Electric Vehicle Sales May Be Down But the Honda Fit EV Fits the Electric Car-Buying Public's Needs

Guess what? There's a price war going on among leading electric vehicles, and it's due to a crowded market and slow sales. So if you've been thinking EV for a while, now may be a great time to make the move to all-electric happy motoring.

The Honda Fit EV recently reduced its retail offering to $259 per month on an attractive lease deal with unlimited mileage. You can get the Fiat 500e for $199, but you'll have to adhere to a strict 12,000-mile annual limit. When you consider the Fit EV's previous lease payment of $389, the idea of choosing a Honda for electric commuting makes a lot of sense.

If you already have a Fit EV and have been paying $389 a month, you'll be happy to know the new lease payment will apply to current customers going forward. The Fit EV is rated at 118 MPGe and has an 82-mile range.

Best of all, the 2013 Honda Fit EV, the Japanese automaker's highly anticipated answer to Nissan Leaf, is quick, agile and actually quite fun to drive. Its cabin is roomy, outward visibility good and its styling is anything but odd. The platform is impressively safe, it has decent range and Honda says it is the most efficient vehicle the EPA has ever tested.


Even with the dramatically reduced lease payment, unfortunately, you may have difficulty purchasing a Fit EV. That's because Honda is only releasing 1,100 of these little blue hatchbacks over the next two model years in the States, and all of them will be delivered on contracted three-year leases. The cool and unique Reflection Blue Pearl paint is only offered on the Fit EV.

In terms of a powertrain, the Fit EV features a maintenance-free 92-kW AC synchronous electric motor (developing 123 horsepower and 189 pound-feet of torque) driving the front wheels through a high-efficiency single-speed coaxial gearbox. Power is supplied by a Toshiba-produced air-cooled 20-kWh Li-Ion battery, located beneath the passenger compartment completely within the wheelbase. The Fit EV will go 132 city miles per charge and has an EPA-estimated combined driving range of 82 miles.

And as we have come to expect with the Honda Fit, the cabin is unbelievably spacious for the size of the car. So you needn't give up comfort to drive a compact electric.

If you live in South Georgia or North Florida, get in touch with the good people at Honda of the Avenues, the leading Honda dealer in Jacksonville. Even if the Fit EV is in limited quantity, Honda of the Avenues can put you in one at the right price. Contact them soon to take advantage of Honda's excellent lease offer.