News Source: topspeed.com

In 2007, Honda  rebadged its useful and popular Jazz  model as the Fit  and released it in America. Americans immediately took notice, as the unstable prices in fuel led us to start looking at smaller vehicles. What’s more, the debut Fit also had a massive 57-cubic-foot cargo area that no other compact hatchbacks  could come close to. In 2015 — after a one-year break — the Fit returns with an all-new look, new cabin, updated engine, and a huge increase in rear-seat room.

I spent a week behind the wheel of the range-topping 2015 Fit  EX-L — the first Fit to feature leather upholstery — and came away mighty impressed. The roominess was out of this world, the cargo area was incredible and the smattering of features were nice additions. As with most entry-level cars with leather interior, this was the sore spot in the whole thing. The leather seemed haphazardly slapped over cloth and hard plastic, leaving some fit and finish issues, and black leather is simply unbearable in the summer.

the real question is whether the iffy leather left a bad taste in my mouth or were the good parts of this compact hatch enough to make me overlook my problems with the cow hide?

Just when you thought a compact city car couldn’t get much smaller, Honda did so by making the 2015 Fit 1.6 inches shorter than the 2013 model year. It does, however, retain the 60-inch height from 2013, plus it’s 0.3 inches wider and rides on a 1.2-inch-longer wheelbase than the 2013 Fit. Other than these changes in size, the 2015 Fit also receives a completely redesigned body with sharper lines, angular headlights, and more aggressive wheel arches.

On a whole, the 2015 Fit is a much better-looking hatchback than it was in 2013. The new angles give it a sportier look, while the redesigned headlights help it fit in with the rest of the Honda  lineup. On the downside, the new, vertical taillights make the Fit seem awkwardly tall and the faux air outlets on the rear are simply tacky.

My tester came to me in a makes-you-wonder-what-they-were-thinking purple that Honda calls Passion Berry Pearl. It is not a bad color in some lighting, but it is too much purple and not enough "Plum Crazy" for me to be caught driving in the daytime. But I dealt with it took one for the team, so to say.

My test model came pretty well loaded, as it was the EX-L trim. It featured a set of 16-inch rollers with all-season tires, intermittent wipers, rear wiper, auto headlights, mirror-mounted repeaters, fog lights, LED taillights, and a Smart Entry System. All of these premium features helped me forgive the less-than-favorable hue.

In terms of approachability, the Fit is acceptable for its class. The front end is nicely styled and far from overdone. The profile view is acceptable, thanks to a deep shoulder line that stretches from the front wheel well back to the taillight, and the slight swoop to the roofline. From the rear. however, things kind of fall apart, as the previously mentioned taillights make it look disproportionally tall and the faux air outlets are just silly.

Overall, the Fit won’t win any beauty contests, but it’s also not going to make young children run in fear when it approaches. So, I’ll just say it is okay.

On the inside, I am happy with some features and scratching my head on others. The good stuff includes the 7-inch Display Audio System that has a clear, easy-to-read touchscreen with a multi-angle rearview camera and a blind spot camera. The gauges were bright and easy to read, and the buttons were all where they were supposed to be. Having built-in navigation was another lifesaver, but the EX-L trim is the only one to offer this as an option.

In the rear, the goodness continues with a super-spacious rear seat that offers up a midsize sedan-like 39.3 inches of legroom. That’s a whopping 4.8 inches more than the 2013 model. Honda pulled this off by moving the rear seat back into the cargo area slightly and pushing the wheels further out toward the corners. You also get 52.6 inches of shoulder room, which is 1.3 inches more than the 2013 model. So really, this is one of the few small hatchbacks that adults can sit in the back seat without complaining.

With this expanded back seat comes a mild tradeoff in the form of less cargo room. Then again, the 2013 Fit led its class in cargo room — by a long shot — so there was a little wiggle room back there. Even with the reduction in cargo room in favor of legroom, the 2015 Fit can carry 16.6 cubic feet of cargo with the seats up and a massive 52.7 cubic feet with the seats down. This massive cargo hold is courtesy of the high roofline, flat folding seats and a revised rear suspension that allows for a lower cargo floor.

The rear end also shows off its versatility with seats that not only fold flat, but the rear seat bottoms also pull upward to allow you to slide cargo under them, or for easy access to French fries or other bits that the kiddos may drop under there. Honda calls this feature the "Magic Seat," I simply call it "awesomeness."

As much as I can rave about the usefulness of the Fit’s cabin, there are a few sore spots, with the biggest being that the center console lid actually rubs against the driver’s seat. It’s not terrible, but enough to rub the cow hide raw over the years. Also, the black leather gets super-hot in the Florida sun, making parking in the sun something that you want to avoid if you don’t like third-degree burns on your legs and derrière. If you live in the Southern U.S., I suggest avoiding the EX-L and going with the less burn-prone cloth seats in the EX model. The only bad thing is that you cannot get navigation without the EX-L package.

Considering the insane usefulness of the Fit’s cabin, these flaws are very minor and ultimately avoidable by opting out of the EX-L package. Eventually, Honda will add the navigation system as an option on the EX, but that may not come until the 2016 model or later in the 2015 model year.