After Honda launched the fourth generation of Fit GR9, the cancellation of the manual transmission model in the whole series disappointed many car fans, but recently there is news that Honda Fit is under pressure from Toyota Yaris and will be remodeled in August this year, and this revision will add RS manual sport models, let's see what is going on.
Japanese media hypothetical figure
Sales were crushed by Yaris
Toyota unveiled the GR Yaris in 2020 with a 1.6T three-cylinder turbocharged engine and a 6-speed manual transmission, subverting the stereotype of Toyota's mediocre grocery cart in the past. Gr Yaris 1.6T engine can burst out 261 horsepower and 360N·m, with GR-FOUR full-time four-wheel drive system, 5.5 seconds can break the hundred, the speed of up to 230km/h.
It may be that the sporting image of GR Yaris has raised the brand image, and the ordinary version of Yaris has successfully topped the passenger car sales championship in Japan, selling 10,417 units in February, while the Fit is only 5359 units, a gap of nearly double. In terms of sales composition, the Yaris hatchback version accounted for 4603 vehicles, and the CROSS version accounted for 5814 vehicles.
Perhaps spurred on by Yaris' becoming the sales champion, Honda decided to make a redesign of its Japanese fit in August to cope with Yaris' sales offensive. The focus of the revamp is to re-launch the RS Sport (the third generation fit also has the RS Sport) and to enhance the CROSSSTAR crossover version, the purpose of which is to raise the image of the Fit car series, just like the role of the GR Yaris (although the sporty positioning of the Fit RS is not as high as that of the GR Yaris).
The third generation Fit RS, with a maximum power of 132 horsepower
Sources inside Honda revealed that the Fit RS will go on sale this summer, and the entire car series will be replaced, but because models such as the Yaris AQUA have just been launched, it is not easy to say whether the new Fit is selling well or not. For Honda, the return of manual fit is indeed a good way to gain attention at low cost.
GK5 manual transmission
Don't think about the 1.5T engine
Many netizens are looking forward to The Fit being able to launch the Type R model equipped with a 1.5T engine to benchmark the Toyota GR Yaris, but from the news revealed by Honda insiders, the Fit Type R is almost impossible to launch the model.
In fact, after analyzing Honda's current product lineup, we can get this conclusion. With the positioning of the fit, if it is equipped with a 1.5T engine, then the big brother Civic is not very embarrassed?
Hypothetical diagram
At present, the Japanese domestic fuel version of the Fit is only equipped with a 1.3L naturally aspirated engine, the maximum power of 98 horsepower, the peak torque of 118 Nm, and the 132 horsepower 1.5L naturally aspirated engine on the previous generation of Fit RS, I do not know whether it will continue to the new Fit RS.
The Earth Dream is already strong
In addition to the 1.3L fuel version, Fit also has a HEV hybrid version, 1.5 L Atkinson engine with dual motors, the overall comprehensive power output can reach 109 horsepower, 253N·m level, unfortunately because of technical limitations, the transmission system is E-CVT, can not match the manual transmission.
Road test spy photos exposed
Although the newly revamped Fit has not yet officially met with everyone, some netizens have taken photos of its road test in Tokyo. From the spy photo, the overall shape of the new Fit has not changed much, but from the news of the Japanese media, the new Fit will be replaced with a new style of front and rear bars, the headlight group will be updated, and the materials used in the car will also be upgraded.
Spy photos posted on social media by Japanese netizens
Spy photos from foreign media
As for the Aforementioned RS version of the model, there are no spy photos flowing out yet. According to Japanese media, the RS version of the Fit front grille will have more sporty elements, you can refer to the front face style of the HR-V RS that has been listed, while the rear roof spoiler will also be larger than the general model, and the lower part of the rear will be equipped with a unique shape diffuser, which is more combative overall.
HR-V RS
In addition to the visible upgrades in appearance, the Japanese media said that the RS version of Fit will also re-adjust the chassis suspension, strengthen the rigidity of the body, and strengthen the handling performance, but as for whether the chassis system will have hardware changes, there is no other news at present.
Netizen: Why did you go earlier?
In the eyes of many netizens, Fit GR9 is a failed replacement, when learned that Fit will launch RS sports version, netizens opened the spit mode. Some netizens said that this generation of Fit "how to change the appearance is also difficult to change the movement", and some netizens asked "why did you go earlier?" Late, this generation of Fit is to give its original market share to others."
Some netizens even made a direct conclusion: "GR9 can't return to the peak of GK5", and some netizens said that "finally willing to return to the handwave, do not look at the Japanese small displacement group events, all the three generations of GK5 are running", quite a bit of "finally waiting for you" meaning. Although Hiromoto previously launched the Fit Unlimited MUGEN version, the gearbox is still CVT, which cannot meet the needs of fans who like to handle.
Write at the end
The brilliance of the Fit GK5 does not seem to have been able to continue in the GR9, and there are many reasons for this, and the lack of manual transmission and the cute appearance are only one reason. We are more concerned about whether the RS manual sport model that will be launched in Japan in August this year will be introduced into China, after all, many fans hope that Fit can have a manual transmission option. Would you choose a manual gear fit? Do you think RS manual fit will be introduced? Tell us your point.