Road Trip!
#1
07-09-2013, 10:04 PM
Road Trip!
I recently just did a 1700 mile road trip in the Fit. I thought I would share some of the things I learned while on the trip, if only for those who ever do the same.
First about the car and trip. Mine is a 2013 base model with the automatic transmission. 2 adults, a baby, and a weeks worth of luggage. For about half of it we also had a third adult join us. We started in California, drove through the desert through Vegas up to Utah and then back home a week later.
- The fit does not like cruising at 80mph. If there is a slight hill or a headwind, it really struggles unless you like running at 5000 RPM for miles at a time. Some of the hills were long, and with the desert being over 115 having the AC running didn't help.
- On flat ground, it will run at around 2900 RPM at 80 mph. This gives around 30-40 MPG.
- If there is a slight incline it jumps to around 3100 RPM, but MPG drops to 20-25. I assume this is the torque converter partially unlocking or something.
- Steeper hills require a full downshift and MPG drops drastically.
- I was worried about the AC with the high outside temperatures. I have no window tinting but kept the AC on level 3 for most of the drive.
- There is a decent amount of space. The trunk has no issues fitting full size luggage, and there is plenty of room under the rear seats for smaller bags.
- Average MPG from both the computer and calculating it at the pump returned 31 to 34 MPG. This was with speeds mainly 75 to 80.
- I am tall and so require the seat to be moved as far back as possible. A rear facing car seat does not fit in the rear seat behind me. So if I drove, the car seat had to be behind the passenger seat. Not really a big deal, but tall people with infants who like to switch drivers may want to see if it is worth it.
The fit isn't really any slower or faster than my previous car. But I think for long high speed trips, it could really do with a more powerful engine. It wouldn't surprise me if it got slightly better gas mileage too since the engine sometimes struggles to keep it up. The speed limit was mainly 75 the whole way, with a 50 mile section where it is 80. Most people travel 80-85 on those roads.
That being said, for normal highway use it works pretty well. Under normal conditions there are not many times where it wish it had more power. I usually get 34 to 37 on the freeways here in Los Angeles. However if I slow down to 60-65 I can get over 40 MPG. Under normal use it doesn't seem that under powered, but load it up with over 500 pounds of people and luggage and try to maintain 80 mph up hills and it has to work a little bit more.
First about the car and trip. Mine is a 2013 base model with the automatic transmission. 2 adults, a baby, and a weeks worth of luggage. For about half of it we also had a third adult join us. We started in California, drove through the desert through Vegas up to Utah and then back home a week later.
- The fit does not like cruising at 80mph. If there is a slight hill or a headwind, it really struggles unless you like running at 5000 RPM for miles at a time. Some of the hills were long, and with the desert being over 115 having the AC running didn't help.
- On flat ground, it will run at around 2900 RPM at 80 mph. This gives around 30-40 MPG.
- If there is a slight incline it jumps to around 3100 RPM, but MPG drops to 20-25. I assume this is the torque converter partially unlocking or something.
- Steeper hills require a full downshift and MPG drops drastically.
- I was worried about the AC with the high outside temperatures. I have no window tinting but kept the AC on level 3 for most of the drive.
- There is a decent amount of space. The trunk has no issues fitting full size luggage, and there is plenty of room under the rear seats for smaller bags.
- Average MPG from both the computer and calculating it at the pump returned 31 to 34 MPG. This was with speeds mainly 75 to 80.
- I am tall and so require the seat to be moved as far back as possible. A rear facing car seat does not fit in the rear seat behind me. So if I drove, the car seat had to be behind the passenger seat. Not really a big deal, but tall people with infants who like to switch drivers may want to see if it is worth it.
The fit isn't really any slower or faster than my previous car. But I think for long high speed trips, it could really do with a more powerful engine. It wouldn't surprise me if it got slightly better gas mileage too since the engine sometimes struggles to keep it up. The speed limit was mainly 75 the whole way, with a 50 mile section where it is 80. Most people travel 80-85 on those roads.
That being said, for normal highway use it works pretty well. Under normal conditions there are not many times where it wish it had more power. I usually get 34 to 37 on the freeways here in Los Angeles. However if I slow down to 60-65 I can get over 40 MPG. Under normal use it doesn't seem that under powered, but load it up with over 500 pounds of people and luggage and try to maintain 80 mph up hills and it has to work a little bit more.
#3
07-10-2013, 12:00 PM
Took my on a 3,000 mile round trip to Dallas and back. Had two of us on the way down and four on the way back with a full Thule Cargo bag on the top. Average around 29 mpg. No problem keeping up with traffic kept between 75 to 85 mph most of the trip, sometimes over 90 depending if I could find some one going fast to use as my radar.
