I bought my car in the New York area in August of 2009 and moved shortly thereafter to Miami Beach. Recently I packed up the car and moved to Washington, DC. Here are some thoughts on the trip.

The Fit was loaded up with stuff, but handled like a dream. It’s not the fastest car out there, of course, and the extra weight didn’t help, but by holding the gears a little longer, it could get up to speed just fine, and I always felt safe merging into traffic. (It’s also fun having an excuse to rev the engine!) The Fit also stays composed on the exit ramps, even when entering with a little too much speed.

Having a heavy car also gave me extra incentive to experiment with rev-match downshifting. So far it’s going well, though I feel like I’m trying to rewire my brain to permit these new movements. Clutch in, then back on the gas immediately while shifting? Totally counterintuitive, but a successful downshift drives home the point that it is obviously worth it.

The one area where I didn’t feel too comfortable was braking. I’ve always considered the Fit’s brakes to be the car’s Achilles heel, and the extra weight only exacerbates the problem. I tried to keep a little extra distance between me and the car ahead (I always keep well back), but in the back of my mind, I still worried about how the car would respond under emergency braking. Thankfully, I did not have to find out.

I spent my entire year in Miami under the impression that drivers in South Florida are the worst I’d ever seen, and the trip north on I-95 confirmed my suspicions. It is just incredible how the drivers improve as you move away from Miami-Dade County. They tailgate less, signal more, display a passing familiarity with the rules of the road (for example, drive right, pass left), and will even occasionally move into the left (or center) lane to allow a merging driver to enter the highway. Cheers to good road manners, and an appeal to those still in South Florida to find some.

The unhappy corollary to the above point is that as you move north, the roads begin to degenerate. My year in South Florida made me forget just how damaging cold weather can be on pavement. There were some serious cracks in South Carolina, and by the time I reached Northern Virginia, I had rediscovered the feeling of constantly scanning for potholes and other hazards.

A lot of bugs between Orlando and Jacksonville. I think some of them are still on my car.

Does everyone in Georgia and South Carolina drive a pickup truck? Speaking of which, the new Ford F-150 logo looks pretty sharp. I like that typeface. Also, it’s nice to see Subarus again, and Saabs. I didn’t see too many of those in South Florida.

I still can’t believe how much my little Fit can hold. If you put the rear seats down and open the tailgate, it doesn’t look that big. But once I arrived in DC, I couldn’t get over just how much stuff I had taken with me! Seeing my gear strewn across the living room floor, I thought maybe I’d borrowed a friend’s Suburban for the trip and simply forgot.

On a final note, I didn’t realize just how hilly my new neighborhood (Kalorama) is. So I’m looking forward to a year of hill parking and, unfortunately, bumper dings.

Anyway, I knew when I bought the car that I loved it, and after a year driving around in South Florida, and a couple days on I-95, I’m just as happy with the purchase. I hope your Fits have been as good to you as mine has been to me! / Greg

 

I spent a couple days in savannah Georgia, it's nowhere near as terrifying as south Florida when it comes to motoring. Soon as I get back I see the madness, people cut in front of me , only to swing back three lanes and get off at the exit.

 

Welcome to the boards, and to the Washington area! The roads in the DC metro area are terrible, and constantly being worked on to boot. You will find that we have drivers from all walks of life and countries you may have never heard of in DC, and they all drive like they are still at home! Take care and check your blind spots!

 

Nice story. Yeah, the fit is an amazing highway cruzer if you can be comfortable in the seat. I drove to LA from Vegas and averaged 44.x mpg. Very smooth and stable on the hwy, in the the wind.

 

I had to spend 3 weeks in Florida so I drove down in my 1988 Lincoln Towncar (car before buying the Fit). I was in the slow lane doing 80mph and just keeping up with traffic. Ended up having some dude flashing his high beams at me but I obviously had no place to go since I was already in the slow lane. He ended up going onto the grassy shoulder to pass me.

It's crazy down there.

 

Nice story. Sorry I missed it when you first posted it. We haven't driven much south of Jacksonville. I always enjoy reading about others' road trips in the Fit. I think it's a happy traveler. No question about the brakes, though. Definitely the weakest link.

Cheers.