Owned the 2008 for 5K then realized my mistake and did a quick trade up to a 2009 Orange Sport. After putting 15K on it I gotta tell you that the difference between the two cars is dramatic. Both were really great cars but the 09 is truly an amazing piece of technology. Leave it to Honda to beat the only real competition out there namely Toyota. I can squeeze almost 40MPG if needed or can simply have a blast driving this sucker and STILL get over 30 MPG.
The comfort level in the 2009 has really increased significantly over the 2008 and the car is ALOT quieter regarding road and engine noise. Handling has also been improved significantly, losing that small car feel. With the 2009 you never feel like your driving a small car at all. That in itself is one Hell of an engineering feat. Some people actually thought the engine shuts down like a hybrid it is so quiet.
I live in Florida and I have seen MAYBE 2 dozen Fit's in the last 6 months but not a single orange and it is unbelievable how many people ask me about the car and also compliment it, particularly the color and styling. They also LOVE the Rolling Stones Tongue I placed on the back, under the "Fit" logo. I have owned ALOT of cars, many over 50K and I gotta tell you this "low budget" Honda is truly one of my favorites.
With the miles I drive I will probably need to sell or trade in 3 years and unless Toyota comes up with something better I will be buying another one of these suckers!

 

When did you do your first oil change? Have you switched to syntheic or just regular?

 

How 'bout a picture of the emblem with the Rolling Stones tongue? I'd love to see it. Love the '09.

Cheers

 

I ALWAYS full synthetic on all my cars, I dump at 5K but the most important aspect of any oil change is the oil filter. It is the "weak link" so to speak since you can put the finest racing oil in a car then put a Fram or other low budget trash filter in and you have just wasted your time since filters are key to the lubrication system of any engine.
I personally use the Purolator Pure One filter since they have received rave reviews and exceed the OEM filters in terms of quality and performance. It is also nice to have the rough finish on the exterior of the filter housing so you can grab the filter with oily hands. OEM filters are certainly a god choice as well but the Pure One is easier to get, cheaper, and superior.

 

Which synthetic do you use? I have a friend who is an independant distributor for AMSOIL and he said it's great but my other friends swear by Royal Purple.

 

Frankly I think both are too expensive and troublesome in terms of purchase for a daily driver. Mobil 1 is more than sufficient for this type of engine and you can get it just about anywhere. Castrol full synthetic will also do the job easily. I dump my oil at 5K but trust me, with a quality filter I could easily run 10K with no concerns. They use synthetics in truck engines that are designed to run for 100,000 miles. The oil does not break down. The concern is particulate matter. This is why a quality oil filter is so important. Your filter will fail before your oil in other words.
Just my 2 cents but save your money, buy Mobil 1 and a Pure 1 filter and put the rest into a new air filter or something else of importance that offers engine protection.

 

"losing that small car feel. With the 2009 you never feel like your driving a small car at all."

im not sure about this statement. our 09 feels pretty small. my cooper-s which
is much smaller than my 09 feels bigger and more stable (and more capable). the
AT on our 09 makes the rpm lower vs my 08MT so it feels quieter.

 

The Fit feels roomier than my 2000 Civic sedan did. I think it's because of the height difference.

 

absolutely agree. i had a 00 hb myself back in the days as my dd.
the FitS feels quite bigger then that.

 

I understand that everyone has different tastes but I owned a Mini Cooper and sold it in less than 30 days. Absolutely hated the car. I got suckered into all the hoopla that the car mags wrote on the car. The ergonomics were a nightmare. In order to lower the window you had to use a toggle on the dash etc. The gauges looked cartoonish and were not easy to get used to. I also thought the steering was so heavy that it simply was not enjoyable in any way.
The only feature we liked was the fact we were able to place large items in the back. The Fit blows away the Mini IMHO. I know that many, many, people would disagree but if you offered me an even swap I would keep my fit any day. I kept on reading about all the fantastic write ups on the car but the bottom line was that I simply hated it and to this day I don't understand why Car and Driver etc. like the car so much.
Yes it is pretty cool looking but the power plant is/was made in Brazil if memory serves me correctly and certainly does not have the build quality of the Honda engine. I also don't need premium gas and the Fit is many thousands less.
Don't mean to trash the Mini and I am probably in the minority, many people absolutely love them but I would take a Fit AND an ORIGINAL Mini any day and it would probably run about the price of a new "S" depending on the condition of the original Mini. They are pretty damn expensive for what you get IMO.

 

I completely agree with you about the Mini. It's a cute go-kart type fun to drive car, and most of all it's about its style, but that's about it. A friend of mine told me her Mini was only getting 17 mpg in L.A. driving. She heard from other Mini owners that they were disappointed with their mileage as well.

I would choose the Fit over MANY many higher priced cars out there. It's simple one of the best cars in the world.

Funny about what you said about people thinking it's a hybrid since the engine seems like it's off at idle. Really amazing. I've owned 2 Accord Coupe V6s and as quiet and vibration-free as they were, the Fit is even better.

+1 rep

 

Plus premium gas!!! (Always a deal killer for me...)

 

like a fart in the wind.

hahaha.

 

It's funny you mention that. I live in Tampa as well and have not seen another purple 09 Sport yet. What's even funnier is the house I'm moving to over in Northdale has two prior model Fits. An orange and a silver. When my girlfriend and I went over to the house this past weekend, we had my purple 09 Sport and her blue 09 Sport there and both Fits across the street. Four Fits on the same street!

 

I also agree that the mini cooper is not that great... I went and test drove one and I mean its fast I guess but I hated the speedo where it looks like a clown car and the back seat is just useless... Also on consumer report the mini cooper S model has gotten a below than average for reliability. And it also takes premium.. The dealer said the cooper s I was looking at was like $27,000 for all the stuff it came with, including the sports suspension. And then I was thinking I could easily buy the fit and not finance it, so I went wit the Fit

 

I agree on the filter. You need a quality filter (READ: NOT Fram!!!). I am currently using PureOne, but after this go around, I will give it the boot. At the time I purchased it, I did not know that they used leaf springs. To my knowledge, Amsoil and WIX both use coil springs, which are more dependable. On my last oil change, I had Amsoil oil and their Ea filter and had great UOA results. This go around, I have Royal Purple and PureOne. Not sure what the results will be. Next change, I am going with a WIX and Valvoline Synthetic. I think it will come down to Amsoil and WIX for a filter. If the results are close, WIX will be the choice, due to the cost. If cost weren't a factor, the Amsoil Ea filters are AWESOME!

 

The interior of the 2009 is indeed comfy... and i would of got it myself. Too bad the canadian model dun have navi and the USDM front fender of fit 09s are tooo long~

 

damn, looks like im the only one that actually owns all 3 (GD3, GE8, R53) and luv
them all.... for wat they are.

 

go ahead and call me a noob or whatever but whats a r53?

 

I do believe it is the chassis code for one of the newer Mini's. Just like the GD3 is for the older Fit or E30 is for the car that Jesus Christ drives.