The road to higher efficiency is an appealing one these days and driving a small car is one way to get there. While it’s true that not everyone is in the market for a small car, the appeal grows if small means efficient and highly functional but not constrained or boring.

This is the theme with Honda’s third-generation 2015 Honda Fit, which offers a more aerodynamic look and additional interior space while retaining the previous version's overall physical footprint. Honda designers have clearly gone the extra mile in not only offering a thoroughly modern small car, but innovating ways to bring greater interior functionality than should be expected in this size package.

Helping achieve this is the Fit's ‘Magic Seat’ rear seat setup that offers four modes for carrying passengers, cargo, or both. In the Utility Mode, it can carry 52 cubic feet of cargo. Fold down the right sides of the rear and front passenger seat in the Long Mode and you can carry items up to 7 feet, 9 inches in length. In the Tall Mode there’s nearly 4 feet of room available top to bottom. Remove the front head restraints, fold back the front seats, and you can relax, or even sleep, in the Refresh Mode.

Beyond this refreshing small car functionality, perhaps the Fit’s most important change is a new and more fuel-efficient powertrain. Its new direct-injected, 1.5-liter, four-cylinder Earth Dreams engine produces 130 horsepower, 13 more than the engine it replaces.

A six-speed manual transmission is standard, but most will be fitted with a continuously-variable transmission (CVT) that has shift paddles and a Sport mode that provides seven selectable ‘gears’ to increase the fun factor. This CVT comes with Eco Assist and an ECON button for more fuel efficient operation. All models also feature Honda's Eco Coaching function that prompts drivers to achieve maximum fuel economy.

With the 6-speed, the Fit achieves EPA estimated numbers of up to 33 mpg in the city and an impressive 41 mpg on the highway, achieving desirable efficiency with a gasoline engine that only comes with a hybrid in some other models. Not only do drivers save on gas, but also on purchase price since the 2015 Fit offers a base MSRP of just $15,525 that makes this model approachable for most new car buyers.