Having owned a CVT with sport mode in our previous altima 3.5SE, I have to say, there is a HUGE difference between a CVT in sport mode and a manual Trans. the 3.5SE is probably the Sportiest car with the CVT Period. I traded it for the Fit and I went from "riding" to work to "Driving" to work on a daily basis. The CVT in sport mode was great in two areas. Downshifting as you were coming into a town and when on cruise control as it never had to drop a gear, it just adjusted the ratio slightly when going up hills. It was also periodically useful in corners as you could hold a slightly higher "gear" making the car stronger when exiting out of a corner - although this wasn't always true. The CVT was faster to 60 and more responsive in fully automatic mode. I think if it had paddle shifters, it would have been better but still not up to being on par with the 6sp.

Grew up off exit 36 (basking ridge/warrenville) on 78 and my roommate in college was from P-burg. Dad grew up in Hellertown & Bethlehem and my grandmother's in Allentown.

~SB

 

I guess I was very fortunate when I went shopping for a Fit. Of course, that was last spring and inventories were at record levels. I went to my local dealer, asked the salesman if they had, or could get, a Fit Sport manual. He said, "we have one on the showroom floor". Out of 21 Fits, they had one Sport manual. It was in Orange Revolution (my first color choice), and I bought it on the spot (well, after a test drive in a base manual).

Remember, when you buy an automatic, you weaken the country!

 

yayyy! now we know your family history! haha

 

The P-Burg kids always claimed it had the most bars per square mile of any town in the US.

Warren County is a beautiful area, too.

 

I found mine on Autotrader. I wanted a 2009 Taffeta white manual with navigation and I found it. It is a Honda certified used. It only had 9k miles when I got it. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nanchang_express/3850882840/" title="fronts by Nanchang Express, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2494/3850882840_822d63ae10.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="fronts" /></a>

 

Reading between the lines here, one would think that ATs are driven by mature, thoughtful, responsible and easygoing adults,
while MTs are driven by speed crazed boy-racers who need to peel away from stoplights (thereby wasting fuel like crazy,) in order to prove their manhood via their self-perceived superior driving skills!!

And all this is probably true!
However since I have two cars, with one each of these trannys, I get to enjoy both experiences!

Gotta say however, I find the AT Fit is still a better and more fun car to drive than my nifty '03 Toyota Echo MT. I think it's because the 2010 Fit has a far better (and more sportier) suspension and stance. The Echo is very light and flickable, and it's fun matching the gears with it's small motor to buzz around with. But neither the Echo's tires nor it's softer suspension are up to the kind of handling a small light MT car like this should have, IMO... (Handling, which the AT Fit definitely does have)

Neither of my cars are a Porsche.
And I don't mind a bit.
Because both are capable of doing the things I want and need them to do, using, by today's standards, minimal MPGs! (Something important to us as a family...)
The Echo is fun around local twisties (as is the Fit also), is good for local errands and shopping jaunts, and makes the 14 mile backroads ride to church more enjoyable. It's my wife's preferred mode of transportation.. .

But for longer trips, say from NJ to Maine (or even from north Jersey, 100 miles to south Jersey,) we'll take the easier driving, more comfortable, superior handling auto-tranny Fit everytime!! it's got much longer legs! (And much better leg room!!)

So IMO what it all boils down to is this; one can argue AT vrs MT until they're blue in face, but really it's simply a matter of personal preference, and also what kind of driving best suits the person, the occasion, and the varied conditions!

 

well. if i was interested in proving my manhood, i wouldn't have purchased such a "cute lil honda fit awhh so cute"

that's the response from everyone who has seen it so far. hahaha

In the end, MT or AT, we all have a Fit! So at least we can agree on that!

 

My wife is 5"0" tall drives the speed limit or a little less has only had only one ticket, no accidents since getting her license 41 years ago and will be 59 years old in 10 days.... She absolutely will not own a car with an automatic transmission.... The only thing that could remotely appear to be macho about her is that she is very proficient with firearms....She's baking some cookies for me right now.

 

Must be a control thing...

 

I have posted in other threads that women with control issues prefer to drive standard shift cars.... The only negatives of the A/T presently used in the Fit is the heat that is generated by it and the parasitic power drain on an engine as small and curb weight as high as that of the USDM Fit....I hate to think how much it would suck to be driving one so equipped in Houston during rush hour traffic in July or August with it loaded down with passengers.

 

I must have control issues ;-)

 

this made me laugh at my desk.

boss is pissed.

 

Well I am a 37 year old women, who has not had a speeding ticket in over 10 years and I prefer a MT.

Like others I was very disappointed to find in no MTs in my area. (I also had the same problem at Toyota dealerships.) In the end I ordered mine (it also had to be Blackberry Pearl), so I have to wait until mid January. I have driven the same car for 16 years (Toyota Corolla, 270K miles), so I figured I could wait a few more months.

To those who don't have a preference, or maybe even want an automatic you may try using the lack of manuals as a bargining chip. One of the dealers in my area offered me an automatic for a manual price.

 

As long as a person's control issues are are displayed in other than interpersonal relationships it is a good thing..... Especially when the control is exercised over things that can kill or maim someone.

 

The automatics pad the dealer profit. It's that simple.

 

By the time you get to my age (58), you will learn just how little control you have over the most important aspects of your life. In '06, the Susquehanna River experienced the worst flood on record. I had to flee my home and my workplace was flooded. I learned I have no control over the weather, and everything you've worked your whole life for can be lost in a matter of hours. Last year, when the economy collapsed, I learned that despite my best efforts, I have no real control over my financial security. Despite what they imply on TV, no amount of diet and exercise can control my blood pressure or cholesterol, either.

About the only thing I can control is my own car, and now I'm not supposed to do that either? No doubt, the day will come when I can't drive a manual due to failing health, but I'm going to fight it as long as I can.

 

administration fees and paying too much in general pad dealer's profits. How does an automatic do this? Just curious.

 

Simple, an automatic adds $800 to the price of the car. I refuse to believe that an automatic transmission costs Honda $800 more to manufacture than a standard and clutch. The bottom line is more profit for Honda and their dealers.

 

Honda perhaps. The only way it could add to the dealer's profit is if you paid too much.

Personally, with people paying $200 for mats. $2000 for navigation, I don't see how the mechanics and controls for an auto at $800 are out of line. I wonder what it costs to build a Fit?

 

there's more than just the transmission that goes into an auto. There are alot of Electronics and Wiring harnesses (especailly when you get to the fit sport). There are Paddle Shifters to add (and any programming that goes into the computer to adequately control the transmission). Is it $800 more? I doubt it... but it's defintely not $400-$500 in pure profit. especially not for the dealer.

~SB