This Off-Road Honda Fit Is Really a Polaris RZR Underneath and It Rips
Resembling a Micro Machines car come to life is Danny Duncan's off-roading 2017 Honda Fit. It was actually lifted and transformed into an off-roader in 2020, and you can check out that incarnation of the vehicle at the 2:41 mark of this old video. Last year, fellow content creator/builder Mike Masse crashed Duncan's Polaris RZR. Masse's injuries put him in the hospital, but by the time he was discharged, he had an idea: swapping the Fit's innards for the RZR's.
A modded Fit 4×4 has been done before, but a body swap? To be a true off-roader, sure, why not give the subcompact Honda a side-by-side's capability? As Masse explains, the fit of the, uh, Fit was underwhelming. 'The little transmission can't turn 35s, the suspension is creaky, and there's some broken parts,' he said in his first video about the build. Nevertheless, he also casually added that 'It might be the best Honda Fit to ever exist.'
Masse started posting about the project in March, documenting the repair of the RZR, the body swap, and the teardown test drive, which happened just a couple of weeks ago and is embedded above. To see and hear the 'upgraded' RZR-Fit (this thing needs a real name), you can skip to about 7:27.
Masse rips the little Honda around the property near the garage at full squeal. This definitely can no longer be called a small, front-wheel-drive car. It doesn't sound like a Fit at all, and in overhead shots, it doesn't drive like one either, rumbling around those dirt corners. Masse then takes the lifted Honda to the streets and, subsequently, the grassy road verges. That bit starts at the 8:38 mark, and we see the Fit's handling from the road. And, as you'd expect, the thing drives over and onto everything with very little effort. A standard Fit would've lost a bumper at the least.
The joyride ends with a sheriff's deputy waiting back at the shop due to reports of 'racing.' Masse doesn't say what the result of the conversation was, but tells us, 'I don't think I broke 40 mph.' He adds, 'Typical, like [a] Honda thing where it sounds like it's fast and it sounds loud, but it's not really going anywhere.'
The off-road Fit is unfinished, of course. Masse wants to address 'clunking' noises he heard, improve the stopping power of the brakes, and add another inch or two of lift to better accommodate the big tires, which still rub against the fender during hard stops and turning. The overall build won't win any points for cleanliness, but the vehicle is structurally sound thanks to all the welding that was done. Masse did a great job of making regularly serviceable bits, like refueling, easily accessible. Let's hope the next test is on an actual trail, though.
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Beverly Braga has enjoyed an eventful career as a Swiss Army knife, having held roles as an after-school teacher, film critic, PR manager, transcriber, and video producer – to name a few. She is currently a communications consultant and freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous outlets covering automotive, entertainment, lifestyle, and food & beverage. Beverly grew up in Hawaii but roots for Washington, D.C., sports teams.
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