Drives

Honda really needs to rethink providing non-Honda rental cars for their recalled vehicles. I've read in FitFreak.net a bunch of people saying how much they are digging their rentacars. One person in a VW Jetta said how much their spouse liked the car, and they were seriously considering dumping their Fit and getting a VW. Others are having good experiences with all manner of other brands of cars. Honda should provide Hondas for their customers. Setting us up with the competition can't be good. I honestly wouldn't consider a Nissan Versa Note or Hyundai Elantra sedan or Ford Focus as a replacement for my Fit. But, I would consider a Ford C-Max given my one week test drive of the Focus 5-door. That week showed me that the Focus is a really nice feeling car, but it's too small inside for my needs. The C-max is way bigger inside, and is available as a Hybrid or Plug-in Hybrid as well as regular ICE (internal combustion engine) model. This airbag recall has got me thinking about what I would do if I couldn't drive my Fit anymore, and what I would do is very probably NOT buy a Honda as a replacement. I've said for a while that my Fit is probably my last ICE car. I'm very much looking forward to driving the Chevy Bolt, but I'm concerned about it's ability to take a road trip longer then 200 miles. The Tesla Model 3 has 400K people on its waiting list. Now the C-max plug in can operate as an electric vehicle for 95% of my driving needs, and has an ICE for the other 5 percent. A small, tall wagon with plug in ability is something only a few manufacturers have, and no one has the price point of the C-max.

I've been driving Hondas pretty consistently since 1984, having owned a 1981 Civic, 1988 Civic, 1991 Civic Wagon, and 2012 Fit. I've also had short stints with a 1986 Toyota Corolla, a Mazda 626, a 1990 Acura Legend, and a Volvo 240. The Honda were (and are) my mainstays, and I always looks at Hondas first. But the current generation Fit is not geared properly in the manual transmission lacking an overdrive 6th gear, and the HR/V is just not for me. The new Civic hatchback is compelling, but it is ICE only. Make it a plug in electric hybrid and I'd like to give it a try.