Of course with a normal AT you cannot be in control, but with the paddle shifters you do exactly the same thing as with the MT, upshifting-right paddle, downshifting (including any engine braking you want) with the left paddle...
I've driven MT for 10 years, AT for the past 14-15 years and now AT with paddle shifters, now that I fell in love with the paddle shifters I cannot drive a car w/out paddle shifters... but you gotta drive a car with paddle shifters in order to understand the huge advantages of this fairly new technology in passenger cars!
Chris

 

Paddle shifters mean all the convience of an Automatic and the control and performance of a MT.

Having driven a MINI Cooper S auto with paddles and a Fit Sport, the only way I will get a MT is if they dont offer paddles on the automatic.

 

I just like having to press a clutch sometimes.
yeah some days I just wanna cruse and hate the sloppy shifts i make when I'm tired and lazy but

being able to give both my legs a work out and rev-match between gears and just induce ear to ear grins on my face more than makes up for any inconvenience an m/t could impose. I just feel it makes you have to think more about driving and that seems like nothing short of a good thing.
I think their would be less "accidents" if everyone drove fully manual cars.
because all drivers would have to be proficient ant driving a stick before they could be licensed meaning more training and more time behind the wheel and intern better trained drivers.

Automatics allow for so much laziness....I only drove autos before i got my Fit and i never want another auto an long as i can help it.

 

I thought about getting a Fit with paddle shifters, but I just couldn't do it. I hate the 'disconnected' feel that a torque converter adds to the drivetrain. If they could make the paddle shift system similar to a clutch-type tranny (direct link from motor to trans), then I'd think harder about an 'automatic'.

 

What he said - I'd get one for sure

 

Sorry man but no idea what the hell you're talking about... maybe my 1,000,000 km/25 years driving experience doing MT, AT and now AT w/paddle shifters make me such an ignorant
I'm using the paddles hundreds of times per day as now all the upshifting is done by the + paddle (while still in D) and doing this my mpg has already improved, I never let the rpm go over the 3K/gear... so, how long and how much have YOU driven a Fit with paddle shifters so I will fully understand that you really have road experience with such technology???
Thank you
Chris

 

Very down-to-earth analysis, fully agree with all what you just said...
My very first 10 years of driving experience were with an MT (early '80s in communist Eastern Europe no AT vehicles were available...) so I learned to drive the hard way but that was extremely useful later in life, if you know how to CORRECTLY operate an MT vehicle you pretty much know how to drive, moreover, if that MT vehicle was driven during winter times as well (snow, ice, etc), also up/downhill terrain, that will teach you a very good lesson of how to be a very good and safe driver (for me speeding has nothing to do with safety as long as you know how to wisely manage such speeds, 80-90 mph in my case)... and of course AT gives you a lot of comfort, it's like an well-deserved reward after so many years of MT hardship
Now, while always in D, I upshift using the +paddle shifter and the mpg is way better than before (d/shifting is done by the AT itself), so, MT with the sticker in the traditional place or paddle shifters by the steering wheel, either way you MUST use the right hand (or finger for the paddle shifters) in order to change gears but no clutch for the paddle shifter AT!!!
I LOVE driving with paddle shifters, hopefully they will start building more vehicles with such modern and very useful technology, Mitsubishi Lancer is one of them, love its TV commercial...
Chris

 

... and the correct answer is;
‘you will not get a CVT!’

 

I like an AT in my DD. I'm not racing people on the way to work so it doesn't matter if its slower, less powerful, and makes me look uncool. Besides, driving a MT 18 miles through stop and go traffic twice a day... more of a chore than anything.

 

More control? Almost fell asleep driving in my dads AT Camry once

 

The only paddle shifter system worth a damn on cars under 100K is the Audi/VW DSG. Paddle shifters on traditional automatics (plus all the other silly "sport" enhancements like triptronic) are just fancy bandaids.

Automatics are best for casual driving and single turbo Supra monsters who's BOVs probably generate more force than our little 1.5L engines. On the GE Fits, the Automatic is also a smidge better for fuel economy because of the long and casual gearing. Unless Honda adopts a DSG like transmission, I don't think I would ever buy a Honda automatic.

 

the biggest downside for conventional AT's for me is the torque converter. i just
hate the disconnected feel of the accelerator and drivetrain. never connected.

selfshifting is welcome at night when i want to just relax and drive around town
listening to some nice music...but then it would need to be a much nicer car.

that's just me though. i own a GE8 with AT which the wife uses. it does well
for wat she wants to do.

 

I also like the whole experience of the manual transmission including pressing the clutch. I feel far more engaged in the driving experience with my MT than I would if I just had to hit a little paddle to up/down shift. If I'm at all tired, I tend to "zone out" more while driving an automatic and I get really bored.... I also tend to think that a manual might be safer for some people because you have to be paying more attention to the whole driving experience. But to each his own!!

 

When I test drove a 2008 Fit Sport AT, interstate driving found the Fit frequently searching for the right gear to maintain speed. It drove me crazy with all the downshifting it was doing.

The MT does not have the problem and maintains highway speed flawlessly. I do a fair amount of road trips and know the frequent downshifting would get old quick.

The car also feels like the MT is better suited for the engine size.

That's my 2 cents!

 

I basically got a manual because it was 800 bucks cheaper than the automatic. I figured I could buy about a years worth of gas with that.

 

If you put the AT of the 2009 Fit in S Mode and select 4th gear, its like driving in 5th gear with the MT on the freeway. The AT has a fairly long 5th gear, which causes the AT to cruise at about a thousand RPMs less in the highest gear than the MT. I prefer the AT in the Fit because the car seems to work well with it and the paddle shifters are a neat edition, even if the are a fancy way for regular automatic/ clutchless shifting. A MT is fun in a car like Cobra I used to have. You can definately feel the gear engage due to the torque. MT do get tiring if you drive in city traffic a lot. I still enjoy driving with a MT, but I prefer the AT in the Fit.

 

I chose a MT because I find it a more engaging and sporty drive. It's more challenging to drive a stick...and I like that!

But in defense of the AT, I will say that when I'm tired nothing beats the laid back, 'slouch in your seat' driving you can do in an AT.

 

I chose MT because I enjoy being more involved in my driving experience, but I disagree with all the comments along the lines that driving a manual makes you pay more attention and be more involved.

I think with MT you can be more involved if you want to be, but if you want to drone along it is just about the same as an AT. I have put so many miles on MTs that I don't even notice I'm shifting most of the time.

My husband, who is a police officer, thought of a theoritical reason for buying a MT: Since less people can drive them, less chance for joyriders to steal it.

 

If you want your Fit to be more than a transportation from point A to point B manual gives you more driving pleasure. You get to play around with rev matching, heel and toe, and keep the rpm up when you need to. But if you just want to drive it to work and back in heavy traffic, automatic is fine.

 

i havent had a chance to drive a 2009 auto but i assume it'd be okay. Since it makes more power than the GD it should be a good cruiser car and it probably doesnt have crappy low-end pickup power like my car... haha i assume that because the 2009 manual feels wayy better in low-end power.

The paddle shifters are cool but you def. cant compare it to real manual. With the torque converter intact... you can definately feel the lack of power the auto has over manual. I'd agree with the others saying Auto is fine if you're gonna be sitting in traffic all the time. But manual is definitely funner and more interactive