Picked up my base manual tranny Fit last Monday. I have just under 500 miles on it so far, not even through my 2nd tank of gas.

I bought it as a DD to replace two junk DD's I had. I also have 2 fair weather cars and a bunch of projects and toys. I'll probably be putting under 10k a year on the Fit, mostly in town as I'll still use my larger car for road trips. It's nice to have a DD that won't need constant attention and that has working A/C.

Of all the cars I looked at under the Clunkers program, the Fit was the most fun to drive, while still being very practical. None of the cars I looked at under the program were comfortable interstate cruisers or had decent power, and the Fit is no exception. My decision came down to the Versa, Civic, Fit, or Patriot. Even though I currently own 4 Toyota mini-trucks, none of Toyota's offerings impressed me.

So far there haven't been any pleasant surprises in Fit ownership, but that's just because I had all the good things figured out before buying it... Decent steering, fun to drive, nice shifter, roomy and useable interior, comfortable seat, good driving position, excellent visibility, relatively smooth and quiet engine (Patriot was the best, Corolla was the worst), reasonable ride/handling trade off (I prefer things on the sportier side), and good gas mileage.

Some things I will be fixing... I have HFP wheels and Dunlop Z1's on order, and depending on how the chassis feels after I bolt those on I may add a rear swaybar to fix the dreaded understeer I get in corners. I will be getting window tinting and keyless entry ASAP.

Disappointments...
Those pathetic o-rings they call tires. Every day I drive the car I hate the stock tires more and more. I just got home after driving through a heavy rainstorm. Going up a hill with heavy throttle in 3rd gear at about 40 mph I was getting a bunch of wheelspin and the front end was darting all over the place. Cornering in the dry is pathetic, and wet downright dangerous. I think my 7k lbs diesel truck sticks better in the corners when it's wet.

Cheap paint. I didn't know it could get worse than Chrysler paint... but Honda figured out a way. Looks decent, but durability isn't there. My car had 2 rock chips in the front bumper when I picked it up with 42 miles on it. The key is already rubbing the paint off the drivers door handle around the lock.

Horrible stock stereo. Most mid-80's cars have better units from the factory. I never turned the radio on when test driving because I don't care much about radios... but this is pathetic.

That damn button on the radio that reset all my presets! Still need to read the owner manual to figure out how to use that button properly.

Drive by wire throttle has horrible lag, especially when letting off between shifts. How am I supposed to shift smoothly between 1 and 2 when the RPM's hang at 3k for a couple seconds? How the RPM's drop during a shift is also inconsistant, so I have to watch the tach on every shift to see that the car is going to do this time. GM is the only car company that has done electric throttles correct.

Somewhat related to the above complaint... I wish the tach was easier to keep an eye on when driving. Check out a Porsche sometime.

Oh...I thought of one pleasant surprise. It's so small it's a breeze to wash! Way less tiring than my other cars.

MPG on my first tank was 35mpg despite the readout saying 45mph. Maybe the dealer didn't top the tank off? I'll know more when I fill up for the 2nd time. Currently reading 44.4mpg on the gage.

Overall, I can't wait to get the new wheels and tires on the car as that is the only huge complaint I have with it right now.

 

That damn button is an auto select button. When traveling outside the range of your presets you hit that button and it will scan for stations and put them in preset. To get your presets back when you get in your home area just hit the button again and your original presets will still be there.

 

Ok, cool. Still haven't gotten around to reading the owners manual

 

Congrats on the fit. However I am not pleased with the Cash For Clunkers program. When will our government learn that there is no such thing as a free lunch. We all will have to pay this back eventually. While I love all of you dearly I don't see why I should have to help subsidize some of your downpayments. The same way I don't think anyone should have to pay for my healthcare it's my responsiblity.

 

I hate the clunkers program, I had a 98 buick century with a bad exahst and my car didn't qualify because the government thought I should be getting 21mpg. Only ended up getting $100 for that car instead. What really pisses me off is the SUV restriction where its only 2 more mpg or some bullshit like that. A PT cruser counts as a suv under this program, yet my buick didn't. I am going to hate the tax increases that are going to hapen due to all of the money that obama is wasteing.

