So I called a few local Honda dealerships yesterday, and one of them (Honda East, Cincinnati, OH) had a 5MT SSM Sport that they were keeping on the lot for test drives and such. I made the trip up there today just to test it out. I must say I really liked it. First thing I noticed was that the car had no markup. The salesperson (Jeff, a great guy!) told me that they would absolutely not mark up any Fits. The manual drove well, but I thought the throws were a little long on the shifter, then again, I'm used to the short shifter in my del sol. The steering was nice, and it had decent get-up-and-go. The car looks a lot smaller in person (inside and out) than in the pictures. The front seat doesn't go back as far as I want it to, but it still has more front seat legroom than my wife's prius. For those asking about refresh mode, I tried it and refresh mode just won't work in the 09 Fit! I was kind of bummed, because even my wife's prius can do this, but the front passenger seat is just a little too tall. If it was 1.5" shorter or slid up just a little bit more, refresh mode would be possible. The salesman even tried putting the back sean in tall mode first, and then laying it down after the front seat was all the way back, but to no avail. He was able to give me a brocure, which just came in yesterday he said. It's tall and skinny with some fold out sections, so probably not the easiest thing to scan. One more interesting fact about the center console/armrest accessory, they won't install it in manual Fits because it's a safety hazard! He said something about people hitting their arm against it while shifting into 2nd or 4th. Weird. Well, that's my experience. I'm hoping my house doesn't sell now so I can use the money we were using for the down payment on our next house to put toward a 5AT Sport with navi/VSA.

 

No armrest for MT? Hmm, I'm not liking that very much...

 

hah make them put the armrest in anyway..

its so stupid, the same way they said they would not install the HFP muffler on the 07-08 Automatic Fit because it was louder.

 

Just to clarify what he means by "armrest", he means the accessory armrest with storage compartment. The Sport MT comes with the folding thin armrest which is better than nothing.

 

[Ed McMahon]Yes! You are correct sir![/Ed McMahon]

 

Thanks for the review. I don't understand why refresh mode wouldn't work on the US version, unless they have to enlarge the seats to accomodate bigger and heavier US polulations. It's definitely on the Japanese version:
Honda�bƒNƒ‹ƒ}�bƒtƒBƒbƒg�bƒCƒ“ƒeƒŠƒA�bULTRƒV�[ƒg. I hope in the future they will bring it back. I also wish they can bring those wonderful colors here. My personal favorate is the lavender one. That way I don't have to share it w/ my dear boyfriend!

 

No refresh is a bummer.
Thanks for your review.
I wish i was old enough to test drive cars.

 

Gee, how come the url link turned into garbage after I posted it?

Try again here: Honda�bƒNƒ‹ƒ}�bƒtƒBƒbƒg�bƒCƒ“ƒeƒŠƒA�bULTRƒV�[ƒg

They probably made the front seat bigger for more comfort in the US version. It's a shame no refresh mode. But then, it's still a great car and won't break the deal for me.

 

Why is my url kept on turning into garbage? the url is all english, no japanese characters. Trying one more time:

Honda�bƒNƒ‹ƒ}�bƒtƒBƒbƒg�bƒCƒ“ƒeƒŠƒA�bULTRƒV�[ƒg

honda.co.jp/Fit/interior/seat/index.html (if above still doesn't work, copy and paste this one and add www. to it)

 

Weird... The link works, though.

 

I do remember reading that the 09 front seats are now larger are built around larger frames. Personally the refresh mode wasn't something I would ever use.

 

Perhaps this had something to do with them removing the seat height adjuster in US Fits.

 

How is the road/wind noise?? Is it quiet on the highway?

 

I can't compare the 08 to the 09 as I only drove the 09. But it is considerable quieter than my wife's 2002 cr-v.

 

I can only go by memory as my dad's 07 Fit is on the other side of the county, but, I think the wind noise and overall noise is noticeably reduced. It's pretty impressively serene on the highway, but I think it's still susceptible to crosswinds as much as the 1st gen.

Noise over bumps is supposedly markedly reduced, and it's just as solid going over them.

Still, I wouldn't mind it if it kept the 1st gen's firmer ride.

 

Lucky. None of the Honda dealerships I've been to have any on the lots. Grrrrr.

And what is it about salesman and woman consumers? I probably know more about the 09 Fit than he does. Bastard.

 

They got rid of the refreash mode because people said they never used it on the GD3s.

 

you guys might want to watch this video.
go about 2 min in and you'll see.
very good info and looks like you still
can put it into refresh mode with a little work.
YouTube - 2009 HONDA FIT NEW CAR REVIEW

 

The one they got into refresh mode was an 08 Fit. He's explaining that even in the 08 fit, it's still hard to get it in refresh mode. In the 09, it won't lay perfectly flat like the 08, but if you don't mind a 4" hump on the back of your thighs, then you could live with it.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to drive it on the highway. There are lots of nice curvy backroads around this dealership, and that's what they have everyone test drive on. There's a Toyota dealership down the street owned by the same guy, and when we test drove a Prius for my wife there, we did the same exact test drive route. I never really had the car above 50, and I probably would not have gone that fast if I didn't have a WRX on my ass.