#4
07-10-2013, 02:21 PM
I too went on a road trip to upstate new york this long weekend (NYC->Ithaca->Niagara->Corning->NYC), ~1300 miles. Computer shows avg of 38.4 mpg. I was switching off cruise whenever on uphill as engine noise at high rpm was not very soothing 
and mpg number was nose diving. Most of the time, max rpm on uphill was 3000 to 3500. May be that saved me little gas. We were 2 adults in 2013 sport A/T, back seats folded down, stuff for 5 day road trip and AC running all the time. Most of the time we were cruising around ~75mph.
I don't know if it's psychological, I feel engine and acceleration has become more smoother after this trip.
and mpg number was nose diving. Most of the time, max rpm on uphill was 3000 to 3500. May be that saved me little gas. We were 2 adults in 2013 sport A/T, back seats folded down, stuff for 5 day road trip and AC running all the time. Most of the time we were cruising around ~75mph.I don't know if it's psychological, I feel engine and acceleration has become more smoother after this trip.
#5
07-10-2013, 04:49 PM
Went on a road trip from Atlanta to Rogers Ak, 1650 miles round trip and averaged 38 mpg for highway and city driving. Several different cars went on this trip. Compairing total fuel cost when we got back, I spent $131 while everyone else was over $200 for fuel. I couldn't help but smile.
#6
07-10-2013, 04:54 PM
I too went on a road trip to upstate new york this long weekend (NYC->Ithaca->Niagara->Corning->NYC), ~1300 miles. Computer shows avg of 38.4 mpg. I was switching off cruise whenever on uphill as engine noise at high rpm was not very soothing and mpg number was nose diving. Most of the time, max rpm on uphill was 3000 to 3500. May be that saved me little gas. We were 2 adults in 2013 sport A/T, back seats folded down, stuff for 5 day road trip and AC running all the time. Most of the time we were cruising around ~75mph.
I don't know if it's psychological, I feel engine and acceleration has become more smoother after this trip.
and mpg number was nose diving. Most of the time, max rpm on uphill was 3000 to 3500. May be that saved me little gas. We were 2 adults in 2013 sport A/T, back seats folded down, stuff for 5 day road trip and AC running all the time. Most of the time we were cruising around ~75mph.I don't know if it's psychological, I feel engine and acceleration has become more smoother after this trip.
#7
07-10-2013, 06:37 PM
I recently just did a 1700 mile road trip in the Fit. I thought I would share some of the things I learned while on the trip, if only for those who ever do the same.
First about the car and trip. Mine is a 2013 base model with the automatic transmission. 2 adults, a baby, and a weeks worth of luggage. For about half of it we also had a third adult join us. We started in California, drove through the desert through Vegas up to Utah and then back home a week later.
- The fit does not like cruising at 80mph. If there is a slight hill or a headwind, it really struggles unless you like running at 5000 RPM for miles at a time. Some of the hills were long, and with the desert being over 115 having the AC running didn't help.
- On flat ground, it will run at around 2900 RPM at 80 mph. This gives around 30-40 MPG.
- If there is a slight incline it jumps to around 3100 RPM, but MPG drops to 20-25. I assume this is the torque converter partially unlocking or something.
- Steeper hills require a full downshift and MPG drops drastically.
- I was worried about the AC with the high outside temperatures. I have no window tinting but kept the AC on level 3 for most of the drive.
- There is a decent amount of space. The trunk has no issues fitting full size luggage, and there is plenty of room under the rear seats for smaller bags.
- Average MPG from both the computer and calculating it at the pump returned 31 to 34 MPG. This was with speeds mainly 75 to 80.
- I am tall and so require the seat to be moved as far back as possible. A rear facing car seat does not fit in the rear seat behind me. So if I drove, the car seat had to be behind the passenger seat. Not really a big deal, but tall people with infants who like to switch drivers may want to see if it is worth it.
The fit isn't really any slower or faster than my previous car. But I think for long high speed trips, it could really do with a more powerful engine. It wouldn't surprise me if it got slightly better gas mileage too since the engine sometimes struggles to keep it up. The speed limit was mainly 75 the whole way, with a 50 mile section where it is 80. Most people travel 80-85 on those roads.
That being said, for normal highway use it works pretty well. Under normal conditions there are not many times where it wish it had more power. I usually get 34 to 37 on the freeways here in Los Angeles. However if I slow down to 60-65 I can get over 40 MPG. Under normal use it doesn't seem that under powered, but load it up with over 500 pounds of people and luggage and try to maintain 80 mph up hills and it has to work a little bit more.
First about the car and trip. Mine is a 2013 base model with the automatic transmission. 2 adults, a baby, and a weeks worth of luggage. For about half of it we also had a third adult join us. We started in California, drove through the desert through Vegas up to Utah and then back home a week later.
