http://www.slate.com/id/2151465

In all the "shootout" style reviews I've read of the new subcompacts, people generally seem to like the Fit best. Now, I understand why a car reviewer would like the Fit, 'cause it's a bit sportier than the competition, and car reviewers usually place a disproportionate amount importance on sportiness. But one thing I can't understand is why people keep pointing out how comfortable the Fit is. I test drove the Fit three times, and that thing is anything but comfortable. The seats are like flat pieces of cardboard. It was the first thing I noticed when I got in. I just don't get how someone could talk about how comfortable the Fit is when they're comparing it to a Versa, or any other car for that matter.

Well, I certainly don't agree with all of this reviewers comments, and as I have a Versa SL - the Honda Fit was not the winner for me. However, it was my second place choice behind the Versa.

The Fit seemed more geared for cargo handling and flexibility, while to me the Versa is geared more to passenger accomodations with cargo flexibility being a secondary goal. The combined F+R passenger headroom + legroom, seat comforts, front map lights, etc. all excel over the Fit; while I think closing the doors on the Versa sound as solid as I've experienced with any car I've owned or test driven. Also, I like the way the Versa looks, and have actually had a couple come up at a gas station and comment on the "cute car" and asking what it was.

While I also tried the Scion xA and the Yaris, they were both a little too cramped passenger wise for my liking.

This guy is a noob. Although I let me dad drive my Versa the other day and everytime he shifted into 2nd my heart skipped a beat. Poor Versa didn't deserve that abuse. While I admit the 6 speed took a bit of getting used to being a light clutch, floating RPM and just a bit touchy I'm pretty good with it now. As for getting in reverse accidentally. I've done that a few times as well but it was mainly my fault, not the car. It could be worse, he could have driven a Vibe GT or Matrix XRS and have no safety option for getting into reverse. As far as oafish and dragging it's but. Heck, I think handles quite well and goes pretty well. Heck, I can hit 85mph in 4th gear.

truth be told i was after a honda fit, i am a honda guy, so i am used to honda motor and so forth. But for the life of me i coudlnt find any dealership with a fit in stock. and the one i did find that had one, wanted 3k over MSRP. I am sorry i am not paying 18K for a sport model fit when a civic can be bought for LESS.

so i went with the versa.

My lil sister has the Fit, so i have driven both. Both cars has it pros and con, but i love the 6speed, the more ppl room.

Another terrible article. Who on earth compares the Fit and Versa with the SATURN ION and Kia Rio? Have they ever driven a car? What's next, Mustang vs STS? Meanwhile, there's no Mazda 3 in the article...a car which quite simply blows the Fit out of the water.

I can't figure out how he ranks the xA over the Versa. The xA is notorious for being ultra-sparse and cheep feeling all around, not particularly comfortable, incredibly gutless, and one of the ugliest cars designed in the last century. Sounds like someone's in love with Toyota for no particular reason--just like too many other people these days. The xA has no redeeming features that I can think of...at least none that can't also be found on the Versa in the same or better form. Sure, the Yaris and xA are cheaper than the Versa--but in both cases, you definitely get what you (don't) pay for. I wonder if the writer of that review is aware of the beyond-ultra-cheap assembly process for a Scion model. Have you ever looked at the rear valance of an xB? It has a split right down the center. It looks terrible, and it's there because it's assembled at the dealer, not a factory. Cheap as can be. And coincidentally: where was the xB in this shootout? If I had to own a Scion, I'd take the charismatic box over the mind-blowingly ugly blob any day.

This was definitely a poorly-assembled article, written by someone with the all-too-common in-bred bias toward all things Honda and Toyota.

The writer of that article has some odd views. And apparently doesn't care about his friends, either... I would not shove anyone in the back seat of any of those cars except the V. I've sat in the xA/Yaris (same car... the xA is just a 5-door Yaris hatchback) in all 3 trims and it's not even comfortable for the driver. Don't get me started on the rear seat. "Bulky IKEA boxes" in the xA? Not on this planet. The front-rear length of the V's cargo area is longer both with seats folded up and down.

Never sat in a Fit. Looked at the seats through the window, though, and they are thinner than the Rio's. So I guess this guy thinks riding around with a spring up your buttocks is comfortable, where as memory foam is just so... like, not fun. Or something.

The Rio he claimed was comfortable for tooling around town? Rios are sooo slow! And they don't even have a freaking tilt steering wheel, so if you're tall, I hope you don't like your knees. Their suspensions are of an absolutely BIZARRE design for an FF layout, and they have huge body roll. Can't correct that with lowering springs, either.... camber/toe issues that can't be resolved.

I found the Saturn to be the fastest of all of those cars he listed, partially because the polymer body panels keep the weight down, and partially because of this little thing called a 140hp 2.2L ecotec (and optional 2.4L 160-ish HP ecotec option). I've owned a Saturn in the past and though my car was a base model (no rear anti-sway), it still handled better than most "economy" cars today.

OK, so the V doesn't have the cargo room that the Fit has. It's not much less, but every other aspect is so much better there's not even a comparison.

I agree, he is a total noob. I prefer the Popular Mechanics comparison test with the B-segment cars. They had it MUCH more accurate. Even to the point of mentioning that while the Toyota was the best engineered drivetrain, noone wanted to drive the car because it was so damned blah.