Hello!

I live in Atlanta, GA and I drive to Seattle, WA almost every year (love driving through California and Oregon).

I also make a few trips upstate quite often (New York, Connecticut and Maine).

I've never driven a compact car before and I'm just afraid of getting one of these and not be able to drive comfortably at highway speeds for long periods of time.

Therefore I have a few questions.

- How well does this car behave on the highway?
- How well does this car behave under 'severe' weather?
- Does it feel stable driving at 70, 75, 80 mph?
- Do you feel it's difficult to maneuver in emergency situations? (stopping or changing lanes rapidly)
- Are the seats somewhat bearable for long periods of time?

I really appreciate all your input!

 

It's bedtime, and your questions need a longer response than I can give at the moment, but I just completed a round trip from Central IL to Central GA (17 hours straight, including stops) and back (via Charleston, SC). In general, the car did great for what it is... Will respond in detail when I have a block of time.

es

 

The car is certainly capable of going long distances and the level of comfort you perceive depends upon what you are used to. If you are used to a Lexus you will probably feel uncomfortable in a Fit. If you are used to a aircooled VW beetle the Fit will be the lap of luxury!

I'd have no qualms about a cross-country trip in a Fit.

 

I think your own age will play into your answer. When I was 17, I drove from chicago to Denver (and back), in an old Willys jeep, and never complained. Today, I would fly and still be a little sore once I arrived in Denver.

Having said that, if given a choice between the same Chicago/Denver trip, in either my old 2008 Honda Fit, or my daughters new 2015 Honda Fit, I would choose the latter without hesitation.

As for road handling at higher speeds or severe weather, it is not my Honda Odyssey by any means, but the MPG would be phenomenal, in comparison. The savings would easily pay for a steam and massage once you arrived.

 

Here are my thoughts on the Fit for highway trips:

The wind does tend to affect the tracking of the Fit in open areas like farmland. Aside from this, the car feels very stable all-around (speeds, severe weather, etc.). The reason the car is affected by the wind is because it's light and has mostly flat sides. Even in the snow, the Fit is fairly stable, but as with any vehicle I recommend snow tires. Seeing as you won't see any of that in GA, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
In emergency situations, the Fit does awesome! I'm a delivery driver for a late-night pizza shop in a college town (so lots of drunks to avoid), and I definitely find the Fit more than capable of avoiding accidents. It's no sports car, but the emergency handling is great.
The seats are more than comfortable for road trips. The longest I've been on is a 5 hour trip, but it was plenty comfortable for me (granted, I'm 21 so still have young joints and such).

Here's my question for those of you with CVTs: How high are the RPMs on the highway, particularly from 75-80 mph? My 6-speed (with it's super short gearing) sits at almost 4000 rpm at 80 mph, and with the *infinite* gears of the CVT I feel like it should be a bit lower than that.

 

The solution is simple. Drive a VW bus 100 miles over hilly terrain with crosswinds. At that point the Fit will feel as fast as a Ferrari and as stable as a locomotive!

 

Yeah, I guess that'll help a little.

 

Been there, done that.



es

 

My Fit is quite comfortable for longer drives but I have to say that in strong crosswinds, it's profile doesn't help. It is more affected by cross winds than my Camry was. Otherwise, freeway driving is excellent. Not as cushy as a car like a Camry, but not as hard as riding in a pickup truck or 4x4.

 

Wow, a '71 like mine, but mine isn't a camper!

Honestly, if someone is having problems with crosswinds in a modern car, even a Fit, they need to pay closer attention to the job at hand!

 

- How well does this car behave on the highway?

Steering is very precise and light. Chassis is very rigid, would describe the handling as tight but not darty. The behavior is very well controlled.

- How well does this car behave under 'severe' weather?

Deep water it handles very well thanks to 185 profile tires essentially cutting through the water rather than hydroplaning. Snow, I cant say yet. Wind, yes it's broad sided and gets blown around more than a low slung heavy sedan. But the accuracy of the steering and the narrow width makes this very manageable.

- Does it feel stable driving at 70, 75, 80 mph?

Yes, very.

- Do you feel it's difficult to maneuver in emergency situations? (stopping or changing lanes rapidly)

No, it is superb in this regard. Seriously, last car had custom suspension and the fit handles similarly.

- Are the seats somewhat bearable for long periods of time?

This is a matter of personal biology. The one watch-out that i'd give you is the bolster at the top of the backrest. It pokes out a bit much for my tastes.

 

Agree… I never drove my 'bus through the Middle West, but in the eight years I had it (before it died an ignominious death on the way to Oshkosh), I never really had problems with crosswinds – including driving through the mountains around Ashville, NC. Getting *up* the mountains was another story, though!

es

 

I was born in Atlanta and lived in the SE until I moved to the Middle West a bit over a decade ago. My wife and I made a run to Seattle and then up into Canada a couple years ago, plus have been up to Maine and usually visit family in either GA or FL several times a year. My normal commute is about 35 miles of rural farm country on poorly maintained IL State and County roads (mostly 55MPH).

