I'm driving to Portland, Oregon soon starting from the SF Bay Area. I will be on I-5 for most of the trip. I-5 has some pretty steep grades through Shasta, Anderson Grade Summit, the Siskiyou Summit, and about 4 other mountain passes after that. How does the 2nd-gen Fit (automatic) perform going up steep mountain passes? I'm sure it probably downshifts to at least 3rd gear if not 2nd gear???


How does the Fit do on long road trips? Does it get tiresome?

Thanks for your responses!

 

Took a trip to Seattle and back last Sept. with the Fit. Don't know how much difference there would be with yours being a GE. But if you don't know yet, the Fit's seats leave a lot of room for improvement.

Here's a thread you might want to consider before the trip: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...ml#post1008763 Helps your right foot/leg find a comfy position.

The Fit's not the most comfortable long distance traveler if you're driving. Great if you're a passenger coz of the seat configuration... Of course your shifting will depend on your load but mine never had to shift to 2nd going up the mountains. It's great on the curves . Paddles would come in handy if you have 'um so it doesn't hunt back and forth from 3rd-4th-3rd-4th-5th. Enable cruise on flats and disable cruise on hills. No worries, it's more than capable of handling the trip. Just load up your mp3 player/ipod and you're good to go. Safe trip!

 

I drive from Sacramento to Seattle about every month. My fit has made it fine, no problems at all. The only thing the hills hurt is your mpg.

 

The only thing that makes long trips with the fit hellacious is high wind.

 

Climbing hills shouldn't be an issue, but the engine will be working harder so your mpg will tank. Add a full load of people/luggage will also reduce the mpg but as an added benefit, every extra bit of weight goes to help stabilize the car a bit, still can be hell in winds though.

If you are descending grades, keep to a lower gear to engine brake some, or those brakes are going to get toasty. Just common sense driving stuff, nothing special needed to handle the hills, but the Fit is not an ideal long distance cruiser by any stretch. The outside noise, constant corrections if you have strong winds, bumpy ride, will all get old rather quickly on a trip to me personally.

 

for me it was pretty tiring when i did a shorter drive about 220miles each way. biggest complaint i have about the GE is the seating position. the seats aren't really adjustable and pedals are just too damn close to the seats for some short-legged person. it's like im rding my kid's bike. lol

GE's are best for short errands to the super market.

 

I guess I'm the only one that doesn't have an issue with the Fit on "long road trips." Seeing as I just got back from a 5-week road trip that took me coast to coast in the US, about 11k miles. Some days I drove 500-600 miles.

The only thing I couldn't stand was the sheer boredom on some of the roads putting me to sleep.

But I must note... I have Coverkings seat covers (neoprene with another layer of foam sewn in), which is probably why my seats are more comfortable than most. Swift springs that lower my car and adding Continental DWS tires, makes my Fit a bit more stable.

I have complete one-side hearing loss. What that means in this topic is... I can't shut out any noise (those with normal hearing can effectively ignore any sounds just by focusing on something else). And yet, when I put my music on (usually around level 16, bass +2, treble +1 and SVC:Mid, for loudness reference)... the engine/wind/road "noise" doesn't bother me. Do most of you require absolute silence in driving or something?

I'm 6 ft tall (annoyingly since I was 14 yrs old). And while I understand that overall height isn't the issue, it's length of your legs... I fit comfortably in the Fit when driving... an MT at that. How vertical is the back of you seat?

And yes, I did use 2nd gear at one point... only because I was stuck in traffic going up and down Pikes Peak. If there were no traffic, I'd have been able to hold 3rd gear. But I don't mind shifting.

 

Only problem I have is a little bit of sore lower back... might need to get a small pillow for support. Fit does well, but I do notice more up/down shifting in my automatic compared to other cars.

 

Goobers, you're just a natural born Road Warrior! Huh whaaat did you say? Gotta have tunes man... When I get bored or sleepy, I sing out loud... top of my lungs... with windows rolled down... Used to be one myself when I was younger but not quite anymore. Still love to drive though. I used to make 14 hr. drives in a 4sp Datsun pickup (just so I won't get a ticket) instead of driving my car. Can't go fast if your ride won't do it.

 

The suggestion of using the paddles on the hills is good, it will keep the tranny from searching all the time. I'm headed to LA and Phoenix soon, this will be the third time and the fit does fine.

 

drove on 64 from va to ky.

It did fine 99% of the time, but going up the steepest grades required some pretty high rpms.

not a big deal, going down is the fun part anyway!