tomorrow marks one year since this thread was created.
i like to kinda sum up the year with a summary of my FitS
experience:
Ken's FitS (2008) 5MT...
Car is still very enjoyable to drive during the commute and for
running errands. Car is most enjoyable on surface roads under
55mph.
Car performs best when not pushed... meaning, use the mid-torque
band and drive quick. dont wind up the engine to redline cause it
will remind you it is slow.
Car continues to impress how roomy it is inside. EVERYONE that have
sat in my car commented this and the quality of the interior pieces.
Also the cargo space is more than enough for most folks with 2 little
kids. ive yet to feel that my FitS was 'too small.'
No warranty issues on the car. Had done 2 oil changes and costed
me only $25 total including filter and 4qts of M1 (first one was free.
)
Cost to own is cheap. since i paid cash it's super cheap.
Car tracks straight and alignment angles appear to stay in place well.
Shortcomings...
Clutch pedal rubber wears out real quick. every 6months i need
to replace it. honda needs to use harder material.
Car feels like it eats gas quickly due to the small 10gallon(?) tank.
considering ive only done 10k miles this year it's not that big of a
deal hopping over to the gas station, but wish the tank was a tad
bigger...say 13gallons.
Lack of ambient temperature gauge. i still feel that this is a must-have
for snowbelt states as we need to know if the roads are icing up or
not while driving. it should be part of the safety feature and have this
standard on all cars.
Tach on the left side of the cluster... ok, majority of drivers have AT so
doesn't matter, but why is the tach not in the center of the cluster where
it's suppose to be?
Rattles... cabin rattles are pretty frequent when temps dip past 40F.
Stereo... the HU could be better. the factory speakers actually sound
pretty good in the Sport trim. The HU needs more EQ control.
Non-telescoping steering wheel...and close pedals. i understand
Honda probably designed the car to be used by short japanese women,
but come on, it's not a borolla/yaris. guys want to drive Fit's too.
at least the 09's have telescoping steering wheels.
Muffer... who the hell uses bathtub faucets as muffler tips on
a car like this?! lol bad taste, honda. lol that was fixed on the
09's though
Wheels... the stock wheels look ok in 2D (from the side), but when you
consider 3D (looked upon at an angle) it's too tucked into the wheelwell.
honda shouldve engineered this car to run 45mm offset. 15x6.5 or 15x7
wheels. i am aware some folks use chains and that's why honda
used 55mm offset for chain clearance to the fenders...but still.
Conclusion...
Overall im still happy with the purchase. if asked if i would buy the same
car again if something happened to mine, i would have to say 'no.'
the main reason is because of the short comings above, and originally i
wasn't searching for a car in this segment. i was in the market for
something in the $35K+.
After the initial excitement wore off the car was still fun to drive, but
it just lacks a lot of the luxuries i would like in 'daily driver.'
ofcourse i bought the car knowing that it had no luxury features so
it's really my own decision, not a lacking part of the car.
(luxury like better stability at expressway speeds, quieter cabin, leather
seating, heated seats/mirrors, better stereo out of the box, sunroof,
etc. etc.)
but the FitS packs a punch for the dollar and it's a great buy. i would
highly recommend it to any college kid or someone that's just looking
for some basic transportation and some fun time motoring it.
with the light weight of the
(at 2mph). 
need to dig out the FitS before
Linear Mode
