Some of the best vehicles sold on U.S. soil were actually made in a Mexican manufacturing plant. The Honda Fit is one of them, and it just might be all the better for it, since it’s well-made and it’s an all-around affordable car. 

The Honda Fit doesn’t exactly have the popularity that some vehicles have, but it should. In fact, it’s one of the most overlooked vehicles in Honda’s lineup. U.S. News & World Report offers a list of the best Mexican-made cars available on the market. Let’s see what they thought made it the best. 

What makes the Honda Fit the best Mexican-made vehicle?

The 2020 Honda Fit received a score of 8.8 out of 10 from U.S. News & World Report, making it the highest-rated Mexican-made vehicle on their list. They also gave it a few awards from other categories as well. 

One of them was the Best Subcompact Car for the Money badge. The other accolade they gave to it is the Best New Cars for Teens award.  Holding the highest spot in their top subcompact car ranking, the Fit offers plenty of useful features for an affordable price. 

The Fit is a five-passenger vehicle that has more than enough space for head and legroom. Its interior is comfortable with exceptional seating that you can fold in various ways to accommodate storage of any length or shaped items.

Powering it up is a 1.5-liter motor that produces 130 hp, when it’s paired with a six-speed manual transmission. When coupled with a continuously variable automatic transmission, the Fit generates 128 hp instead.

What are the highlights of the Honda Fit?

The higher trim levels have the Honda Sensing Package, which offers tons of safety features and driver’s assistance systems. It also has an above-average predicted reliability rating, which few rivals can claim. Lower-level trims don’t have many safety features to boast about, though. 

Fuel economy figures aren’t bad either. The models, using the CVT, are rated to get 33 mpg during city driving and 40 miles per gallon on the highway. The manual gearbox versions don’t quite get the same impressive numbers, but they do manage 29 mpg for city driving and 36 mpg on the highway — not bad for a small car.

One word that comes to mind when you see a Honda Fit is value. The Fit offers classic styling and a premium interior. With high-quality soft-touch surfaces mixed with some hard plastics here and there, the Fit offers plenty for an affordable price. 

What could the Fit improve upon?

The main issue that the Honda Fit could improve is the power output of the motor. The 1.5-liter engine is pretty average, but it doesn’t have much get up and go to accelerate on the highway. It’s great for city driving, but many people nowadays utilize highways and freeways to travel, so some acceleration power is needed. 

Another area Honda could look into is the way the Fit handles itself in curves and sharp corners. Of course, not every U.S. News reviewer agreed on this issue. Some felt it drove fine, and they even thought that it was fun to take for a spin. 

Others, however, felt that there was too much lean when taking turns and there wasn’t enough feedback from the road surface for their taste. 

The Honda Fit, made in a Mexican manufacturing plant, proves to be one of the best subcompact cars in its segment. While it’s not the most inexpensive, it is the highest-rated one on U.S. News & World Report’s list.