I put the Fit through its paces this weekend, subjecting it to three wide-ranging scenarios, some enjoyable, some not. In the end, the Fit earned five thumbs.
Friday evening: L.A.'s obscene rush hour traffic -- Two thumbs up.
The Fit's easy clutch and gearshift efforts kill the "I'd rather have an automatic transmission in the city" argument that so many people "automatically" make. The Fit's light, precise and progressive setup bolsters the "manual gearbox is more responsive and fun" argument. You barely notice the clutch effort and can flick the stick through the gates with two fingers.
Saturday evening: A 60-mile (round-trip) freeway run from Culver City to San Pedro -- One thumb up.
The Fit cruises at 75 no problem. But though the engine is commendably smooth at higher revs, a sixth gear would be nice to lower those revs and the cabin noise.
Sunday: A run through twisty canyon roads in Malibu, followed by a run down the PCH -- Two thumbs up.
The eager, thrash-free engine, buttoned-down chassis and communicative (for the segment) steering were enough to give me grins and a few reminders about the speed limit from my girlfriend.
stephen987 says:
04:03 PM, 08/ 3/09
I just bought the same car, only without the silly NAV system. I agree with your "five thumbs" rating completely. Other than the ride over expansion strips, I haven't yet found anything to dislike. It handles beautifully in a "hot-hatch" way--not really a sports car, per se, but great fun to toss through a set of esses. It almost demands to be driven more aggressively than the Civic EX that it replaced as my daily driver.
A road trip awaits, though. And that's sure to reveal a flaw or two.
felonious says:
05:18 PM, 08/ 3/09
My wife and I test drove a Fit over the weekend. If they would have had the color+trim combo we wanted, we might be Fit owners today. The lack of 6th gear was our only (minor) complaint as well.
stephen987 says:
05:26 PM, 08/ 3/09
If there had been one available in red or blue, I probably would've chosen that over the "orange revolution" color scheme. But the orange has one tremendous advantage: "You idiot, you couldn't see something that was five feet tall, six feet wide, and ORANGE?"
siarizona says:
07:37 PM, 08/ 3/09
I have an 09 Fit, and will be taking a 575 mi trip each way, 1x per month. It's definitely not the *best* freeway car, but thankfully the stereo can overcome the cabin noise, except on rough pavement. I got 35 mpg at +5 over the posted speed limit, 70-75, and plan for a speed run this weekend at 10-15 mph over. Expecting sub-30 mpg. Would love to be in the 135, M3, or any other larger displacement/higher torque car.
stephen987 says:
05:56 AM, 08/ 4/09
@siarizona: please report back on the results of your experiment. I have found that higher shift points (4000-4500 rpm rather than the 3000 I used in traffic in my old Civic) improve my in-town mpg. At least if the gauge reading is any indication. (Yes I know the gauge is optimistic in absolute numbers, but it should still show relative trends well enough.)
selden says:
12:31 PM, 08/ 6/09
5th gear in the Fit Sport AT has much higher gearing than the MT, turning only about 2500 rpm at 70 mph -- 500 rpms less than my Subaru Forester, which has a liter larger engine. At highway speeds in sport mode the downshift when one presses the accelerator seems smaller than in auto; if I want more acceleration ("more" being a relative term in a Fit), I can blip the paddle shifter twice to put it in 3rd. All in all, I'm very pleased with the sport AT5 transmission; I don't have to worry about my wife burning out clutches, and I still get the fun of "shifting" gears -- which is actually useful on mountain roads.