Hey all! A few of you may recognize my name from an aftermarket stereo install thread or two. I've now had my gorgeous purple 09 Fit Sport automatic for two months and 3100 miles and figured I'd share my impressions of the car. Overall, it is one fun and great car to drive! I'm currently averaging 33mpg city and 39mpg highway and lovin' every minute of it. That's not really doing the gas conserving techniques either. Screw that! Our Fits love to be driven, right?!

I recently took a holiday trip to Charleston, SC from my home in Tampa, FL and was comfortable both ways. Most definitely comfortable seats. Just drove my mom's new Accord today to help with something and immediately said "my car is much more comfortable and yours cost more?? Geez", hehe.

I only have a few complaints about the car.

One, no temperature gauge at all. The fuel gauge could have easily been reduced to half its size and a temp gauge put in there below it. Now we just have a cold symbol to tell us the engine is cold. Yeah, lovely.

Two, the radio is a bit far to reach. Even for long-armed folks like myself. Especially with an aftermarket put in. I find myself using my radio remote instead of reaching over. Just wish I had controls on the steering wheel.

Three, the cup holders on the doors are a tad difficult to access while driving and the two that are in front of the vents, well, they're in front of the vents.

Four, could use an adjustment for the seat bottom cushion.

And lastly five, I miss having intermittent wiper speed controls.

That's about it for complaints. Oh, the horn is a tad lacking too. Sounds like a mouse screaming.

As for praises, gawd, where to begin??

I love the seats. The lumbar and butt support are excellent! The seats aren't flat-backed either. They hug a little, which helps for those tight corners.

The cup holders, lmfao, 10 frickin cup holders. Love it! Some people have turned the smaller center console cup holder into a change tray. I use mine for my radio remote.

Glad Honda put in the small right arm rest for the driver's seat. It works enough for me to not need to have to put in the larger center console replacement.

Love having the two separate glove compartments too. I use the top to hold my flash drives to use with my aftermarket radio's usb port which I put in the same place as the factory one. Also some smaller odds and ends items.

I love the location of the thermostat controls. They're in such a convenient location that it makes adjusting those controls so quick and easy.

The back seats are amazing. We have taken advantage of those folding up seats in both of our Fits so many times now. It's a wonder why no one else has that standard in their cars!

The overall handling and suspension on the Sports is very nice too.

The mileage on that small tank. We both laugh every time we fill up for $13-$18 (depending upon how low we are) and we see some guy in a huge suv, pick-up or expensive sports car standing there, staring at us while his bill is already at least double what we just paid. I've driven 91 octane or higher cars most of my life. It hurts the wallet. I do miss some features I had with my VW Passat GLX. However, I still can't believe how much I'm lovin' my 09 Fit Sport!

We met a guy the other night who saw my car and mentioned he was going to Orlando to pick his up the next day. We told him how fun the car is to drive. How excellent the gas mileage is. And a few other fun things about the car. Hopefully he enjoyed his trip back to Tampa in his new car.

Hope this helps anyone teetering on the decision to buy one.

P.S. I feel I should also add the Fit is no slouch when it comes to performance either. That lovely i-VTEC engine is absolutely stunning and a purrrfect complement to Honda's Fit.

 

Great review, my thoughts to a tee!

 

Basically hit it every point I've thought of in my 2 weeks of ownership.

I also couldn't stand the active restraint headrests but I've since gotten used to it.

 

Hey! That's a FEATURE! They're in front of the vents for a REASON!

When it's hot outside, hot enough to run the A/C, you probably want a what...

A cold beverage.

When it's cold outside, cold enough to run the heat, you probably want a what...

A hot beverage.

So, the cup holders right in front of the vents will help keep that soda, water, or juice chilled. Or help to keep that coffee, tea, or hot chocolate warm!

It HAS to have been designed to do that. It makes PERFECT sense to use the existing HVAC to serve an extra purpose.

 

exactly what i was thinking, and about the whole cup holders being in front of the vent is so true hahha when i want a cold beverage turn on the a/c, when i want a hot beverage, o hello heater.

 

The problem is, I'm a constant soda drinker. Having my drink in front of the heater pretty much immediately melts my ice, so I spend most of the time with the driver's side vent completely shut.

