There's just something cool about driving a fast hatchback. A hatch is inexpensive, holds a lot of stuff, gets good mileage and has a reputation for being a sensible purchase. It's that economy car rep that makes driving a fixed-up one so much fun. Owners of traditional sports cars tend to underestimate the potential of little cars. That underdog spirit is pretty much what got this magazine started in the first place. Since then, Sport Compact Car has grown to include turbocharged sedans and rear-wheel-drive coupes. But for some of us, a hopped-up hatchback is what a sport compact car is supposed to be.
For many old-timers, the hatch of choice was the EF Civic Si. It was light, nimble and had unprecedented aftermarket support. But it just kept getting bigger and bigger. By 1999, it had grown into a coupe. Then, in 2001, the Si emblem was slapped on an awkwardly suspended and underpowered mega-hatch. In '06, Honda needed to redeem the Si reputation and released the seriously fast coupe we have today. With its revised suspension geometry, healthy i-VTEC motor and six-speed transmission (with a limited-slip diff), the current Si really is tits.
Still, it ain't what it used to be. The Civic Si is all grown up. Nothing underlines that more than being released as a four-door sedan this year. It's now close to the same size and weight as the muscle cars we used to pick on. On top of that, the styling is so conservative you could probably drive around with an open header and no one would notice. The Civic Si is no longer the entry-level Honda. The Fit now holds that title.
The 2007 Honda Fit starts up right where the classic Si hatchbacks left off. The design is based on efficiency and affordability. Just like the old Civics, it gets a little under 40mpg on the highway with a four-cylinder engine that makes just over 100hp, dropped under the hood of a sporty looking sub-compact with character.
The Fit was what enthusiasts were waiting for. By the time the first ones started rolling out of dealerships, there were already plenty of bolt-on aftermarket products to counteract any performance deficiencies. The 2006 SEMA show was stuffed with seriously modified Fits, but we wanted to review one that still maintained the utility Honda engineered into it. HASport's K20-powered version fits the bill perfectly.
HASport has a reputation for producing thoughtfully engineered engine swap kits for Hondas and Acuras. There was no need for the company to announce it was designing mounts to swap the K20 into the Fit. It was expected.
The Fit seen here uses a K20Z3 from a 2006 Civic Si, although HASport recommends using a K20A2 from an RSX Type-S, because the curled intake manifold is required to clear the radiator support. The motor is stock, except for the custom work required to squeeze it into a Fit. This includes a custom header and exhaust from Jackson Racing and a slightly shortened AEM cold air intake. The engine is managed by a Hondata K-Pro unit, which piggybacks off the stock ECU. The stock computer is still responsible for operating the gauge cluster and accessories. The Driveshaft Shop built the custom axles necessary for the swap and, of course, HASport used its billet motor mount kit. For more details, check out our Hybrid How-To piece on page 104.
The brakes and suspension have been mildly modified to match the performance of the K20. Fastbrakes built a nice kit utilizing stainless steel braided lines and larger components sourced from other Hondas. The Progress Group used the car to develop its street coilover and anti-roll bar set-up. If not for the stickers and upgraded Falken wheels and tires, you wouldn't know the car was modified until you drove it. So we spent a day doing just that.