Put me in the category of "unreformable" MT driver as well. Now, if I could only teach the wife to drive the damn thing...

 

My first experiment with "paddle only" driving has yielded a disappointing 25.9 mpg. Granted, that's only a 1/2 tank measurement. I'll experiment more later.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/show...?t=3990&page=2

When I moved to CA from FL, I went from getting 26 mpg in my '03 Solara to 18 mpg. My Odyssey went from 22 to 16. At first I thought the fuel was treated with something special in CA that hurts gas mileage, but then I realized...Florida's flat, San Diego (at least the area where I live and work) is very hilly. Maybe the terrain is affecting my mpg in the Fit, too.

It is a lot more fun driving by paddle, though.

 

Thanks for the thoughtful review. Greatly appreciated.

 

Would make sense - going uphill means you're keeping your engine higher in the rev range, which has a negative effect on fuel economy. EPA estimates assume flat ground, don't they?

 

I just spent the last three days driving a renting CVT iDSI around Bangkok. It was fun, but weird. In full auto mode, the engine hits a certain rpm to provide the acceleration you want, and then just stays there while the car gathers speed. E.g. I was accelerating moderately from a stop, and from virtually 0 to about 80 kph, the tach needle was basically stuck on 3,000.

If you hit the seven speed mode button, but don't use the paddle shifters, the transmission shifts through the seven gears more like a modern automatic. Once you hit the paddle shifters, you are more or less in control, but the car still retains veto power. If you bounce it off the rev limiter in first, it will shift to third. It will downshift for you, if you forget, and will let you start from a stop in either first or second, but nothing higher. It also will not let you shift into a gear it deems inappropriate. I was basically coasting down a street at about 35 mph, and it wouldn't let me shift any higher than 5th.

The shift buttons are on the front of the steering wheel, at 3 and 9, and have up and down functions on both sides. I didn't like the placement. It might work on a F1 car, but it makes it difficult to actuate the shifters while turning. Besides a DSG, it might be one of the better alternatives to a real manual, but for my money, manuals are still the ticket.

It would take some serious time in this car to get used to how this powertrain works. I am not sure if it is all the CVTnicks claim it is. I know this really isn't relevant to the NA market. I just thought you might like a little impression of what you may or may not be missing.

 

I forgot to mention, I saw an indicated 170 kph on the expressway. That from a supposedly weaker iDSI engine.

 

I am really loving the AT in the Fit Sport. I spent the night driving around in it last night. I love the paddles, I think I want to be a race car driver now . This is one peppy little car. It also shifts great in regular "Drive" mode.

 

I thought the F1 race cars have paddle shifters and not shift buttons? Did they change it?

Anyway a CVT is able to maintain the RPM of the engine at it the point where it generates its peak torque, therefore, you won't see any RPM changes as you throttle up and down. Which is probably why the transmission is married with the i-DSI engine instead of the VTEC, which can generate fairly good torque across the tach range. Basically, it makes more sense to use CVT if you have an engine that can produce peak torque at an easily-reachable RPM ( the i-DSI engine's torque peaks at around 2700) and where it's power band looks more like an arch (1 apex, lower torque everywhere else).

Essentially, using the CVT, you'll drive at the engine's peak efficiency at all times. It may not feel like it, since the car does not jerk when you accelerate, but the overall acceleration is more constant and thus should win out against the same car with regular (manual and automatic) transmission. But this also means when you're using the 7 "virtual" gears mode, you're not running at maximum efficiency of the engine.

CVTs do not use torque converters as well, so that adds to their efficiency and fuel economy. But since all the i-DSI engines are sub-100 horsepower, and the perceived performance isn't as evident as normal transmissions, it's likely that Honda decided that these technologies won't sell in the NA market.

 

F1 used to be paddle shifters in the 90's but they changed over to buttons by the late 90's.

 

Since Formula 1 has eliminated manual gearshifts in their racecars you might rethink that position.

 

How would Formula 1 affect a persons preference to drive a stickshift?

 

I thought F1 shifters were SMGs, not full auto transmissions...

 

I live in New Zealand and own a 2002 1.5 v-tec Fit with the AT. (7 speed paddle option) What a blast to drive. I average 45+ (NZ MPG) with a mixture of town & open road running. If I was you Wessy I get the Auto. Those V-Tecs just love to rev and they're great on the hills.

 

Our first tankfull was 45.7 mpg (US) the second was 45.2 mpg- so ths fit can get great mileage first tank was mostly back roads, second was 50% highway (55mph tops) 50% in town Boston driving around with a different driver.

 

My reference to F1 cars was related to the steering ratio of those cars. They have maybe one full turn lock-to-lock, and therefore, the drivers never take their hands off the wheel to turn. With the Fit, or most road cars, you have to move your hands around the wheel to turn, and might not have not have your hands in the proper place to hit the appropriate button or paddle should you need to shift. With a true manual, the shifter is always on the floor, right where you left it, and it is easily found whether you are turning or going straight ahead.

I am not sure what exact type of transmissions F1 cars use, but I do know they are highly computerized and preprogrammed with shift points for each track, based on the prerace practice and qualifying sessions. The transmissions, along with just about everything else in the car is monitored, and adjustable by the driver, and/or the team sitting in the pits. I think an F1 race is probably more like a NASA shuttle mission than me hopping in my car to pick up a sixxer, and wasn't trying to compare the transmissions, just the location of the driver interface with the transmission

 

Not that we're going just a little off-topic here, but according to forumla1.com and f1technical.net, most of today's F1 cars use seven-speed semi-automatic gearboxes which are actuated via paddles fitted behind the steering wheel.

In these cars, pulling the left paddle shifts down, while pulling the right paddle shifts up. Deloading of the transmission during shifts is controlled electronically, and shift times are measured in milliseconds.

It's worth getting up at, say, 3am on Sunday to tune-in to F1 racing on Speed. Pay close attention to the driver's hands during one of the on-board cockpit shots... you can see their hands twitch when they're shifting.

http://www.formula1.com/insight/tech...fo/11/467.html
http://www.f1technical.net/articles/30
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/sequential-gearbox2.htm
http://www.speedtv.com/programs/28/

 

I have found the best way to get more oomph from the little engine that could is to use the left paddle shifter on my Sport AT. It drops down a gear for each pull on the paddle and enables a dramatic increase in power when you need it. It's much better and faster than tromping on the pedal. I'm no stranger to paddle shifters. My Mazda RX-8, the non-family car, despite the four doors, has an automatic tranny and outstanding paddle shifters. Would not be surprised though to find that the zero to twenty times for the Fit might actually be better than my Mazda RX-8. Hard to believe that the speedo on the Fit goes to 140 MPH. Maybe with a J-79 in afterburner mode.

 

Apologies for continuing off topic, but if you lived in Bangkok, all the European rounds would be on Sunday in PRIME TIME! WHOOO HOOOO

 

Does the Base Model AT for the US Fit have paddle shifters? Or is it only for the Sport model?

-Ed

 

Sport model only.