hello all

interested in a 2nd gen Fit and i have a few questions related to highway driving.

how does the fit perform on the highway? how does it handle passing at highway speeds? what about road noise at (or around) 80 mph? engine RPMs? what are MPGs for people who do mostly highway driving?

i am going to use this car for a somewhat longish daily commute. my frame of reference is the average econo sedan (civic, corolla, etc.) both as far as power and road noise. i like to cruise 65-75 but sometimes need a little more for passing something that my current car (2000 honda CRV) is not really all that suited for since it's a torqueless wonder like the other cars i'm seriously considering (the scion xB and the nissan versa).

road noise is especially important because i do most of my driving on the highway and it is really torturous to be in a noisy car for an hour each way five times a week.

i haven't test driven the new Fit yet but in the mean time i was hoping to get some more comments from you all

thanks

 

I've been pleased with it the times I've had it on the highway.

Haven't really attempted any quick passing.

Wind noise is pretty subdued. At 65 the engine noise is very low. By 70 you hear the engine a bit more. Keep in mind that's on the MT, the AT spins at lower revs than the MT due to difference in gearing.

Our MT Sport got ~37mpg (hand calculated) on the one highway trip we've taken

My only complaint about the Fit on the highway (well, besides not having a 6th gear) is I wish the steering ratio was a little slower. The quick steering requires very small, precise corrections compared to other cars. You get used to it but it can make the car feel darty in the beginning.

 

It seems to do pretty well on the highway, IMHO. Of course, it IS a small, lightweight car and subject to some pretty good buffeting if you are dealing with a highway frequented by a lot of 18 wheelers. But that is no better and no worse than any small car.

Aside from that, it gets good gas mileage, reasonable acceleration and wind noise is decent.

Bottom line - I have no complaints regarding the car's highway behavior.

JMO.

 

I have almost an hour commute each day as well. The post above describes engine noise with the manual transmission, the AT idles over 1k RPM's less at the same speeds, so it's significantly more quiet, test drive both and take both a MT and AT up to 75 or 80, the choice for you commute will become clearly evident.

 

For the AT, seems like 70 is the best cruising speed for fuel economy, noise, etc. Engine RPM around 2500. It gets close to 3000 at 80, FE goes down, noise goes up, things are a little less relaxed. Passing power involves dropping gears.

 

I also commute for an hour or more each day, each way. I agree with TXMATT on the handling. It is a bit "twitchy". It really becomes apparent in a strong crosswind. The wind noise is not that noticable, and you can carry on a conversation on a headset easily. There are a couple of places on my commute where there is a more pronounced road noise. It is mainly due to the texture of the concrete surface. Last month I drove to New Orleans and back and it was one of the most comfortable quiet trips I can remember. Much more than my truck.

 

Yes, the crosswind susceptibility is due to:

- Tall, slab sided sides
- Light weight
- Narrow tires

 

I'll be the one to say I do not like driving the fit on the highway. We drove from Ohio to South Carolina last month and while I was comfortable the whole time I felt the noise was too much. My Dodge Ram with off road tires is quieter than the Fit on the highway (but gets about 30 miles per gallon less ). Also the engine was at too high of rpm it seemed while driving 80. When in West Virginia in the mountains it was horrible driving on the highway. Seemed the rpms were over 4000 the whole time. I had wanted to do an exhaust on the Fit but after the trip me and the wife decided no way. I was pleased though with the pick up it had when passing people. That really surprised me. We also drove straight for 13 hours though so I'm sure 1 hour would not of bothered me.

 

at 4000 rpm you would have to be going 100 mph or in fouth gear. My wife cares nothing for speed and notises little about cars. I asked her one day how the new car was and she said it must reallly like the cold weather. I asked her to look down at the gearshift...sure enough she was in sport mode. Your rpms may vary...THUNDER

 

Highway performance is great!

1) Passing is great.
2) Road noise is not bad at all. (80MPH)
3) RPM at 3K (80MPH)
4) MPG - Averaging 36

Only Con: Wandering

 

Here's what I've noticed for my carefully driven 5MT, now done 2500 miles in one month. Over 85% freeway.
1> At 80mph you are close to or at 4k RPMs
2> Your best mileage/speed is around the 65mph mark. You can EASILY do over 40mpg on the average, closer to 45, but this differs by 5-10% from hand-calculated values, which is still ok. Hybrids are proud of 45.
3> I can pass people quickly, sometimes a downshift to 4th is recommended. I came from a V6 A4, so I miss the 5th gear accel afforded by the torque but am more than happy with what this tiny 4 cyl engine offers. Quite surprised. I think the low weight helps a lot. ANyhow, I don't pass quickly and let others pass me, I've become the one of the most prescient, stable and steady drivers on the freeway, increasing mileage while not impacting commute times by more than 5% simply by predicting traffic better.
4> If there's moderate to heavy traffic ont he freeway with some crawl and go, my mileage actually goes UP . Of course this requires discipline and some detachment ability so you don't respond to the urge to accelerate but rather coast continuously (e.g. 30mph or so in 4th of 5th). Once I pulled into the freeway in traffic having filled up right before and kept a 50mpg average before hitting the city. Of course I couldn't keep that up, it would take too much effort. But you get the point.

 

Add to previous post:
5> I also noticed the excessive steering assist at higher speeds, would have been nice to use more human muscle to make direction changes.
6> Road noise is at a decent level. Exceeds expectations.
7> Does get jolted around a little by other big trucks when you pass them or they pass you. Nothing too serious.

 

I agree with spinlooproll on the assessments. I have just over 2K miles (mostly highway) on mine now, and I've been pleasantly surprised on the highway. No problems passing, but road noise is a wee bit higher than I'd like (lack of extra insulation on flooring I think) and there is some buffeting from high winds or large trucks. Nothing scary, though.

 

One option to cut down on the road noise is to rip out the seats and "carpet" and lay some dynomat or other sound deadening material. I always wanted to try that on one of my vehicles...just kind of a big project, and I just end up dumping the money into a louder sound system... Overall it's about as quiet as my 2000 Avalon was so, I am impressed with it as is!

 

- Electric assist steering ratio: IMO, it's too quick at freeway speeds. The assist needs to be re-profiled. Note this is coming from a person who owns three sports cars with very fast steering (my 914's steering is crazy fast and it's less twitchy at 80 mph than my Fit!).

 

Recent road trip from Atlanta to Knoxville proved a good experience. Definitely not as quiet on the interstate as my BMW 5-Series, nor as quiet as my gf's '08 Accord 4D EX AT, but very tolerable. Even at 80mph, I was quiet impressed. For $17k +/-, you can't beat it.

 

Is the ratio actually variable? My understanding is that the power steering assist is of the electric as opposed to hydraulic variety but the ratio was still a fixed gear.

Future steer-by-wire systems could solve this with the ability to map different/varying ratios, but say goodbye to steering feel if there's no longer a mechanical connection between tire and wheel.

 

You're probably right that it doesn't have variable-ratio, I just looked at the spec sheet and it looks fixed ratio. My mistake, coming from more pricey cars. Regardless, it sure takes a microscopic amount of input when going 80 mph to get a significant response. I have to really relax to drive it smoothly at speed, but that just might be my problem.

The issue also might be related to the suspension design and settings. Perhaps the caster angle is a bit steep, or toe-in is minimal (usualy the case on econoboxes to reduce scrubbing losses).