When it hits the market in selected areas of California and Oregon this summer, the 2013 Honda Fit EV will arrive boasting a stellar 118 MPGe overall economy rating, a figure that reflects its 132 MPGe city mark and 105 MPGe highway number. Those stats put Honda‘s super-clean five-door subcompact hatch comfortably ahead of its prime EV rivals, including the 2012 Mitsubishi i (112/126/99 MPGe), 2012 Ford Focus Electric (105/110/99 MPGe), 2012 Nissan LEAF (99/106/92 MPGe) and the CODA Sedan (73/77/68 MPGe).
The Fit EV’s 123-horsepower coaxial electric motor earned an equally impressive power-consumption rating of just 29kWh per 100 miles — the lowest figure of any electric vehicle ever tested by the EPA. In addition to its annual projected "fuel" cost of just $500 and a recharging time under three hours on a 240V circuit, the compact, lightweight 20kWh lithium-ion battery pack in the Fit EV also notched an EPA per-charge range designation of 82 miles, a distance that betters the Ford Focus EV (76 miles), Nissan LEAF (73 miles) and Mitsubishi i (62 miles) although does leave it trailing the CODA Sedan (88 miles) in that category.
"Just as important as the industry-leading fuel-efficiency and fast recharging time, as a Honda, the 2013 Fit EV will be an absolute kick to drive," said Steve Center, vice president of the American Honda Environmental Business Development Office. Originally debuted at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, the 2013 Honda Fit EV will have a base price of $37,415 and be offered at $389 per month on a 36-month/36,000-mile lease. Honda plans to produce a total of 1,100 Fit EVs during the course of the next three years and also will roll it out in select East Coast markets starting next summer.
