since the manual seys its ok, then im sure its ok. Its probly no different then useing the paddle shifters in the Sport.

 

Or people who want to concentrate on the road instead of wasting time doing something that a machine can do just as well.

Conventional autos are crap - no argument there - but CVT is on the money. What little power is wasted in friction is pretty much made up by the perfect ratio selection. This is the first automatic I've owned after twenty years of driving and it's good.

The paddles aren't really good enough to use all the time but they are handy when you know that you're going to need some power and want to initiate your own kick-down.

CVT gear boxes were banned from formula one before they even made it into a race for a good reason. They were just too damn good.

 

Any idea why an automatic would need more RPM, I assume for torque, than a manual with a constant clutch?
Is the Fit automatic a CVT? If so why would that affect velocity/thrust ratio?

 

How does the car get better mileage with a manual with the RPM/speed ratios noted on the last post?

 

FWIW the CVT-7 has a longer ratio available in auto than in paddle-shift.

In auto it can do 60mph at only slightly above 2,000rpm. In 7th 'gear' IIRC it does 2,500rpm. Of course the auto doesn't keep that ratio for long when you reach even the slightest hill

Edit:And when I write "slightly above" I mean the needle barely clears the 2,000 marking so I assume the above figures for automatic are the stepped auto rather than CVT.

 

No, the US/Canada Fit AT is not a CVT (I wish it were); it's a standard 5 speed Auto trans with lockup capabilities (one more gear for the AT than most....)
Most cars I've driven in both MT and AT version have the MT geared a bit lower, but the Fit's difference seems to be more than most.

My guess is that there are 2 reasons:

1) MT drivers are perceived as being more 'sport' oriented, and want a bit more get up and go;
2)On the freeway, there'd be less need for shifting if you're running a lower gear. I've read a bunch of posts from AT users saying the Fit downshifts pretty regularly on the freeway whenever there's a moderate incline. With an MT having to do that pretty much eliminates the ability to use cruise control......

I suspect that on the open road in real world conditions > 60-70 mph the significantly higher gearing of the AT will give a bit better gas milage, especially if the terrain is fairly flat. Otherwise I think the MT wins in the milage dept because you're always fully locked up....

I'm still waiting for my MT to be built (dealer says in Nov!) - I'm really not interested in a standard AT. Now, if the CVT was an option, there's a good chance I'd take it over the MT.....

 

heck, I'll probably sell my sport AT and get a CVT. (or keep it... but still getting the CVT.) When and if it ever comes out. Even on the smallest of inclines the AT will shift down. I don't see a problem in this. I'm guessing it has more to do with the fact its a small engine and has overdrive gears.

 

Stop spammin about CVTs...North American Fits do not have that option. So manuals fits ARE better if:
You want better fuel economy, stronger transmission, and more power.
Who care's if "Yurope" get's CVTs...nobody cares about europe...!

 

I'll take a MT anyday - and counting!

 

Agreed, I don't think it's a problem either, on an AT. But if I'm on the open road going 70 mph with cruise on with an MT, and the engine started lugging so I had to shift every time I went up a 5% grade, I'd be kind of ticked off. That's one of the reasons I'm guessing that MT's tend to be geared a bit lower than AT's........

 

Ah, so you're the reason we don't have a proper top gear.

 

Yep, I'm the one. I just happen to be single aggregate demographic data point that Honda consults to give Final Approval for All North American Deviations from Honda Standard International Design Protocols. (The bigger nose on the North American Fit was my call, too...)

Seriously though, I'd *love* to have a 6th gear for long haul highway cruising where the road warrants it (and I agree that it should have it) but I can't say that given a 5 speed transmission that top gear be as tall as the AT so I'm forced to constantly shift if I'm just putting along at 60 mph.....

 

which fit gets to the limiter faster atSport or mt (120mph)

 

I beleive that driving a manual is real driving. Autos are for lazy drivers that have other things to do in a car like eatting, talking on cel, putting makeup on, etc. Real driving is done in manual form. It also brings the best out of a car. I have a manual 04 accord sedan that I am trading in when my fit arrives. It is much better than the auto version of the accord. Manuals give a driver a real feel for the road and better control all around. I also don't think its just a "phase". I think its a way of life. I have been driving manuals for 14 years and plan to till I can't anymore. Plus most people could not truely now how the two are different because they only know how to drive autos. But, I guess its to everyones own personal liking. Some people that even claim they can drive manuals properly can't. It just takes lots of practice. For performance issues manuals are the way to go. Hands down. If your just comuting and don't care about performance than get an auto.