- The fit does not like cruising at 80mph. If there is a slight hill or a headwind, it really struggles unless you like running at 5000 RPM for miles at a time. Some of the hills were long, and with the desert being over 115 having the AC running didn't help.
- On flat ground, it will run at around 2900 RPM at 80 mph. This gives around 30-40 MPG.
- If there is a slight incline it jumps to around 3100 RPM, but MPG drops to 20-25. I assume this is the torque converter partially unlocking or something.
- Steeper hills require a full downshift and MPG drops drastically.
- I was worried about the AC with the high outside temperatures. I have no window tinting but kept the AC on level 3 for most of the drive.
- There is a decent amount of space. The trunk has no issues fitting full size luggage, and there is plenty of room under the rear seats for smaller bags.
- Average MPG from both the computer and calculating it at the pump returned 31 to 34 MPG. This was with speeds mainly 75 to 80.
- I am tall and so require the seat to be moved as far back as possible. A rear facing car seat does not fit in the rear seat behind me. So if I drove, the car seat had to be behind the passenger seat. Not really a big deal, but tall people with infants who like to switch drivers may want to see if it is worth it.
The fit isn't really any slower or faster than my previous car. But I think for long high speed trips, it could really do with a more powerful engine. It wouldn't surprise me if it got slightly better gas mileage too since the engine sometimes struggles to keep it up. The speed limit was mainly 75 the whole way, with a 50 mile section where it is 80. Most people travel 80-85 on those roads.
That being said, for normal highway use it works pretty well. Under normal conditions there are not many times where it wish it had more power. I usually get 34 to 37 on the freeways here in Los Angeles. However if I slow down to 60-65 I can get over 40 MPG. Under normal use it doesn't seem that under powered, but load it up with over 500 pounds of people and luggage and try to maintain 80 mph up hills and it has to work a little bit more.
Took my on a 3,000 mile round trip to Dallas and back. Had two of us on the way down and four on the way back with a full Thule Cargo bag on the top. Average around 29 mpg. No problem keeping up with traffic kept between 75 to 85 mph most of the trip, sometimes over 90 depending if I could find some one going fast to use as my radar.
#8
07-10-2013, 07:16 PM
We did a 4300 mile round trip last month in the red Fit (NY -> Colorado and a bunch of driving out there). I was surprised at how comfortable the car was for such a long trip - we actually drove the 27 hours to and from CO straight through switching drivers every fuel stop and I could still move afterwards! 
Averaged just above 35mpg for the trip which included a significant climb in elevation and LONG stretches of 70+mph. Having the manual transmission was nice for a lot of those climbs. Two people with luggage and a hitch mounted bike rack with 2 bikes.
Worst tank I got was 27mpg - lots of time in second gear climbing Pikes Peak.
Plan on taking many more long trips in this car so I was happy the first one went so well!
Bryce Canyon is probably one of my favorite places I've visited out west. Can't wait to get back out there again.
Averaged just above 35mpg for the trip which included a significant climb in elevation and LONG stretches of 70+mph. Having the manual transmission was nice for a lot of those climbs. Two people with luggage and a hitch mounted bike rack with 2 bikes.
Worst tank I got was 27mpg - lots of time in second gear climbing Pikes Peak.
Plan on taking many more long trips in this car so I was happy the first one went so well!
Bryce Canyon is probably one of my favorite places I've visited out west. Can't wait to get back out there again.
Last edited by nosignal; 07-10-2013 at 07:20 PM.
#10
07-10-2013, 09:50 PM
Unfortunately I only seemed to get pictures of family and some fireworks. I didn't have a tripod for fireworks so the results were interesting to say the least..
Took my on a 3,000 mile round trip to Dallas and back. Had two of us on the way down and four on the way back with a full Thule Cargo bag on the top. Average around 29 mpg. No problem keeping up with traffic kept between 75 to 85 mph most of the trip, sometimes over 90 depending if I could find some one going fast to use as my radar.
#11
07-10-2013, 10:22 PM
Sounds like you've accurately identified the Fit's nemesis .... Hills!!
Yep, it's not a very good car for long journeys. But in fairness that's not really what it's for primarily.
It's amusing to observe that there is no possible way they could sell the other engine versions here in the US. Our 1.5L engine is the "most powerful!" engine option in other markets!!!
Yep, it's not a very good car for long journeys. But in fairness that's not really what it's for primarily.
It's amusing to observe that there is no possible way they could sell the other engine versions here in the US. Our 1.5L engine is the "most powerful!" engine option in other markets!!!
#14
07-11-2013, 09:41 AM
Nice thing with the cargo bag it is flexible and you can install when needed rather then have it on top of your car versus a hard carrier like we did. We did not need it on the way down so just stored it in the car and filled up on the way back.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Shockwave199
2nd Generation (GE 08-13)
30
12-14-2010 09:29 PM
