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Hatchbacks Honda Fit Honda Fit
4728 messages, Last post on Nov 06, 2009 at 4:57 AM
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Replying to: vchiu (May 01, 2008 12:13 am) If so, don't they sell Fit's in europe? 
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Replying to: upstatedoc (May 02, 2008 9:40 am) This is representing nearly half of its second hand value and for this price I can already buy a modest car in France. The other point would be maintenance. The Chinese FIT is sold by Honda in Europe, but not the 1.5L model. What would happen if some 1.5 specific parts needed to be exchanged. I guess the honda workshops won't have 1.5 repair reference guide /manual so I speculate that there is a potential long term upkeep issue. I already have some old cars handy in France. a 1978 Citroen ami 8 (602cc , 32 hp) and a 1997 Peugeot 605. if really in trouble, I can borrow my mother's 1999 Nissan primera SW. I have wheels, so everything is pretty OK. I just need to work harder to spoil myself again with a car made in this century. |
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So I drove the Fit from Oakland to Tahoe (Truckee), then the next morning to Reno, all the way back to San Mateo, then back to Oakland. 200 miles without stopping the first day. The second day, 34 miles to Wal-Mart and a lunch, 34 miles back to Truckee to drop off my friends, then 240 miles down to San Mateo, then 40 miles back to Oakland. 548 miles in 2 days. The Fit is not my designated "freeway flyer" - the larger, quieter, albeit lower gas mileage Versa fills that roll. But I headed out the door with the wrong keys in my pocket and so the Fit got to "fit" that role this weekend. I got 39.44 mpg on the first refill, in Truckee, at about 254 miles (I had about 40 miles on the tank from my work commute when I left). My second refill was this morning at 330 miles and I got 36.67 mpg. I think the Truckee refill might have been a little light, and the Oakland refill a little heavy - there is a very slight variation on how aggressively the automatic shut off nozzles work. I think the Truckee one shut off a little easier, and the Oakland one a little later, than the pumps at the stations I usually use. I have a pretty keen sense of how long it should take for the needle to start coming off the "full mark," and after the Truckee fill it came off a little earlier. whereas I drove 40 miles to work this morning and the needle is still on "extra full." I suspect my next refill, at my normal station, will be a little higher than average mpg based on the fill variation. That having been said, the mileage is remarkably consistent - 38 mpg average for the two days, vs. 36-38 per tank from my commute plus side trips to the gym. What's remarkable is that the Fit delivered the stellar mileage of the past two days despite these "negatives" affecting fuel economy: 1. High speed up to Truckee - traffic was flowing 75-80 mph, vs 65-75 on my commute with some 50 mph flow. Higher speeds tend to burn up more gas, which is generally disguised by the fact that a constant high speed usually returns better gas mileage than lower speeds which more speed variations. 2. Hill climbing the 6,000 feet up to Truckee. 3. The next tank, loading up the car with my friends (220 pound guy, his 100 pound wife) and using throttle much more aggressively to maintain performance with the much heavier load. Also some aircon, since they complain about the temperature more than me. Also back up the grade from Reno to Truckee with them and the aircon. 4. 20 miles of thunderstorms and hail. 5. Back down on the flat lands, a lot of heat to the point where even I needed a lot of aircon, cycyling it on and off. (The aircon on the Fit is very strong, much better than my Echo or Scion xA.) 6. High speeds on the return too. So my 38.055 average mpg is pretty darn good. Don't forget Cali uses 10% ethanol (during winter months only? not sure) which cuts down available mpg. I really wonder what kind of mpg this would get on the flats, at 65 mph, no rain or wind, no air con. My guess is close to 40 mpg. Ok. The more interesting question. Is the Fit "freeway worthy?" How does it handle a 3 person plus shopping goodies plus trip stuff load? First, the Fit is much more freeway worthy than I thought. Here are my observations: (i) The car is very stable. It might FEEL twitchy, but that is because the steering is VERY responsive. Once you learn to have a more stable hand on the wheel, you discover a lot of the car's freeway twitchiness is due to the driver's inputs, not due to any inability of the car to hold a straight line. (ii) The car is susceptible to cross winds. Yeah, we all know when there is a lot of wind and a gust hits a light car, you will have to input a steering correction - feels like you are "bumped." But with the Fit, you often don't feel "bumps," but the car suddenly feels - twitchy. So there is that twitchiness again - and if you feel the car is skittish, check the foliage on the side of the road and see is there are some