And it has snow, doesn’t it? Can you drive that far up the volcano?
I’m not sure, I never tried
If that’s the case you are ready for a Mazda 3 with the “zoom zoom” handling. The new Mazda 3s are quieter but have lost none of their sporty handling. Only the 4 door Mini has better handling in that price range. And it is an expensive car to maintain and repair with its BMW prices.
We drove my wife’s bright red Mazda 3 across the Rocky Mountains (500+ miles) to the West Coast and back and it was fun going through those hairpin turns!
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Renting a Fit is what I’d do in this situation, if Consumer Reports coverage isn’t explicit enough on the seat comfort issue. I expect if there’s a problem it isn’t b/c of the seat design; more likely that the small car has a necessarily small wheelbase, and that makes the ride a little more bumpy – which you feel in the seat, and in your seat… lol .
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Yeah, could be that it’s a small car. I’m going to call Enterprise and try to rent a Fit. Thanks
Whether someone rents a car for a couple of days or a full week, there is the inescapable reality that rental cars are rarely–if ever–the “top trim line” of a particular model. Even if manufacturers don’t say much about this issue, the top trim line of a car almost always has better-quality seats than the cheapo trim line, or even the middle-of-the-pack trim line. Thus, renting a car might not provide much insight into seat comfort if someone is inclined to treat himself to the top trim line when ordering the car.
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On the other hand, if one finds the seats of a rental vehicle to be satisfactory then it does provide insight. I’m not sure if Fit rentals are fleet version vehicles or cars off the rack. It would behoove the driver to make note of the model and sub-model designation.
From reviews I’ve read, and many recommend buying the base model car (after all, this is an economy car), it’s not the seat comfort that causes concern on long road trips. Some reviews find noise and the CVT transmission to be more a negative.
So, it’s not only the seats that will road-tested with a rental.
Besides, I have not ascertained the age a fitness level, height, etcetera, of D.J, but when I was younger I could comfortably ride in many more vehicles on long trips with seats that would not pass muster with me today. Heck, I didn’t even notice the seats back in the day.
Too many variables. Let’s just put it this way, as I said earlier, the money spent on the rental for use in a daily routine will be money well spent toward finding out whether or not the Fit is a fit. It’s got to be way better to live together for a while than a short acquaintance and a long marriage.
CSA
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Seat comfort is like asking someone how comfortable clothes are. Its specific fit.
That being said how long is long on Hawaii for a drive? Don’t you run out of places to go or traffic makes it long?
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10 years back, suddenly I found myself moving “seat comfort” factor into the one of the main factors selecting car when I had to trade a perfectly good 4-years old vehicle which was causing me a back pain.
Still, once I found my pain points, I do not need to spend hours in the seat to judge if it’s gonna fit my needs or not.
My prior vehicle was 2012 Altima, and YES, I’ve indeed found that base trim seats would not work for me, I felt it after sitting in the car for around 5 minutes on a dealer lot, not even test driving it. I asked to check the higher trim level with seat adjustments and spent something like 20-25 minutes fiddling with controls and listening to the sales talk, then took it for a ride and I was happy with it for 7 years I owned it.
Recently, shopping for a replacement, I used the similar techniques and so far I’m a happy camper with a new Accord, but simple “sit-in” method I described pretty much disqualified Camry seats for me: I felt that lumbar support is placed in a wrong spot and lacks vertical adjustments. Mazda 6 was “ok-ish” on this front, but I did not make a cut on other criteria.
I would suggest to @D.J to have a sit in the Fit for himself and do that for at least 20-30 minutes before deciding if he even want to go for a test-drive, then if things go favorably, ask a dealer for a longer drive to confirm/disprove the original findings and if any doubt arise, go look for other cars, Fit is not the only one in this segment.
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Let us know if you find a Fit for rent, that’s pretty uncommon.
I bet it will be hard to find a Fit for rent. I see plenty Sentra and Versa Notes for rent where I live. Nice cars but I heard Nissan CVT has potential problems?
When you call to rent, make sure they know you want a Fit and not something in the same class. If you tell them why, they will work with you. That’s especially true if you are flexible on when you rent and can take a days notice from the rental company.
I guess that we will have to agree to disagree.
Exactly
Just as I wouldn’t want somebody else to choose what I eat for dinner, I don’t believe that someone else’s opinion regarding seat comfort would necessarily apply to me or to anyone other than the person offering their subjective opinion.
I sort of agree but let’s say most people would prefer to sleep on a bed instead of a rock, etc. I agree it’s subjective but there may be some broad generalization that could apply
Many people say the Toyota Avalon is a very comfortable car. I disagree. I found the driver’s seat back to be uncomfortable after about 20 minutes in the car. I decided not to buy the car for that reason alone. There’s a generalization and a refutation together. Try the Avalon and see if you like it. Just don’t ask me ride for any length of time with you in it.
DJ, you seem to have trouble accepting the fact that no one can predict if you will like the seats in a vehicle or not like them.
We like the sport seats in our Volvo but people who think they should be setting on a heavily cushioned easy chair do not.
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This is so highly personal; for example I like the heavily cushioned bench seat of my '62 Caddy, whereas most folks might prefer a more supportive seat.
Yeah, you are right. I would need to spend some longer term personal time in the seats to know if they are comfortable for my body type
Traffic can make it excruciatingly long even on an island that is 100 miles around. There are about 1 million packed here on Oahu
Some dealers will, it all depends, good luck D.J!