As others have already replied, you shouldn't necessarily be afraid of using a Fit for cross-country jaunts. HOWEVER. You also did not state what you are "used to," and if that's a floaty 1980s full-size domestic, you will likely be disappointed by the Fit.

Answers follow!

On good roads, it's quite pleasant, stable and smooth. On choppy roads, you will definitely know you're in a lightweight compact. It's not horrible, but it's also not going to be near as smooth as a mid-size sedan or minivan (our normal road trip vehicle).

Wind noise is acceptable in calm weather, but A-pillar noise gets pretty loud in a strong cross-wind, most likely due to the strakes that run up the sides of the windscreen.

I've only had to contend with light-to-moderate rain so far. My Fit has 16x7 aftermarket wheels with Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires, and they did great - no hint of hydroplaning, despite the relatively light weight of the car.

As others have noted, the light weight and high profile of the car do make it susceptible to buffeting, either from cross-winds or turbulence around other vehicles, particularly tractor-trailers. You do have to keep your head in the game in these conditions, where in the calm, you can almost let the car have its head.

While I've briefly nudged into the triple-digits (on a long, straight and smooth section of rural road, where the car felt decently stable), I generally drive the posted limit. My recent trip had mostly 55, 65 and 70 limits, and the car felt fine at any and all of those.

I've thankfully not had to make any emergency maneuvers yet. The car does feel well planted in curves (if a bit numb, but not so numb as to not be fun). Brakes are excellent, and my only real complaint with them is that there's a bit of a dead spot when you first touch the pedal, and then the brakes come on pretty aggressively at that point. I have to be mindful of this in traffic with someone riding my rear.

I'm 6'-4", of average proportions and weight, and am in my early 50s. While I would appreciate another inch or two of rear seat travel, it was quite tolerable on my 17-hour trip. I didn't feel cramped, and was reasonably fresh when I arrived. It was honestly no worse than driving our '12 Routan (which is a badge-engineered Town & Country), which could also do with a touch more legroom. I was a bit more tired and felt it a bit in my back after the trip home - we did 5 hours to Charleston, then from there back to Central IL the next day. My wife (who is 5'-8" and thin) said the passenger seat was not as comfortable as in my former '13 VW Beetle Convertible (which was a comfortable road trip car, but had other issues that led to my trading for the Fit).

I will readily take the Fit on another long trip (as opposed to taking the Routan). The car swallowed a ton of luggage and tools (for a repair job at my Dad's house). Unless we need to carry extra people and luggage, there's really no reason to take the minivan any more.

Other bits of info to share from my trip:



Fuel economy was a bit disappointing - based on other folks reports here at FF, I was expecting to hit around 40 MPG, if not higher. My trip average ended up being around 36.5. I have been perplexed at the inconsistent mileage from trip-to-trip. I'll get 45 on one trip, and 36 the next, with seemingly little difference in ambient conditions or types of roads traveled.

My car is looking like it's going to be a "three hundred mile" car. 300 miles between fill-ups, in other words. My '13 Beetle would easily do 500, and the '00 TDI New Beetle I had prior to that would easily clear 600 (700+ a few times!). So I just have to plan more fuel stops…

That said, you'll see on my chart that my averaged cost per mile (just for fuel) is working out to $0.07/mile in the Fit, as compared to the $0.10/mile in my former TDi Beetle, which got about 42 MPG (diesel costs more, which is why the per mile cost is higher). Insurance is less on the Fit, so I should easily end up spending less per mile as compared with the diesel Beetle.

From an entertainment standpoint, it's been many years since I spent hundreds (would be thousands these days!) on radio and speaker upgrades. I use bluetooth streaming to play tunes off my iPhone, and the unit works fine for that. I wouldn't mind upgrading the speakers at some point, though. They're "adequate," if that makes sense.

Since Apple and Honda continue to drag their feet implementing CarPlay, I went ahead and bought the Honda Navigation app. It, too, would have to be described only as "adequate." It worked fine, but is strictly no-frills. I did prefer the spoken turn-by-turn instructions in the Honda app over Siri in the Apple Maps app. There were two main problems I had with the app, though.

First, and I think this was a cable issue, the video signal through the HDMI adapter was unstable, and I kept having to wiggle the cables around to get the signal back (tried two different HDMI cables with similar results).

Second, you have to "approve" the app every time you restart the car (every time you stop for gas, food, etc.). If I did not also disconnect my iPhone, it was hit or miss whether the Honda apps would even work upon a restart - there's a bug there, either in the iPhone app(s) or in the head unit. A restart of my iPhone was the only way to fix it if it happened.

Siri Hands Free generally works pretty well.

