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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: ateixeira (Aug 16, 2009 3:51 pm) |
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| Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of the auto Web site Edmunds.com, says CFC came too late to help the dealers. I say bull. The dealers needed to get rid of excess inventory and they did. I'm tired of their whining. I've been following the Fit prices paid since March. Dealers sold off their excess inventory at above market prices and they did it in August when prices should have been coming down. CFC was wildly successful for the dealers, the buyers, and the environment. | |
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No VSA this year except on the Navigation model. How depressing, esp. after Toyota included stability control on every 2010 Yaris (per last Toyota press release). No visible changes or changes in specs. One tantalizing ad blurb on the "Performance" page - Metro Dynamo! A revised suspension makes it quick on the draw with shockingly sporty handling. But that's just a web blurb - can't tell whether handling on the 2010 was actually upgraded, possibly in response to magazine and web viewers who complained the second generation Fit doesn't handle as well as the first generation (at least as shipped to America) - or whether the "upgrade" refers to the first generation/second generation differences (which weren't an upgrade, in handling at least). The specs page shows a 17mm rear sway bar on the Sport but none on the Base; to get a real upgrade in handling, they'd need to add the sway bar to the Base and bump the tire size on both models from 175/185, respectively, to 195. Since the Sport actually rides a little harsh on the 16 inch wheels, while the Base tends to lean too much, it still looks like the sweet spot in handling and ride would be a Base model with 195 performance tires on the 15 inch rims plus an aftermarket rear sway bar to kill the lean without making the ride too harsh (the diameter of the 195 tire upgrade, assuming you do a 60 profile, matches the stock tire).
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Replying to: micweb (Aug 26, 2009 2:56 pm) |
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I had an 08 Fit MT (base) that I no longer have (traded it in for a 7-seater) and currently have an 09 Fit Sport and thus can provide my views on both versions. A little bit of background on how I replaced my 08 Fit and managed to snag an 09....I paid a little less than $15K for my base 08 Fit MT and traded it in, a year and 17,000 miles later, for $12,000 flat ! After having traded it in and when I drove off the dealer's lot with my new 7-seater AWD vehicle (which we need in my neck of the woods), I felt rotten at having let the versatile and fuel-sipping Fit go. It almost felt like abandoning a child at a stranger's location and I could not sleep the whole night, just thinking of not having a Fit in the garage. I went back a couple of days later, shelved my plans to get a high-performance car and bought an 09 Fit Sport. Now all is well with the world, with a Fit in the garage. Whew !  For my 08 Base, I bought some take-off "Sport" 15" rims with the 195 tires and thus drove extensively with the Sport 15" rims/tires and also the "Base" 14" rims with the narrower 175 tires. My opinion is that the 15" rims of the 08 sport with the 195mm wide tires were definitely grippier and was more confidence inspiring in the turns (when compared to the 14"/175mm tires of the "Base" model) but rode a bit harsher and even more importantly, extracted a whopping 3-5mpg penalty on the car. That was significant. I of course swapped the base wheels back onto the car before trading it in and still have the 08 15" Sport wheels (with TPMS sensors) lying at home and might sell it off on fitfreak.net shortly. Now to come to my impression of the 09 Fit Sport MT.... The car immediately feels more "substantial", considerably more stiffer (in a good way) and more planted than the 08 Fit versions. The handling is definitely more confidence inspiring when compared to the 08 and feels distinctly sporty. The Civic-SI sourced steering on the 09-Fit-Sport feels right at home. However, I liked the shifter-feel of the 08s WAY more than the 09s, since IMO, the 08s had the classic Honda snickety-snick feel while the 09s feel a bit less so with a dry-rubby feel....I am hoping it is a matter of needing to get used to it a bit more. Overall I am VERY impressed with the 09s and hope to keep it around for a while and not have to go through the trauma of not having a Fit in the garage. 
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Replying to: aaykay (Oct 07, 2009 9:26 am) Well and if Honda had quieted down the Fit a little more. It still gets bad marks from the usually accurate Consumer Guide online ratings for noise levels, and that was borne out by my '09 test drives. I am, alas, not completely happy with the Nissan Cube I bought. The CVT is FANTASTIC but the blockiness of the car means I get a fair amount of wind noise. More significantly it is prone to getting buffeted by strong crosswinds, which are rare but not as rare as my previous cars would have led me to believe (they didn''t get squirrelly the way the Cube does). Anyway I just bought at Subaru Impreza '09 sedan on close out on a "can't refuse" deal -it is quiet, accelerates strongly - BUT - it doesn't have the nimble feel of the Honda Fit second gen. Oh well. I don't think I could have justifed a return to a Fit even if they had fitted it with stability control - the reason I bought the Subaru is for hauling the family around this year and upcoming years to go skiing and visit winter Yosemite. So I really need AWD at this point. I drove the Cube to work this morning, in a cross wind free environment, and it brought a smile to my face. It is zippy and handles surprisingly well. Maybe if I can justify keeping a mini-fleet of cars, I will keep the Cube until my stepdaughter can drive. Otherwise I will have to sell it. But I definitely still have Fit fever. My 2008 was one heck of a fun daily driver, and got awesome gas mileage, and the flat floor with nice rear seat meant I could easily haul 3 small kids in the back - and it was cross wind terror free. How many small cars can do that. Sigh. I definitely still have Fit fever. I wonder if I can keep the Cube until the 2011's come out with stability control? And trade the Cube in on a 2011 Fit?
