A lot of automotive news is coming out of the Sao Paulo Motor Show at the moment. Another such story is Honda’s unveiling of a new, pseudo crossover, off-road styled car called the Honda Fit Twist. Honda badge the ‘Fit’ as a ‘Jazz’ in our own market and while we really don’t agree with the trend of giving everyday hatchbacks an imitation off-road look, we will conceded that this is at least a brave departure for the normally conservative Honda brand and is therefore deserving of at least a little praise.
It’s unlikely the car will ever leave South America however, as the model was developed by Honda’s local automobile R&D team in Brazil. “While maintaining the ease of use and driving comfort of the original Fit, the ‘Twist’ offers a sportier vehicle image with a bold design realised through adoption of an exclusive front grille and roof rails, as well as an exclusive seat surface material,” says Honda in the official statement. The sportier vehicle image comes courtesy of plastic body cladding, aluminum side skirts and roof rails.
The makeover also includes modified bumpers, a revised grille and new fog lights. Under the bonnet, power for the Honda Fit Twist comes from a 1.5-litre ‘flex-fuel’ engine making 86 kW and is mated to manual or an automatic transmission. Honda has left the suspension alone though, unlike some other carmakers who like to raise the ride height by a millimetre here or there in keeping with the off-road style. Honda say they were concerned about spoiling the nimble handling enjoyed by Fit/Jazz customers.
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