I had a 2010 Fit Sport, and was talked into getting a 2012 Ford Focus HB by family members (buy American, 40mpg, etc...). I got the Focus in October of 2011, and it has 6600 miles, been back to the dealer 4 times for various issues, gets 22-24 mpg, the "leather" rear seats are falling apart because I had the gall to lower em and try to carry something in the back, and the transmission is weird (CVT auto?). Sometimes the pickup is good, but other times it will lurch a bit, and most unnerving is trying to take an unprotected left from a stop when I hit the gas and...nada. A full 1-1.5 seconds before there is *any* forward motion at all.

Bottom line, I miss my old Fit, and am going to the 'ol Honda dealer Saturday to see if I can get back in a Fit, upside down or not. I can drive a stick, and would love the extra pick-up, but it will have to be the automatic, since my commute is 10 miles of bumper to bumper highway gridlock.

Wish me luck, as I am wayyyy upside down on the Ford...easily the worst car purchase I ever made.

...and as an aside, if anyone has a stop-and-go commute like I do, could you share your MPG?

Thanks!

 

Never buy american....There all made in mexico anyway. Funny thing is all the Japanese and Korean cars are made in america

 

I get over 34 in Boston stop & go traffic. I have a 2010 with AT. Traded in a Ford Explorer Sport Trac that was getting 16 mpg.

 

Thanks for the info!

Thinking about my old Fit did give me one bad flashback though....$900 repair bill because rodents ate the wiring harness. I guess they make tape for that now though...or maybe Honda no longer uses peanut butter flavored wiring.

 

Get the manual. I drive in Tokyo gridlock and would not be at all happy in an autotragic just for the ease in bumper to bumper. Of course totally up to you, but I've never wished for an auto even when only moving 2.5miles in 1 hour.

Sorry the Focus has not been what Ford said it would be. May just be a bad one, if so still unfortunate it landed in your lap. Good luck with jumping back into a Fit.

 

Yes please get a MT. Dont become one of the people on here complaining about the automatics shifting.

 

I'm surprised this is not common knowledge.

 

I like the way my auto shifts. There is nothing wrong with it. Just the bit between the wheel and seat always needs adjusted

 

I get 25 mpg. mostly city driving.

 

Some people like it....and some people think they should make a " i hate my fit" thread ( there's a new one every week). They just don't seem to understand that the fit is a 1.5L and need to be kept high up in the rpm range to do any kind on hill climb or passing.

 

Buyer's remorse sucks, doesn't it? I vote for the manual Fit also, although don't let anyone talk you into anything again. But you might do well to at least reconsider it.

As for mileage, I get over 31 in all city driving with lots of big hills, some stop-and-go.

 

^^^ Ditto...I have to hit redline over and over just to get 28mpg

 

Ford focus. One of the worst cars around. Manual trans 2012 fit. You'll be incredibly happy

 

Well, i've been hearing such issues several times in some discussion sites. Ford should address this issue as possible before they end up losing their customers and potential customers. I actually appreciate the diesel engine from a focus but that wouldn't convince me to get one as long as the issues were there.

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Ford parts

 

I commute 100 miles a day from Irvine to Los Angeles, CA. I'd say half of the commute is highway and the rest of it is bumper to bumper traffic. When I take the Fit, I average 31.5-32mpg based on the gauge.

The highway portion is fast @ ~75-85mph while the traffic section is only ~20mph.

 

2010 M/T Base in San Francisco traffic daily, 30 mile commute each way, usually get 36-38 mpg even in bumper to bumper.

The key is to just put it in 2nd or 3rd and just idle along, small throttle inputs, don't use the brakes, don't slip the clutch revving and all that noobish bullshit. Stay in a lower gear and use the gears to accelerate, not the throttle. You will have to downshift. Just because everybody else is riding each other's ass doesn't mean you have to.

I much prefer a manual in traffic. I can't stand having to keep my foot on the brake the whole time. It's tiring. More tiring than shifting.

 

Guilty. When I drove an MT back in the day and was in stop and go traffic, I would always hold the clutch, put it in neutral, coast/stop if needed, than back in to 1st, move a few inches, repeat. Very tiring, but I was always afraid the engine would conk out if I wasn't moving in gear. Definite n00b here

I will try your way on the test drive Saturday, and if I pull it off, I'll probably get the better performance (MT).

 

Well one good thing about the Fit is it's pretty hard to stall. You can start in second gear from almost stopped and it won't complain too much, you don't even have to rev much, even though it doesn't have a whole lot of power.

I went and checked my MPG meter since I reset it this morning after filling up. Traffic this morning was terrible, pretty 1 and 1/2 hours of idling to work for 30 miles. MPG meter reads 39.8

Good luck! Hope you get the MT, IMO it's an all around better experience, although some of the AT guys here will argue otherwise. Much better suited to the car.

 

Sorry,No sympathy in buying the Ford. Simple internet research of consumer car owners would have reveled the reliability,drivability, or problems. Don't ever take a car's web site or reviews as gospel. Most of them are paid to say nice things. Owners will tell you what they really think,and either love it or hate it. Not much bad mouthing of the Fit when I bought mine. I was checking out this site before I bought mine. Bought one,happy as hell with with my 2009 Fit. Have cousin that has 2012 Fiesta,and does nothing but bitch about it,and how many times it's been back to the dealer. Admitted to me last Christmas he should have bought the Fit when he drove mine, liked it,but wanted to do the "American" thing. Guess that bit him in the ass too.

BTW, 2009 5 speed manual.43,000 mile on the clock. Routine mileage highway 38.5- 40.2 mpg{depending on traffic}. Lowest mileage ever 30.1 mpg hauling a pair of canoes,and loaded with camping gear,in western Pa. mountains. 75% highway in a 42 mile commute to work everyday York,Pa to Bel Air, Md. Seen dealer once since 5/2009 due to valve spring recall, I do all routine maintenance,no issues to date,and don't expect any.

 

Pics or it didn't happen.