K so I had a chance to take the 09 Fit Sport (no navi) over at the Honda lot for a spin today.
I won't talk about whats new or the stuff you guys all know about, I'll just confirm some stuff along the way.

Exterior:
Let me get this out of the way first: I like the new design. But I do have to say, if the pictures don't do it for you, seeing the car in person won't change your mind. The huge overhang is still huge. However, the car does have a sportier look. I parked my 07 Fit Sport next to the 09, and the 09 was less "minivan-like".
The new body kit is more refined, and doesn't look tacked on. The rear bumper doesn't look off-balanced, the whole car flows more naturally. Honda really took extra care with the details. Things like a black rear garnish, as apposed to body-colored, and exhaust tips ( on sport models), add to the sporty look of the car.
As with any car, styling is subjective, but the sporty nature of the new design is undeniable.

Interior:
The interior is the biggest upgrade for the 09 model. The pictures don't do the interior of the car ANY justice. The quality of the materials is leaps and bounds ahead of the competitors, and the outgoing model. The design feels more open, thanks to the windshield being pushed forward something like 4 inches. It feels like all the windows are much bigger, especially the front-most windows. Some people may not care for cup holders, but the two built in to the dash are in a great spot. All the gauges look more upscale, very bright, and a nice gradient from blue to black coming from the center of the circular gauge.
The only weak spot in the whole design is the stereo, which goes from 2-line to single line display. The USB-iPod connectivity works great, but the display is a bit slow going from showing the track number to title (or whatever you choose to display). The buttons all feel much better in quality, but the placement could have been better.
The seats are much more supportive, and sitting in the car feels much more comfortable from the driver seat due to a couple of small but important improvements:
1. Dead pedal
2. Driver's armrest
3. Better positioned/spaced pedals

The Drive:
First, I have to say this: The car is much more quiet than the previous model, its quite obvious when you drive the two back to back. And the ride is much softer, but without compromising handling, in fact, handling feels much more confident. The steering feel is definitely diferent, the steering wheel itself feels bigger, but has a better grip, which should be familiar to anyone who has driven an 8th gen civic.
The power increase is definitely noticeable, the auto fit even feels quicker than the 5-Speed GD3. And my average fuel economy for the short drive was 29 (in traffic, around the dealership).

Other stuff:
New accessories! A real nice sport wheel is available, the sport grille we have all seen, a proper armrest with storage is available, and carbon fiber-look trim for the interior and door B-pillar. Did I mention a leather-wrapped shift knob for MT models?

There is stuff I forgot, but if you have any questions about the car at all, let me know, I spent some quality time inside it.

A few questions I had myself that I can answer real quick:

DRLs: The headlight lamps work as DRLs, so HID kits will require a little extra work.

Spare tire: It's there, at least in the sport model I drove.

Steering wheel audio controls: Not in the sport, but seem to be in the navi model.

Passenger Vanity mirror: It's there.

Ask away, fellas.

 

Do the rear seats still have that slight-recline feature?

 

Yeah, if I'm thinking of the same thing. Basically, leaving the seat maladjusted but locked into place, right?

 

Gas cap that opens from inside the car or like the 1st gen?

 

It's not something I looked at specifically, but I didn't notice any release buttons while I was playing around the door pockets. I can confirm this tomorrow morning for ya

 

best review thus far!

 

i just checked ours out that rolled in today too!
the front end is definately much much more sportier than previous.
i dont like how u cant really even see the engine in the engine bay, itll be hard to work on. and the rear end looks like aprius.. honestly dude look at the rear real good and see how much of a square it is. all in all it looks like a 4dr ep3 and i dont think ill be going for this fit. but i cant wait to see some on the road definately!

 

drats!!! no audio control on the steering for non-navi?!

 

ctsport: Thanks!

Masterdebater: Yeah, its too bad about the engine bay. It seems like there is room for mods, but getting in there will be tough.

mole177: Yeah, i was under the impression the whole time (since the first pics were shown) that we were getting the controls on the sport model, but its not a deal breaker, the << and >> buttons are nice and big on the stereo. The center knob has them on their respective sides of the knob, with the play button on the bottom.

 

I believe they do, according to the owner's manual.

 

The gas cap opens from the outside, but it looks like a locking gas door. Instead of having that gap to insert your finger and pull it outward, you press in on the right side of the gas door and it pops open.

 

I got an '07 Fit sport and I don't think I'm going to get the '09 edition. I noticed on Car and Driver web site that the gas tank shrunk down a little bit and the gas mileage has not changed much. I think I'm going to keep my fit until I get my loan to under $5000 ($3000 to go). Then I might get a Civic coupe or see how the Fit Hybrid turns out.

 

Guys, regarding that seemingly long front overhang...it's just an illusion. With your right hand (lol) block off the rear and you'll see it's pretty short. It's giving people an impression of a long overhang because the car's length is so short and the rear overhang is like zero.

One thing I was trying to find is some kind of temp guage/indicator. I know the 1st gen has an indicator, but I haven't noticed anything of the sort in my car yet.

As far as the fuel capacity, it shrank from 10.8 to 10.6. Big deal.