 

As an employed non-minority male who makes good financial decisions and doesn't get myself into a bind that I need bailed out of... I am more than happy to get some of my tax dollars back. This is the first time I've been able to call myself part of a 'special interest group'. Thanks to all the rest of you tax payers that helped buy my new Fit

And don't kid yourself... Clunkers program is not made to help people or stimulate the economy, it's all about scrapping 'gas guzzlers'. The rules of the program make that very clear. If it was made to stimulate the economy they would have a minimum US parts content and would include vehicles that had a large number of parts (transfer cases, V- engines, sunroofs, navigation, heated seats, etc.). If it was made to help people in need of a new car they would not have attached fuel economy requirements period. And if it was made to help people improve the efficiency of their cars they would not allow a car that gets 18 to be traded for one with 22 but allow one that gets 19 to be traded on something that gets 30mpg.

Welcome to socialism... enjoy the show.

Took the fit on a trip last night with 4 people. It's amazing that a 100 lbs girl jumping around in the back seat at 65mph can move the car the way it does. Unfortunately the trip took me down a very fun road to drive... still can't believe how bad the stock tires are on this thing. Can't wait till I get the new rubber installed on Saturday.

 

...not sure what you are used to, but I think the tires are a decent match for the Fit. Will I take it out on track day with stockies, no. But, I've run 'em on some fun two-lane, country road twisties where I live and they perform as expected....wet and dry. No 2 G turns, but hey...it's a FIT.

Try playin with tire pressures before you go throwin away a perfectly decent set of stock tires. Or send 'em to me

 

I'd take you up on the offer... buy my current plan is to run the stockers in the winter. Might be getting winter tires for the stock steelies instead though, I'm really disappointed in the wet grip of the stock tires and am rethinking how they'll do in snow.

Right now the Fit is unable to take corners any faster than my Toyota 4Runner or Dodge Ram. I know... hard to believe but after over a dozen runs up and down my favorite road I can't get the speed up in the Fit. I think the Caddy I swapped under the clunkers program may have been a little faster. All of those have decent rubber on them, which is a huge factor in hugging the turns. I was expecting a car to at least out handle my trucks, even with factory rubber! The Fit feels very fun and capable, I think it's just the tires really holding it back. If I can get it's cornering up to the level of my Impalas SS I'll be happy. I'm hoping with the Dunlop Star Specs I can spank the Impala through the twisties though This being my first FWD car, they certainly respond differently than RWD stuff than being thrown around, it'll take some getting used to.

I know how pressure can affect the handling as I've autocrossed the Impala and a couple 'loaner' cars, but the stock tires are so far off my expectations I didnt' want to waste the time. The front tires don't appear to be rolling over in the turns, they just start sliding before getting enough grip to roll over. I'll certainly be playing around with pressures on the new tires though.

Enough about tires though... going to put gas in it for the 2nd time tomorrow and see if the 43.8 mpg I'm seeing on the gage is anywhere near the truth

 

+1 to the people bouncing around in the back seat!! move the car alot.

Ive got the sport with the alloys and i dont have the same tire issues, on low speed (<40) curvey mtn roads i can hang every curve fast enough to make EVERY peice of anything sling around in the car and still feel stuck to the road.

 

Yeah, the tires may look small, but they are not for taking the twisties at high speed. They are for commuting and mileage. My Mustang was the same way till I got G-Force tires. The MPG meeter is for amusement only. Mine reads 4-5 mpg higher than I really get. I get 38-40 in town and about 37 on the highway at 75 mph with A/C blasting. Wider, stickier tires will cost mpg. That said, mine isn't that bad on the twisties of CA.

 

38.2 on the 2nd tank. i have no problem giving 8mpg of that up to get better grip

Yeah, the tires aren't meant to handle, I'm just surprised at how BAD they handle. When I was test driving I was going at what I thought was 8/10ths and the car felt really good. Only when I tried to push it after the purchse did I discover what I thought was 8/10ths driving was actually 10/10ths driving.

