Let’s say you’ve decided to surrender your Suburban Superfortress for something that can actually get you to work and back on a gallon of gas.

You know Honda’s reputation for quality, so you go down to check out the new Fit, a 2007 subcompact that can cover 33 city miles per gallon and 38 on the highway. But as you compare window stickers, you notice that the venerable Civic DX coupe retails for only $700 more. It’s decision time.

At $13,825, the Fit is designed to be Honda’s entry-level vehicle, allowing the Civic to move up the food chain in a price range of $14,560 to nearly $23,000. The priciest Fit, the Sport version with automatic transmission tops out at $15,970. So, there’s overlap at the Civic’s lower end and Fit’s high end.

Given the competition amid rising fuel prices, it’s somewhat surprising that Honda did not introduce the Fit at a lower threshold. Chevrolet is bringing in the new version of its Aveo at under $10,000, and the Kia Rio retails for $10,770. Of course, those prices do not include the air conditioning that comes standard on the Fit. But Hyundai manages to undercut the Fit with an air-conditioned Accent at $12,455, about $1,400 less than the Honda base price.

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