There is only one intermittent position for the front/rear wipers. Multiple positions for the front wipers would be a help.

Temps were back in the 20° F range here at home today, and I'm finding the heater to also be only "adequate." Certainly not in the class of the heater in my TDI Beetle, which would roast you out of the car once it got warmed up. We'll see how things look when we start hitting -15° in a month or two!

I have not had any issues with the defroster, front or rear (as reported by others in other threads). Seems to work okay if set correctly for conditions.

All-in-all, I'm quite happy with the car. I get a hoot out of driving it, either to work or on a long trip. My New Beetle was decaled like Herbie The Love Bug, and I was used to having folks take cell phone photos of me all the time. Imagine my surprise when several hours into my trip, I had someone shoot the Fit!



If you want to read more about how I chose the Fit as a replacement for the '13 Beetle, head over the the article I wrote at Curbside Classic.

es

 

Just drove my fit 2600 miles in seven days. In Texas speed limits range up to 80mph.

Stability / safety. I came from a BMW 335i, which could handle pretty much anything I ever threw at it. I did notice one time in the Fit, at 80mph I kinda jerked the wheel because I thought the guy next to me was going to change lanes and the car kinda squatted and felt a little squirrelly. It did make me a little uneasy, so I wouldn't recommend a quick lane change at 80mph. I once saw a Nissan Versa flip and roll about 200 yards in front me while going 75mph because the person reacted too much to going out of her lane so I think its a small wheelbase light weight hatchback thing.

Other than that, braking is strong. I feel pretty confident in it, again coming from a 335i, basically a sports car, maybe not as confident but confident enough. Drove it through the mountains never had any brake fade or any reason to not feel confident. Have had a few quick stops on city streets and never felt like it lacked stopping power.

Comfort: I spent 8 hours in the car three times in the last week. I have an EX, my ass started to hurt at about 5 hours but that's happens in any car. It was comfortable. The road can feel a little harsh, if youre used to driving a Lexus LS it might be a little much. Coming from a 335i (with sport suspension) its not any worse, the Fit can be a little jarring but that depends on what you're used to anyway.

 

Really appreciate all the feedback!

You guys really took the time to respond and I cannot stress how much you've all helped.

It will definitely make my car buying experience a lot easier!

There's just some things you cannot grasp during a test drive and the sales people don't help much either.

So again, thanks and I apologize that I'm not able to respond to each comment, but rest assured that I have read every single one and take all of them in consideration.

 

As for driving long distances, I just did a drive from S. Cali to N. Cali and back over the Thanksgiving holiday/weekend under raining condition on Sunday, which end with about 1k miles over all. No issues with the car/handling, just your normal getting tired and only took 1 break each way. After about 4 hours, my behind began to sore, which I also experienced with my 2005 Accord when I had it.

 

Exactly!!!

 

Sent you a PM

 

I find this to be true as well. It's not as pronounced as on the Chevy Spark, but it is noticeable. I am 5'3". It causes my head to tilt every so slightly forward, but not enough for me to notice it every time I drive.

I drive an average of 400 miles a week, and most of my day is spent sitting in the car, driving or parked (I'm in sales & have a 4 state territory). I find it to be comfortable enough. After about 6-8+ hours my back muscles are a little fatigued, but I think that's going to be true of every car. I think the longest I've spent in the car was about 10-12 hours, with breaks for 20 minute meetings and 20 minute food stops. I've never driven a Mercedes or any other car like that.

Like others have mentioned, the wind is going to affect this car, so you need to steer your car. I don't think it is a problem at all, but if you were the type of person who never had their hands on the wheel, it would be! :-D

The noise at highway speeds is the most noticeable thing. I use my car's bluetooth to play Pandora (love that I can do that!) and so I have to have the volume up higher to make up for the noise at 60mph. Again, nothing I can't deal with, I'd rather pay less $ than pay more $ for a quieter car

Someone mentioned CVT rpms earlier... I get about 2500 rpm normally. I haven't noticed if it is higher at highway speeds. But generally it's around 2500.

I have the CVT LX btw, so I don't know if the wiper settings will be different, but on the LX there is no variable intermittent wipers, that's something I miss.

Once the temperature is below 15F to 10F, I feel like the heat takes awhile to heat up the car. I haven't paid much attention to this, but the other day it was about 5F and I was thinking, "man... it's taking awhile for this car to warm up..."

Driving in snow... haven't driven in fresh snow, just the icy crusty road that my dwelling is located on.... didn't get plowed before everyone drove on it, so it's just crappy and bumpy and the Fit navigates it just fine. The first time I drove on snow/ice with the Fit I sped up a bit then braked to test brakes... seem to work fine.

Anyhow, I recommend the car!

 

I too miss the variable intermittent wipers as it's not available on any of the trims.

Easy fix is apply Rain-X on the windshield. Be careful of not getting the stuff on the paint as it will stain it.