Paddle shifters are FUN!

[gpmo]

I got my Fit home last night. Read Over the manual and tried out the paddle shifters this morning. (I used them in the test drive but I didn't know what I was doing).

First of all, you put the transmission in "S" and take off and it's still in "D"rive. The true "S" mode doesn't kick-in until you tap on one of the paddles. The first time I did this, I was moving when I hit the paddle for the first time and I was in 3rd already. If you are not moving, you are in "S" and you tap a paddle, you take off locked in 1st and paddle shift up or down as desired.

It shifts pretty quickly. Buzzing down the street, you tap the + paddle and say "one thousand", at the "and" in "one thousand", it's in the next gear.

I was surprised to find that the car down shifts for you. You are zipping around town and come to a stop sign (in "S" mode) and you are in 1st automatically without down shifting by hand. COOL!


This is a fun car to drive.

[ezekielwhore]

nice. congrats my fellow fit freak.

[4dr4life!]

ive always wondered if u had to downshift when coming to a stop... thx for the info! still waiting to get mine

[wyy183]

On other Honda products, like the Acura RSX, it also resets to 1st automatically. That's really cool! In playing around in the RSX, I also discovered that at a stop I could shift it into 2nd prior to taking off, which would be great on snow/ice. Another thing is that when you are in manual mode, it will hold the gears until the fuel cut-off kicks in - IOW, it doesn't shift for you.

Way cool!!!

[dartvader]

THIS SUCKS. I need to go auto with my next car because my commute is about 50% crawling in stop and go traffic. I was really hoping tosave aome green and get the base model w/ auto but I don't know now if I could ever forgive myself for skipping the Sport. Damn Honda and their exclusive must-have feature you can only get as part of a pricey package!

[DRum]

Not only must have features, are on the sport - even some pretty basic ones like cruise.

I will never figure out car marketing types.

[HashiriyaS14]

My fiance has an '05 RSX with the sport-shift, and if the Fit's paddles are as good or better than that, I'm going to be *very* happy, because her car is a lot of fun.

I like the option for 2nd gear starts, just like the old Q45s.

[aira]

Wow! I just may consider this over a manual.

[DewaltDakota]

Originally Posted by wyy183

Another thing is that when you are in manual mode, it will hold the gears until the fuel cut-off kicks in - IOW, it doesn't shift for you.

I recall from somewhere (don't remember where), that on the Sport Auto Fit, if you hold it in a gear too long, it will automatically upshift at redline.

[Hondyboy]

I think that's only in D. I understand S is supposed to stay in gear.

Thanks for the reviews of the paddle shifters. Can't wait to try them myself!!

[rjm161]

You know what's even more fun? A clutch!

[nexus4400]

The paddle shifters have a buttony feel to them, with the sound of a console game controller (the pushing of the d-pads on a ps2). They lack the mechanical feel like the shifter on the sega ferrari 355 challenge arcade game. They seem too distracting for around-town use. I'd rather leave it in drive and go. I felt a slight jerk when I shifted down into sport mode--due to being a new car with 10 miles on the odometer. One thing I notice is that when pulling the tranny lever to select the "S" mode, the gear indicator doesn't show the gear until you press the '+' or '-' paddles.

I felt a slight jerk when I downshifted into 2nd while taking the corner at low RPM.