Do all Fit sports come with paddle shifters in Canada? Or like the trunk lid cover, paddle shifters were an optional/additional add-on?

 

i can chime in. i have a 2010 honda fit sport. unfortunately in canada the "high end" sport version is a bit of a downer in comparison the the TRUE USDM version found in the american market. the Canadian Fit Sport just has heated mirrors, no nav. no paddle shifters. oh and the Canadian Fit Sport has about $6000+ added to the price tag.

 

just get the manual and get all the power the car has... well, if you're into driving that is. the AT robs like almost 60% of the total output and fun factor out of the car, at least to me.

 

Does anyone know if you can add paddle shifters to the Canadian version of the sport?

 

In Canada we have three (actually four) models. DX is our base model, with almost no options, not even A/C. DX-A adds air conditioning. LX is essentially fully loaded, just like the sport, except it has no side skirts, no fog lights, different bumper from the sport. It does, however, have the spoiler. Our Sport is essentially an appearance package, with a full load of options.

Differences: Canada gets a larger washer fluid reservoir, we get a washer fluid low light, we get heated outside mirrors. US does not get these, but gets paddle shifters and a NAVI unit (Canada does not get these). Supposedly, when I bought my '10 Sport, my dealer also had a 2007 Sport with paddle shifters. At least, from what I remember of sales lit for Canada, I think that's the case. Feel free to correct me.

 

I was disappointed at first when I bought mine that there were no paddles. Yet you see very little comments on here about them. Do people use them?

My auto is peppy. Leave it in 3rd around city. Good for up to 120 kpm.

 

I have paddles in my USDM 2010 Sport. The only time I use them is when driving in mountains and steep hills. They are great for that purpose. 90% of the time, I never use them.

 

Paddle shifters were fun for a week, but now I seldom use them. I could see where they would be useful in hilly terrain, but I live in the flatlands.
What gears does the auto gear selector have w/o paddles?

 

My Canadian Auto has - 1, 2, D3, D, R,N, P. I like D3 as I get to hear the HKS a bit more. Only cost me maybe a litre or so in gas per 100 kms driving in D3 vs D around town.

 

I actually use the Paddle shifters on my Fit Sport a lot. It is a lot of fun to drive using them and you can really get the power out of our little L15. In the USDM Fit, there is no gear selector other than (P)(N)(R)(D)(S*). (S*) mode is to be used with the Paddle shifters. I feel like shifters are a must when you are merging onto the highway because we can't get stay in lower gear long enough to get power with the auto tranny.

 

used maybe 10 times in 6 years...once or twice a year just to make sure they still work. otherwise find them completely worthless.

i get my fix from the 7 spd s-tronic in my other car, but even then it's not all that exciting.

geez i'm getting old.

 

Personally, I think the issue with paddles is that it naturally is only useful on automatics... but people that buy autos, don't really care that much to shift in the first place. They just want to put it in gear (once) and go. But then, people complain about the Fit being "slow" or dangerous when passing.. because they refuse to use the paddles (or even the idea of downshifting).

Too many people wait until the last second to do things... like lane change or even simply accelerating and then expect to have the horsepower of the Bugatti Veyron.

For whatever reason, some folks only want to speed up AFTER lane changing (and forcing the guy that was about to pass them, to slam on their brakes)... and then say the car is scary because of that. But if they had simply planned a moment ahead and started accelerating almost to the faster speed before lane changing, they could avoid that.

And the paddles help here, because accelerating in an automatic isn't as instantaneous as what those same folks think the car "should be." Cars can't read a driver's mind, so all it can do is react... and that takes a moment of time (especially with a torque converter). If you paddle shift (down) just before pushing the pedal harder, you'll find it accelerates a little sooner. And that can give you a bit more time to get up to a faster speed.

I have a manual, so I'm practically always accelerating sooner than the person in an automatic that refuses to use their paddles. Whether or not I'm faster, is another story.