Is The Honda Fit Good In Snow? [ Know The Truth ]

The Honda Fit seems too good to ignore when it comes to great subcompact cars. Good mileage, decent power, manageable storage space, the Honda Fit has it all.

However, none of that will matter if the vehicle fails to adapt to weather changes, especially if you live in an area where it snows a lot.

So, is the Honda Fit a good buy if you’re primarily going to drive it in the snow? How does the Honda Fit perform under such conditions? Follow this article to find out the kind of performance this car would deliver.

Is the Honda Fit Good in Snow?

The Honda Fit would serve you well in moderate snow conditions. However, this model has low ground clearance, which may make it unfit to drive through heavy snow.

The Honda Fit never fails to impress when driving in moderate snow, especially when you generously apply breaks in the corners. The sport subcompact’s sharp steering, suspension, and roll bar, as well as the weight distribution, make driving in the snow a delight.

It’s not an all-wheel-drive vehicle, but it’ll get you around in all but the most extreme situations. Therefore, the car is admirably great in most aspects.

The Honda Fit’s low ground clearance helps a lot in snowy situations. You can smoothly glide through thin snow layers covering the road with your Honda Fit. This type of road does not have enough snow to cause your Fit to become trapped.

However, drivers with other cars often lose control and slide off the road while driving under such circumstances. Fortunately, since your Honda Fit is low to the ground, it is less likely to lose road stability in such cases.

Your Fit would be a safer bet in these conditions than any other larger vehicle. However, the low ground clearance is both a gift and a curse for the Honda Fit. Let’s shed more light in this regard.

Why is Honda Fit Not Good in Snow?

• As mentioned, Honda Fit has a low ground clearance, which hinders its ability to drive in heavy snow conditions. Your automobile could quickly become trapped in the snow due to that low ground clearance.
• The low ground clearance, combined with poor engine power can be deal-breakers for most buyers.
• Moreover, its limited engine torque is insufficient to move it through snowdrifts.

Therefore, the amount of snow under question largely determines whether or not your Honda Fit would be ideal for cruising along snowy paths.

Moderate snowfall, for example, is manageable. The Honda Fit can even outperform most subcompact cars of a similar range in such a case. However, snow that is deeper than the car’s ground clearance may cause it to stall and not be able to drive. After all, who would want that to happen?

How Much Snow Can Honda Fit Handle?

If put in numbers, the Honda Fit’s ground clearance is only 4.4 inches which is very low compared to the competition. So, it won’t be able to handle much snow.

If the snow depth is somewhere between 2.5 inches to 3 inches, things should go pretty smooth. Any more than that, and you won’t be able to drive as the snow depth exceeds your vehicle’s ground clearance.

How to Prepare Your Honda Fit for Winters?

Maintaining your vehicle in regular intervals will help you avoid automotive problems throughout the cold months. These guidelines should help you optimize your Honda Fit’s performance during the cold months.

Oil Changes

When the winter months arrive, it’s not rare for people to get lazy and forget about changing oil. However, changing oil is extremely necessary during winters. Depending upon your location’s temperature in winters, you may even need to switch to a different oil made exclusively for winter conditions.

Check Antifreeze

Antifreeze is a product whose name says it all. Since the liquid in an engine’s cooling system is a combination of water and antifreeze, this addition is one of the most crucial winter compounds. A 50/50 coolant-to-water ratio is ideal in normal conditions. However, you should always prefer a ratio of 60/40 in the winter months.

Do a Battery Check

Your automobile battery has a finite lifespan, and we don’t want you to waste time waiting for it to die. Nobody wants to be stuck in the cold. You may examine the battery’s state with a computerized battery tester to ensure it passes all the safety checks for winter conditions.

Replace Windshield Wipers and Washer Fluid

Good visibility is essential for safe driving in wet or snowy weather. Don’t wait until the first rainstorm to discover that your wiper blades aren’t working or that you’ve run out of cleaning fluid.

Use wiper blades specially made for winters and use cold-weather washing fluid to ensure the optimal performance of your Honda Fit in winters.

Double Check the Defroster and Heater

To drive comfortably in winter, you’ll need to ensure your defroster and heater are working properly.

These repairs can be expensive, you can check for air leaks around doors and windows before taking your Honda Fit-out in the snow to correct things before it gets too late. Leaks might let in extra moisture, giving the impression that your defroster is faulty.

Examine Your Tires

Make sure to have the tires properly inflated, which can give you the best grip possible when driving in the icy, snowy, and rainy weather that comes on the way.

The tire pressure also reduces as the temperature drops below unmanageable levels. It’s critical to know the pressure levels of your tires to ensure a firm grip on snowy roads.

Do You Have To Use Snow Tires in Your Honda Fit?

Driving in normal conditions won’t demand snow tires for your Honda Fit. On snowy roads, however, the stock all-season tires won’t cut it; you’ll need dedicated snow tires in such conditions.

According to consumer reports, many drivers, particularly younger drivers with less experience, don’t feel confident about driving in the snow.

There are several methods to prepare for winter driving; installing snow tires in your Honda Fit is just one of them. One can’t say that snow tires are useless in such conditions. Besides installing such tires, prepare your Honda Fit to deal with adverse weather conditions.

Snow Tires vs Stock All-season Tires

While all-season tires are superior to thin summer tires or performance tires in dry circumstances, they fall short in wet, icy situations. All-season tires offer several advantages, including a smooth ride and long tread life.

They’re also instrumental in various situations, such as driving on slick roads under light winter conditions. They’ll probably do great if you reside in a location where the winters are mostly rainy with a bit of snow.

They do not thrive in one particular area: where there’s heavy snow.

This is due to their year-round average capability. For better traction, replace those all-season tires with suitable snow tires while driving through heavy snow. This would help you drive safely under snowy and slippery road conditions.

Why Using Snow Tires in Your Honda Fit Might be Worth It?

Snow tires will any day outperform stock all-season tires while driving under harsh weather conditions. These dedicated tires come with qualities that enable the maximum possible traction in the most challenging weather conditions.

This mix of attributes distinguishes them from all-season tires, which only offer some of these winter features They also offer some specific features based on summer seasons.

Snow tires have specific tread rubber formulations that allow them to remain flexible in icy cold conditions while providing a better grip, unlike all-weather tires that stiffen up under such circumstances.

Snow tires also have deeper tread depths and distinctive tread patterns that channel snow and slush while removing water.

In addition, compared to all-season tires, snow tires have more substantial biting edges and higher sipe densities, enabling better traction. With thousands of tiny perforations in the tread, these characteristics help gain traction on ice.

Conclusion

The Honda Fit is undoubtedly a good subcompact car with a sporty look. You’ll indeed have your money’s value with this car. Undoubtedly, the Honda Fit is the best value you can get for your money, especially when driving in harsh weather conditions.

The Honda Fit is not suitable for driving in the snow, especially when you compare it with the competition.

That said, it’s not a bad deal either. Simply pair it up with good-quality snow tires, and the car will get you through most of the icy terrains without any hiccups, provided that the depth of snow doesn’t exceed three inches.

So, if you live in an area with moderate snowfall, the Honda Fit is, without a doubt, a car to watch out for.

However, if you’re primarily going to drive the vehicle on roads with heavy snow, the car won’t perform reliably enough. Now that you know what to expect from the Honda Fit, you can use your discretion while making the purchase.