cross winds. (iii) The car runs easily at 80. It runs more easily at 80 at 2,000 miles than it does at 500 miles. The engine is small, tight, and high performing, and the engine noise and any residual "boom" go away as it wears in. It is NOT "buzzy" as was the Scion xA. You don't feel like you need to shift it up a gear, although looking at the tach you probablyl think you should. (iv) The car feels VERY solid and stable with passengers and light cargo load. It ISN'T limited to singles or light duty. I can't guarantee it will be so good with four football players in it, but two adults and a kid would be a breeze. It also has plenty of space - although this is incredibly small from the inside, I didn't feel "crowded" by my 6'2" friend. His wife was comfortable, with plenty of space, in the back seat behind him OR me (I'm the short one). (v) The single largest source of noise in the car, at freeway speeds, is the roar of the tires. When I hit a patch of newly resurfaced freeway, the noise level dropped significantly - very significantly. I would upgrade tires in a minute if I could be certain the replacement tires were quieter, but I'm afraid the tire noise is only partly due to the tires, most of it is coming in due to "light" sound insulation (I say this based on comparing, in memory, the noisiness of the factory Dunlops to the factory and after-market tires I put on my other cars). But the wind roar is minimal, and the engine noise is minimal. In absolute terms, I'd rate the noise level in the Fit, compared to other cars I've owned, like this: 2 Ford Focus, old version, also PT Cruiser, VW Golf (2001 and 2004) 3 Caliber, Scion xA 4 Fit 5 Versa, Cobalt 6 Impala 7 Odyssey Where the higher number is better. Ironically, the biggest single negative on my extended road trip was the lack of speed control, to give my right leg a periodic opportunity to stretch out and rest. How do I compare the Fit to Versa (I've already taken the Versa to L.A.)? The Versa is quieter and the cruise control is wonderful, but the car doesn't feel any more "solid." The Fit gets about 6 mpg more than the Versa, which is significant! The Versa cost about $3k less than the Fit, which is significant! So it's a toss-up at this point. However, if the 2009 addresses some of the current Fit's minor shortcomings (firm ride, freeway "twitchiness") it should hit the proverbial ball out of the park.
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Replying to: micweb (May 05, 2008 10:03 am) Great post, I may be transferring to a job with a 30 mile commute and the Fit is at the top of the list for my commuter. 98% of the commute will be hyw miles so a vehicle that is comfortable and gets great hyw mileage is key. 
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Replying to: micweb (May 05, 2008 10:03 am)
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Replying to: daniknight (May 06, 2008 3:33 am) The Fit is perfectly suitable for long highway stretches. However I guess its taller size is cause for lower MPG from 80 mph on, compared to flatter cars (Civic I guess)
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Replying to: vchiu (May 12, 2008 3:25 am)
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Replying to: thegraduate (May 12, 2008 12:01 pm) cruising at 80mph /130km/h is done with just above 3000rpm, which makes it good to live with. I guess the manual is much shorter. as a side note, my 1997 Peugeot 605 3.0 V6 with its outdated 4spd Automatic has its tallest gear at 25mph/1000 rpm, which is comparatively short and makes high speed highway journey not so relax. |
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Any Fit owners transport lawnmowers or snow blowers with the back seats flat? Looking to replace my MDX and don't think my local dealer would like it if I brought my lawnmower down and tried to shove it in there.  The replacement for my MDX has to be able to perform this function.
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Seriously, this was the headline from this morning: ALERT: Honda plans hybrid version of Fit TOKYO -- Honda's fuel-sipping Fit will turn an even deeper shade of green with new plans to launch a gasoline-electric hybrid version of the popular subcompact in the early 2010s. The hybrid Fit, announced here early today, will be the fourth hybrid from Honda Motor Co. by 2015, as the Japanese automaker chases rival Toyota Motor Corp. in the low-emission car race. Honda already was planning to roll out an all new dedicated hybrid vehicle early next year, to challenged Toyota's Prius, followed by a sporty hybrid and a redesigned Civic hybrid. The greener Fit's arrival dispels Honda's earlier skepticism about the viability of mounting pricey hybrid systems on small, low-priced cars that already get great mileage. You may have to register to view the whole article, but here's a link: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/ANA02/384600549/1186- - /emailblast02&refsect=emailblast02 The best part is their target cost is under $2000.
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