Honda

Everybody knows Honda makes good small cars.  It's pretty much taken for granted that for reliability and resale value, you just can't go wrong with a Honda.  But good as they are, can someone who is 6'4", 400lbs fit comfortably in one?


Fit
Every review I've read and every person I've spoken to about the Fit had the same thing to say - It's magical.  Somehow ignoring the rules of Euclidean geometry, the Fit's designers managed to make the car bigger on the inside than on the outside.  With the rear seats folded flat, this sub-compact commuter car has more storage space than many mid-size SUVs.  That bodes well for a large driver.

See that pointy bit circled in red?  I HATE that bit.

Getting in certainly was easy.  Like some of the other boxy, upright-seating-position cars I've tried, you basically just sit down and you're in.  This just might be the one...

But no.  Again we have a perfect example of retarded style choices ruining a potentially fat-friendly ride.  The center console has a pointy bit that poked directly into your right knee.  If that bit wasn't there, or the seat moved two inches farther back, I'd probably be signing the papers on a Fit tomorrow.  But that one little jabby bit would make this car impossible to live with for 2-3 hours per day.  Seriously, everything else is perfect - head room, leg room, ass room - all fine.  I even like the star-trekky steering wheel and instrument cluster. 

I could take a sawzall to the offending piece of ill-conceived plastic and make this an ideal car, but FFS, that shouldn't be necessary.  Surely a company as large and well-funded as Honda considered the possibility that taller drivers might want to buy their cars?  I mean it took more effort on their part to add that stupid pointy bit than it would to have left it out.  Dammit Honda.


Civic
I'll make this one quick.  The Civic, just like the Corolla and Cruze, was comfortable to sit in, but pointlessly difficult to get into and out of.  Leg room was downright phenomenal - I could stretch my left leg out completely straight, and would have been able to do the same with my right if not for the gas pedal.  It was a little tight in the hips, but not terribly so.  Getting in and out was just too much of a hassle.  If all else fails, I may revisit the Civic in the semi-finals, but the remaining options are going to have to be pretty bad.

WTF, Honda?

Insight
It's the only hybrid you can buy for under $20k.  That is just about all the Insight has going for it.  Of the cars I've tried so far, it was the most difficult car to get in or out of.  The low roof, small doors and low seating position are murderous.  Once inside, you're faced with the exact same problem as the Fit - a pointless doodad jabbing you in the right knee.  In this case, it was a large round instrument cluster that seems to have been engineered specifically to pry the kneecap off your leg.  It was uncomfortable sitting still.  If I were to dare drive the car, one good pothole would probably leave me wheelchair-bound for life.  And because there are necessary buttons and knobs on the protrusion, hacking it off isn't even an option.  Though with all the difficulty getting in, the Insight isn't really worth that much trouble anyway.