Looking at a 2008 fit. Considering a MT base model since I live in the Rockies at 8000 feet outside of Denver (Evergreen area). I am thinking the MT will be better on the I-70 hill climb. Concerned about the high rpm's tho for I-25 travel. The reason for the base model is the gravel roads and bumps where I live. I have removed various front air dams on several cars and would like to use the Fit in 3-5" of snow. Have a CR-V for deep snow.

Any experience in the mountains would assist in picking the right model.Thanks - Jim

 

well, i haven't had much experience on mountains, seeing as i live in chicago... but i will tell you this much;

in 3-5" of snow my fit has performed remarkably, in the 2 winters i have had it, i've never had a problem with snow even with the stock tires.

as far as uphill climbs go, i can tell you that 2nd and 3rd gear tend to have enough grunt to get me through some pretty tough passing situations (once again, i live in chicago... nuff said.) so i would not see mountain roads being much of a problem for the fit.

the mt fit seems to have a higher gear ratio than the auto, so i would assume that the mt would be better suited for steeper roads (someone did a full report on the mt and auto as opposed to rpms at relative speeds on this board, you should check that out.)

as long as you don't mind chucking it into lower gears (as one would expect with a 109hp engine) you should have no prob.

 

A lot of people is going to flame me for saying this....Fit is NOT a mountain (climbing) car. I took my car to so. cal the other day along HWY 5 going over the mountain (up to 6k ft elv and it is a long climb with gusty wind)...man did I miss my V6 maxima!

Maybe I don't push car enough (still only a few months old car). With only my wife and I in the car, I can definitely feel the car struggle to climb / or slow down and climb again in typical LA traffic. Once it has its momentum it is usually pretty good.

In terms of snow I didn't try. With the rainy storm for the past few days here in the bay area, it handle pretty well I would say.

 

In a contrary opinion to the last post, I encourage you to get the AT Fit. Since your interest is in the Base model, you won't have the option of using the sequential paddle shift feature on the Sport, but the AT does a good job in keeping up an adequate speed in mountain freeway driving.

I have not taken my Sport over the "Grapevine" stretch of I-5 previously mentioned, but I have driven over 7K ft. elevation in the Sierra Nevadas from Sacramento over Hwy. 50 to Lake Tahoe and Carson City, NV. (4 times). My Fit is the vehicle passing most of the other cars/trucks. You DO learn to make momentum/gravity work for you, just as I had to with my '65 Volkswagen Beetle and '71 Austin America, but the Fit has better power and gear ratios than the small cars of 30 years ago.

I have driven the route that you described around Denver (though not in a Fit), and based on the Fit's abilities in the mountains around here, I do not think that a Base AT will give you any trouble where you are. You just won't be racing anybody over your mountains.

 

I more or less live on a mountain and we had close to 18" of snow last month, the Fit did amazing, the abs was phenominal, and the grip with the factory tires was really convincing of the Fit's capabilities. The mountains here are nothing compared to the mountains in Colorado from experience. You may be better suited in a Subaru however, the AWD would be more beneficial to you, although I highly recommend the Fit to you

 

Drove up the mountains a few time to go snowboard. The Fit does fine climbing up in the snow, you'll be in the lower gears quite a bit but if that doesnt bother you go for it. It's to bad we dont get the AWD drivetrain like JDM fits have

 

I've had my MT sport up skiing 6 times this year with no problems. I'm in Portland so go from sea level to MH Meadows at 5500'. We've had tons of snow and it's a champ on packed snow but needed a push in the parking lot when 8 " fell on top of the 6 already there in the morning(high- centered). Power is not an issue for the climbs. I'm using steel wheels with Blizzaks. Per

 

The Fit as a car is pretty good in winter weather. The weakest part are the stock tires, I'd imagine some Blizzaks would do nicely.