Manual or Automatic with Paddle Shifters

[Titans]

Hi everyone,
I really like the Honda fit and I need some advice on this since I don't know much about car. Some questions below might be stupid, please try to understand. Your Help will be greatly appreciated.

I know the Honda Fit Sport has 2 models
- Manual
- Automatic with Paddle Shifters.

Have have several questions:
- If you have a choice between Manual and Automatic With Paddle Shifters, which one would you choose?

- What is the Different between Pabdle Shifters & Manual?

- If the Manual and the Paddle Shifters are similiar, that means the Automatic with Paddle shifters Model give drivers choice to drive either automatic or Manual correct?

Thanks ahead.

[ashtaron14]

Manual cars have a clutch, the Automatic is clutchless, and is easier to drive. It'll really depend on you as a driver, I mean just wait until it comes out, test drive them both, then decide. I mean if you don't know how to drive a manual, then buy one and learn it, but if you do know how to drive a manual, I don't think you'll need to even think between the two, manual is the answer.

[b17gsr]

It depends if you live in bumper to bumper traffic, or not. It depends if you enjoy being part of the driving experience, or want a computer to make choices for you. It depends if you want to spend an extra 1300$ on the automatic with paddle shifters.

I’ve yet to drive an automatic with a paddle control that I like. I’ve always loved rowing my own gears, even when stuck in grid lock for a few hours. I find a true manual car has more control in bad weather, and you can force the car to start in a specific gear. I can think of other things to buy for 1300$.

I’ll be getting a manual Fit Sport. But you, the one purchasing it needs to decide what transmission to get. You’ll be the one driving it, not us.

[Titans]

Thanks ashtaron14 and b17gsr.
I like to drive manual transmission. I spent most of my time on Hwy.
But I got confuse with the paddle shifters and the Manual.
Why does honda has the Automatic with the Paddle shifters?

Thanks again

[crimsona]

Paddle shifting looks cool, and that's about it. It gives the user a F1/Arcade type way of driving manual without needing a clutch

[ashtaron14]

By no means is the Auto with paddle shifter better than a regular auto, it's just tiptronic, same stuff as the Prelude and CSX, they just put the upshift and downshift buttons closer to the driver, and name it paddle shifters. The "real" F1 paddle shifters would be on Ferrari, and you can get similar effects with BMW's SMG and VW's DSG, Lamborghini's E-Gear

I think the neatest one is the DSG though, there's a seperate clutch for 1,3,5 than 2,4,6 so the next gear would be "ready" when you do upshift or downshift so it's very smooth, but the bad part is that there's no rev limiter developed yet for the DSG trannies, so you can easily and accidentally over-rev and break your tranny, according to my friend that works at VW, a whole new tranny will need to be shipped from Germany to replace your broken one, think about the wait if you did that to your next VW GTi...

[Titans]

Originally Posted by ashtaron14

By no means is the Auto with paddle shifter better than a regular auto, it's just tiptronic, same stuff as the Prelude and CSX, they just put the upshift and downshift buttons closer to the driver, and name it paddle shifters. The "real" F1 paddle shifters would be on Ferrari, and you can get similar effects with BMW's SMG and VW's DSG, Lamborghini's E-Gear

I think the neatest one is the DSG though, there's a seperate clutch for 1,3,5 than 2,4,6 so the next gear would be "ready" when you do upshift or downshift so it's very smooth, but the bad part is that there's no rev limiter developed yet for the DSG trannies, so you can easily and accidentally over-rev and break your tranny, according to my friend that works at VW, a whole new tranny will need to be shipped from Germany to replace your broken one, think about the wait if you did that to your next VW GTi...

Thanks Ashtaron 14.
I believe you gave me the answer that I am looking for.
So the F1 race cars shifter and the Honda Fit Paddle Shifter is not the same, I thought It was.
I guess I will get the Fit Sport Manual and save $1300 for something else.

I am thinking about getting a NightHawk Black since they don't have the White. What color are you guys getting

Thank you all, Greatly appreciated.

[b17gsr]

I can't stand black, it looks amazing when clean, and as soon as it gets dirty, it looks like crap.

I'm thinking Vivid Blue or the Storm Silver. The Storm Silver or Alabaster Silver would hide the dust the best IMO.

[Titans]

Very True, The black looks great when it's clean.
I had a blue Civic before and like to try something new.
Blue was my first choice but after I saw the black one in here, I just can't keep my eyes away from that shiny black.

[ashtaron14]

Glad I can be of help to you, my friend is getting her Fit 5 Speed soon as well. She's having a hard time deciding on a color though... i

[Buddah]

Manual is the way to go. I work for Honda. I was a participant of the Ride&Drive for Honda employees to become familiar with the vehicle. It is very user friendly especially for new manual drivers. Being an experienced manual driver, I took it through it's paces and tried almost every kind of driving style. It is nearly impossible to stall in the vehicle for one thing. If you guys ever get the chance to take a manual for a spin...try this---come to a complete stop at a red light and let go of the clutch without adding gas. You'll notice the vehicle will not stall...instead it will inch forward. On the other hand, if you have your foot on the brake, it will stall. Pretty neat safety feature if you ask me. Too bad I won't have that engine long enough to enjoy that feature much as I'll be doing a swap soon after I pick it up.

Cheers,
Buddah.

[Titans]

Very useful info Dude

Thanks

[b17gsr]

Most newer Hondas with hydraulic transmissions are tricky to stall. Especially if you learned on a cable transmission.