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Replying to: micweb (Oct 07, 2009 9:47 am) Interestingly, I traded in my 08 Fit for a Subaru Tribeca 7-passenger version and traded in my 07 Subaru WRX wagon for the 09 Honda Fit. The WRX is a great handler but the Fit, with its light structure and overall "smallness" is no slouch....at least the 09 "sport" version. I personally think such small 1.5L type engines require a manual trans for maximum efficiency, than have the barely adequate power being sapped by the Torque-converter equipped Automatic. Also, I *never* got less than 35mpg and several times over 40mpg, in my 08 Fit in mixed driving conditions.....I don't use any of the "hypermiling" techniques that several people seem to be fond of using, other than the fact that when steady-state cruising or when going downhill, I coast - at or a little over 5mph over the posted limit - with the clutch fully pressed in. The 09 Fit is still being broken in, but based on the partial fillups I did, I got 35.4mpg calculated (36.6mpg as per the computer).....and this is with the fuel sapping break-in driving with constant rpm changes....very, very encouraging.  The only unusual thing I do in my Fit, is that I like putting Shell or BP premium fuel than the regular fuel that the manufacturer says is okay, primarily since this is a fairly high compression engine at 10.4:1 and thus can take advantage of premium. My original intention was to replace the 07 WRX wagon with one of the remaining 09 Subaru WRX STIs but the Fit finally won out, and I am not un-happy.
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Replying to: aaykay (Oct 07, 2009 1:48 pm) The Impreza 2.5i four door has a great engine, but the springs are too soft (or the shocks) because it has too much body roll - it wallows - but it has AWD and handles reasonably decently. I've just been spoiled by better handling cars ('09 Focus, the Rabbit, the '08 Fit). Consumer Reports gives the Impreza the "best small car ride" ever gold star, but I wish it had a little more of the WRX DNA in it. Being a cheapskate and intending to live a long time, I think you made a better choice going with the '09 Fit. But see if you don't eventually come around to agreeing with me that stability control isn't just the wave of the future, it's at least as essential as power windows. I think my corner carving abilities are just fine, and I never push to the point of any drifting or tire drama, but it's nice to know there is an electronic nanny to help me out if I miscalculate slightly (I realize stability control can only help so much) or hit a patch of gravel or something else slippery, like water or ice. The new Subarus are very cool, from the Impreza and Forester introduced last year, to the Outback this year. They framed the windows, quieted them down, and of course no one has a better reputation for AWD than them. But I still like the Fit. |
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Replying to: micweb (Oct 07, 2009 2:18 pm) Yeah, the WRX pushes the handling envelope quite a bit over the base Impreza. It has got stiffer suspension all around (without being harsh), beefier stabilizer bars front and rear, significantly more quicker steering with better feel, wider and lower profile tires, Turbo high-revving DOHC boxer engine and a variety of other things that make it feel like a totally different car than the base Impreza. The STI pushes the chasm even wider. It has even more stiffer (and different) suspension around and differs from the WRX and other Imprezas in having Aluminium suspension bits and also different geometry for the front struts. Unlike the rest of the Imprezas (including the WRX) who have open differentials in the front/rear, the STI has a mechanical Helical differential in the front and a Torque-sensing (torsen) differential in the rear. Also, unlike the rest of the manual-transmissioned Subarus (including the WRX and Legacy GT), who employ a cheaper viscous coupling type center differential, the STI employs a beefy mechanical Planetary-gear-based Center Differential that operates hand-in-hand with electronically controlled but hydraulically actuated Transfer clutches and drives with a majority of the power/torque going to the rear wheels (but can swiftly transfer more to the front - or the sides - if conditions require it). Of course the 6-speed of the STI is WAY more beefier and can take WAY more power than comes stock, unlike the less able WRX transmissions or even the daintier 6-speed employed in the Legacy GT. The 4-piston brembo brakes and dual-piston brembos that the STI employs in the front and rear are WAY more beefier and WAY more capable than the ones that come with the WRX, with larger and more denser rotors that can absorb a LOT more heat to maintain the braking efficacy for longer. Of course that also means that the wheels have to be larger and wider in the STI (18x8.5 vs 17x7 of the WRX) to accomodate the larger brakes.....along with 245mm wide tires vs 225 of the WRX. The HIDs that the STI gets (over all other Imprezas) is just an additional aside. People mistakenly think the difference between the WRX and the STI is a little bit of extra power in the STI but the reality is entirely different. The STI stands alone, and all other Subarus (including the WRX) stands separate from it. Being a cheapskate and intending to live a long time, I think you made a better choice going with the '09 Fit. But see if you don't eventually come around to agreeing with me that stability control isn't just the wave of the future, it's at least as essential as power windows. I think my corner carving abilities are just fine, and I never push to the point of any drifting or tire drama, but it's nice to know there is an electronic nanny to help me out if I miscalculate slightly (I realize stability control can only help so much) or hit a patch of gravel or something else slippery, like water or ice. Agreed that Honda should have included the stability control into the Fit and it is a definite plus over not having it. But having driven vehicles with and without it, I guess I don't miss it too terribly, since I just drive within the car's dynamic limits, and don't push excessively beyond it. I managed just fine with the 08 Honda Fit in Minnesota winters, even without Snow tires....and the conditions last winter was especially harsh.
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Replying to: micweb (Oct 07, 2009 2:18 pm) We have an 09 Forester but I helped pay for my mom's Fit so I guess I'm part owner of that. 
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