2009 Honda Fit Sport: Nerd -- Press Start!

"He must've been granny shiftin' and not double clutching like you're supposed to."

Good reference!

Every major car review authority, whether it be any of the big car magazines, or the car websites have all praised the Fit for its fantastic manual transmission. Other than a couple of staff writers at Edmunds you could not find a professional review anywhere that would be critical of the transmission. I already put that challenge out to the last staff writer who wrote a blog criticizing the 09 transmission and he was MIA. We're all entitled to our opinions, but when your opinion is in the extreme minority (less than 1%?) it's best to take it with a grain of salt.

This quote in an 09 Fit Sport review from a major car magazine sums it up best, "The five-speed manual works better than units in cars costing far more; it flicks through its gates with a light touch. Clutch takeup is syrup-smooth." Amen to that.

I'm in complete agreement with dgs4 and surpised and disappointed once again in Edmund's.

I made a comment to Mike Magrath on his criticism with the shift action in his last entry, asking him what his real job was.

Seriously, you folks at Edmund's must be just several chosen from the general public and not car enthusiasts at all. The Fit's shift feel is intentionally on the light side, but other than that, it's got genuine feel and works great with the clutch. To me it's flawless.

dgs, crystalfive -

Yeah, opinions are like poopy holes -- everyone's got one and they all stink. My poopy hole is not correlated to ad revenue.

Light shifting is one thing; a disconnected feeling is another.

My question for you two: Have you tried it??
If not, pls head down to your local Honda store for a test drive and get back to me (and be honest).

Regards,
Snake Doc

Snake Doc,

I've owned the 09 Sport MT since the day it was released in August. I have close to 9,000 miles on mine and I've owned many Hondas and have driven countless other stick shifts from different makes.

Maybe your example was defective, since you're the 2nd editor to gripe about it. But I've only seen negative feedback about the shifter here, no where else. Do you have another sample to sample?

To iterate, the shifter, along with the other controls of the car (i.e. steering, clutch, and even the door weight) is light by design. There is very good feel coming through the shifter. It feels like the typical Honda cable linkage type. And it feels like precision machinery every time you shift. I like how it has good notchiness to it for positive feedback, rather than just clunking into its slots. And that feel is present from gears 1 through 5, unlike my 05 RSX-S.

I drove the '09 Fit with a manual trans, and I though the shifter was kind of odd. Long throws, and although precise, it did seem disconnected. (I've owned several manual transmission Hondas in the past, too.)It's not bad necessarily, just kind of not great. Just my two cents, though.

"Have I tried it?"

Yes I have tried it, as a matter of fact of tried it every day for the past five weeks, exactly the length of time I've owned my new Fit Sport. The transmission is perfect, it is exactly what you want for a city car, a light effort shifter with a light effort clutch. Driving this car in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic is not the frustrating/tiring experience it could be with other cars that have a manual transmission.

I'm not sure what you were expecting from an under $20,000 econo car, but if you find that perfect manual transmission in the econo car class, please let me know. I would really like to know what you consider to be a great manual transmission if you dislike the one in the Fit.

I really don't think ad revenue is forcing EVERY reviewer except for the few staff writers here to shower praise on the Fit's manual transmission. Nice try to defend your extreme minority opinion.

I think our blogger wants a little stick kickback, a couple of recalcitrant synchronizer rings, and some powertrain vibration to be felt through the shifter. A 1995 Neon might be more to his liking.

The rest of us are enjoying the smoothest and most consistent gearbox we've ever driven.

"The rest of us are enjoying the smoothest and most consistent gearbox we've ever driven."

AMEN to that too. I actually feel sorry for anyone who bought the Fit in an automatic because they are missing out on the best manual transmission in the econo car class (while also paying an extra grand), period.

If one more Edmunds staff writer complains about the transmission I'm going to assume they bought a lemon, otherwise there is no way you could find fault with the Fit manual transmission.