 

But there are 10 cup holders dude! No one said you have to use that one.

 

My daughter keeps her hot chocolate cup warm by placing in front of the vent.

 

Thorough review! But how do you like the braking power? That's really my single "major" disappointment. We can't have sub-par braking performance here in LA.

+1 rep

 

The cup holders in front of the vents are there for a Kagumi or My Shaldan. It helps the scent circulate in the car!

 

I haven't had any issues or complaints regarding the brakes. Florida is one of the worst states for bad drivers. We have two cities on the 10 worst cities list! My brakes have been great for me thus far.

I put something in front of the side vent if it doesn't block my vent. I would rather have air flowing over me than it being blocked by a tall drink. The sad thing is that one particular cup holder is one of the few easily accessible ones for the driver.

 

I would just like to add -

This car is extremely unstable if there is any turbulent air or heavy wind. On the freeway doing 70ish, I can clearly feel the car twitch about as a large car or truck passes. On a windy day (such as today) the excitement factor of the commute to work was definitely kicked up a notch.

Doesn't really bother me, but a tad unsettling.

 

Uh, what IS your SPEED LIMIT in NJ?

You're going 70. And a big truck is passing you?

 

Speed limit is 65. But cops don't pull you over until 80. Trucks are crazy, which is why on the NJ Turnpike it's split into two 4-lane highways going each direction: one for cars only, one for trucks and busses.

I would ordinarily drive while screaming BANZAI also, but the little MPG meter is really doing a headjob on my basketcase brain.

But it's also not just the huge 18 wheeled semi truck/lorry luggers that you're thinking of. Same effect when something as small (but aerodynamically inefficient) as a Honda Pilot goes by.

 

Exactly. It's also the only cupholder that will hold a tall drink.

 

No_skillz is your Fit a base? The Sport I think has an additional rear anti-roll bar welded in to the axle and lower profile tyres that make it a bit more stable.

My Australian Jazz has the anti-roll bar also (not the low profile tyres), but it does still get interesting passing B-doubles on the freeway in a cross wind.

I think the tall shape and light weight don't help, but you can't have everything.

My only gripes after three weeks would be the lack of a 6th gear in the manual and the fact that in spite of us getting the UK multi information display in the VTi models, we don't get the outside temperature display.

The multi information display does allow you to have two different average fuel consumptions going, one for each trip meter. I've got trip meter A set up to reset every time the tank is filled, and I can reset trip meter B to give me journey average fuel consumption. I don't know which one it uses to give you range to empty, perhaps neither.

The range to empty display is not very accurate. It seems to diminish rapidly when you get near empty and starts flashing and beeping with about 10 litres still in the tank (about 25%). It might be just a calibration thing. I'm only on my 3rd tankfull.

 

I had a Suzuki SJ410. With it's short wheelbase and tall stature, it was like trying to drive a flag in the wind. The simple answer was to just open the windows during high wind days. It makes it tough to light your smokes.

 

Great review. After two months, I accumulated about 6000 miles. Lol!

 

Nope, I have the sport model. The shape of the car is, what I think, exactly the reason for the instability. The aero of the car is designed to push air to the sides instead of over the top, making any sort of disturbance (passing cars) VERY noticeable.

We don't get anything like those fancy displays in our cars. It'd be nice if Honda would give the USA some of it's cool stuff.

And I would also like to add to my (short) list of complaints: NO COOLANT TEMPS?!?! Just a little light doesn't cut it...

 

have you ever driven an old civic hatch? the fit, even the gd3, is worlds more stable. honda has come a long way.

all the reviews i have read indicate a better highway ride with the new fit, especially with the stiffer structure and slight increase in curb weight.

but the culprit is those crappy ass tires. even my 07 sport with 15's has wider tires than the new sports. 185's on 16's? that would be my first thing to switch out if i got a new fit, at the very least to 195's. that will make a world of difference to you.

as far as coolant temps go, i'm pretty sure that unless you are doing something crazy with your fit, cold/hot indicators are all anyone really needs, especially since i belive honda programmed them to come on at fairly conservative thresholds...its not like it the 'hot' will come on right before you engine blows up.

now if you are modding your fit, you should be investing in gauges anyway.