 

Autos are the way to go... (well, CVTs are at any rate.) Unless you know how to double clutch I wouldn't talk about real driving. Besides, those paddle shifters, way more effecient shifter. Also, most of the time, meaning faster shifts. Real feel for the road? Fits are DBW... you arn't feeling much of anything.

 

also, up untill I got my Fit, my car was a manual... for 8 years. (when I was 10 till I was 14, I had to double clutch a tractor. So before you talk some more smack about auto drivers, learn to double clutch.)

 

For the first time in a LONG time I'm considering an automatic. The way I see it is the Fit isn't a race car. I have 2 other cars for "fun." The Fit for me would be about utility, gas mileage, reliability and safe transportation. Good review though.

 

Manual gear boxes certainly allow drivers to demonstrate skill and if you can do it well and enjoy it then fair enough. But you need to realise that the skill is only going some way to compensate for the basic inadequacies of having discrete gears. That ehhyaaah, ehhyahh, sound of a typical car accelerating through the gears is the sound of inneficiency. It doesn't matter how well you can change the gear that fact that the revs are rising and falling means that the engine is spending most of its time operating away from peak power/torque.

When I floor my Jazz the revs leap to 5500 and just stay there until I ease off. Peak power throughout the entire acceleration manouver..and there's no way you can do that with a manual.

It is also using some of your mental capacity that could be employed in other areas. It takes mental effort to change gear, more so the better you are at it. If it was easy everyone could do it. I would far rather that the idiots I share the road with expend their feeble mental capacity on steering and hazard awareness rather than the act of pushing a pedal and pulling on a lever.

 

I prefer manuals - and my last 6 cars have been MT. I've been waiting waaaaayyyy too long for my MT Fit. But I see no need to dis AT drivers because they prefer that.

A lot of people don't enjoy driving ; it's just what they need to do to get from point A to point B. And, for those people, the easier driving is, the better. I have no problem with that - and less competition for me for the few manuals that are out there .

Also, autos have come a long way in the last few years. It used to be that there was NO comparison, performance wise, between MT and AT cars with the same engine, especially those with a very small engine (try driving an AT vs MT Geo to see what I mean......)

The Fit auto is pretty darn good, actually, and Car and Driver said so (though if they had to choose, they'd still pick the maual over the auto). I certainly noticed the difference, but I have to admit it was a lot less than what I expected for a car with such a small engine.

Now CVT really seems to give pretty much the best of both worlds, and had Honda offered that in the Fit, I may well have chosen that over even the MT .........

 

First I would like to say that I was not trashing auto drivers. Just saying that people that choose to drive and do other things in their cars besides just driving is hazardous to other's on the road. I've been reading about the differences between the manual and auto tranny available in the fit sport. It sounds to me that the auto might be the way to go. It's like having the best of both worlds. I know I said I would drive mt till I can't anymore, but after test driving a fit sport with the paddle shifters today I was quite impressed and changed my mind about getting the mt. When I was replying about mt and auto's I was refering to the regular auto without paddle's. Anyway the auto felt very nice and using the paddle's was quite fun. Very different experience from your basic mt. But, I enjoyed it very much. I just wanted to say that we are all fit owners here or soon to be fit owners so were all coming from the same boat. I just wanted to apologize if I upset anyone who drives an auto and isn't one of those unsafe drivers. Not saying there are not unsafe mt drivers because there are. Also like I said mt driving is real driving because it takes skill as to say on the track or other types of racing. Also I do know what double clutching is and how to perform it properly. But like I said the paddle's is what sold me to buy the auto and the fact that the wait for the manual is so darn long! I am kind of glad it is just for the fact that I probably would not have gotten the chance to drive the auto with paddle's. So on monday I will be picking up my new blue fit sport auto with the sport shifting thanks to a lot of the wonderful members feed back on this forum. So again I apologize if I upset anyone. Not trying to be hypocritical but if it were not for you auto fit owners out there I would not have even went on a test drive in the auto. So thanks everyone for the wonderful feed back. Concidering I am a die hard mt guy converted to an auto paddle shifting guy. I beleive I will be happy with my decision concidering that both the mt and auto are both 5 speed. Now if it were a 6 speed manual it might have been a different story. Thanks again fellow fit freaks! Also about saying you can't have performance in a auto trans I will admit I was wrong! Maybe next time I should think before I type. lol