I can't find any road tests on the base Fit, but the sport pulls 0.80g, which isn't pathetic. My Ram 2500 4x4 does 0.76g, and that's about what the base Fit feels like. I'm hoping the new tires are good for at least 0.85g.

Nothing new to report... still enjoying driving around in the car for no reason. Still trying to get used to the lag in the electric throttle. I hope I don't keep this rate of mileage up or I'll put 20k on it in a year.

The only thing I'd do different is get the keyless entry done at purchase instead of the first oil change like I plan now. Living without it for the first couple thousand miles is torture! (yeah, I'm spoiled).

 

Who claimed that clunkers was a free lunch. I think anyone with a brain knows that we are all paying to 1) get car manufacturers (THE biggest single econ driver we have) ramped up again so that 2) everyone associated witht he manufacture, sale, lending for, and maintenence of cars will increase in employment which will 3) help speed an economic recovery which will 4) help all of us in the long run. I didn't even mention that it also helps the environment by getting better MPG cars on the road.

No one said this was a free lunch, just a wise investment that seems to be working the best out of all the stimulus plans we have seen so far. My salesman today said their sales have more than doubled since the clunker program came out.

 

NHSTA doesn't "think you shoudl be getting" ANY specific MPG. It used teh combined MPG fromt he time your car was new. Fairest way to do it withotu spending a bazillion bucks instituting a nation-wide system to have teh govt test what youa ctual MPG is now. Do something smart to save money while trying to get out of a recession and people SITLL hate you even while blaming you for wasting moeny. No pleaseing some people! :-)

 

+rep for the laugh




You can't spend your way out of a recession. Period.

With that being said even if you could spend your way out of a recession it sure as heck wouldn't be by giving people (basically) free money to spend on FOREIGN cars. You realize the fit is manufactured in Japan right?

Now, I personally have no moral qualms with sending my money to Honda. They make a superior product and they deserve my money so they can continue to produce products I will want in the future. Our economy will recover but it will be with time and patience not fruitless 'stimulus' plans.

You could have said it was only for the environment and that would be a decent argument. However, I happen to think that the environment is doing perfectly fine. Climate Change is very real but it is NOT caused by Man it is a part of a greater trend. Their is little credible evidence that carbon emissions actually cause any major effect on the climate. Being concerned for our 'supposed' effects on the environment and the corresponding 'crisis' is a trend that will come and go like all others but after it is over many people will have made huge profits off our gullibility.

 

OP said he bought the car as a DD. I am confused about his priorities.

 

Right... I'm going to be driving the car nearly every day, so I want it to be fun to drive. How is that confusing? If I didn't want something fun to drive I would have bought a Versa and saved some money.

 

Hooked On Obamanomics Wurked Fer Me!!!!!

Only new car I ever bought was a '75 AMC Pacer X, which I bought for myself after graduating from college. Always had good luck buying quality used, but this offer was too good to pass up. Never qualified for any gov't handouts, so I hopped all over this with both feet.

Going tomorrow morning to pick up my '09 Fit Sport MT.

Thanks Barack !! Drop by for a ride if you ever get out of DC.

 

Hooked On Obamanomics Wurked Fer Me!!!!!

Only new car I ever bought was a '75 AMC Pacer X, which I bought for myself after graduating from college. Always had good luck buying quality used, but this offer was too good to pass up. Never qualified for any gov't handouts, so I hopped all over this with both feet.

Going tomorrow morning to pick up my '09 Fit Sport MT.

Thanks Barack !! Drop by for a ride if you ever get out of DC.

 

Woohoo! Got the new tires on and am LOVING it!

With the handling, versatility, and hopefully reliability and low ownership costs, this should be a very easy car to live with.

Shop put some small scratches in the wheels mounting the tires... but I've come to expect such disappointment from most auto places. Can't see them from 3' anyways, so I won't let it bug me.