The fit is an awesome highway car IF being fun to drive is important to you. The ride is certainly compliant but most major car reviewers would recommend the *shudder* Nisaan Versa, but you would sacrifice reliability and cargo space and the agile handling of the fit for a more comfortable ride and ever so slightly faster highway acceleration. Now, when you get to an on/off ramp and want to tear it up, the Fit is your friend.

 

Every time I get on the highway with the Fit I consistantly get 38-40 mpgs. Nothing more to say about that- it speaks for itself. That's hybrid territory.

Keep in mind that you do NOT feel as though you're in a tiny car when driving the Fit. That counts a lot when on the highway. The Fit is not at a handy cap compared to the traffic around you. You can keep up, set the pace, or get ahead of yourself and outright speed too much and not even realize it. Frankly, the Fit is at it's BEST on the highway- both for gas economy and handling. It does great as a city/suburb run around too. But when you get on the big roads, the car feels and acts it's happiest. I've driven a lot of cars in my day out there with the masses. Not one of them handled the challenge as well, elegantly, and FUN as the Fit.



Dan

 

Tell your wife there is an old man that can promise it is a great car for everything but off road use....You should be able to get 36 MPG on the highway driving 90 MPH.

 

Took mine to California, a 360 mile trip, with 3 people in it. Everyone was comfortable, and at 75-80 mph, got about 37 mpg. Good car.

 

I have about a 40 mile round trip interstate commute. I have also used the Fit (2008 Base) for a lot of longer trips 6 hours across the state of VA, and some trips into the mountains of WV and NC 2-3 hours. I have the a manual so my engine noise is a bit more at 70 - 80, but I feel completely comfortable at those speeds, and never have to downshift going up any of the mountains.

The only things that I miss on the long trips are cruise control and a dead pedal. As long as you get a Fit with those I really think you will be satisfied with the car on an 80 mile commute.

You should definitely take a test drive on a highway at the speeds you are wanting to go and make sure the ride is comfortable to you, because it is all relative and everybody has their own level of comfort vs performance that they expect.

 

We took the fit on its first long commute - 600+ miles round trip. (we have the Fit Sport 5MT). For me, the 5mt was a little loud so if you are commuting regularly and that's what this car is for, get the 5AT. that said, I'm in my 30's married with a 3 yr old.

As others have said, it rides well on the highway and my wife even commented how comfortable the seats are compared to her 98 Civic EX. I had no issues with comfort and the drive went quite well. The car gets bounced a little by wind from other vehicles but nothing major. Set the cruise control and overall the ride was comfortable and pretty effortless. My only complaint was the noise level. We had a tough time hearing my son in the back seat when climbing some of the hills at 70mph.

My daily commute is 25 miles of 50-60mph each direction with a few 25mph towns and it is the best car we've had for this. MPG avg of the fit is 37.3 as of this posting and I've yet to have the car (with the engine broken in) during warmer months. I'll expect to see an increase in AVG MPG overall. Probably 39mpg

~SB

 

I'm going to go against a lot of the replies here, but to be honest, if all I did was highway commuting, I wouldn't have bought a Fit. :shrug:

The gas mileage may be great at lower highway speeds, but once you pick it up to 75ish it starts to drop pretty quickly - especially in traffic when you're bouncing between 65 & 75. And it's tendency to float or drift with cross winds at highway speeds is NOT fun. Better tires, a mild drop, and a front underpanel has made my car a lot better in that regard - but it's still more of a handful than 80% of the other cars on the road.

Granted, I own an '07, and have not driven a GE yet . . . maybe they're a lot better in these regards. Oh, and the lower back support on my GD3 isn't spectacular either - I miss being able to make 4-12 hour driving stints with my Prelude, and hop out with no stiffness. Not the case with these seats.

So yeah, for an inexpensive new(ish) highway commute vehicle that still packed some fun, I probably would have picked up an Accord 6MT coupe, or maybe Legacy GT. Used BMW 3 & 5 series can be found incredibly cheap - although I guess there's a reason for that. Still, a '99 540i for 8 grand is awful tempting - even with my Fit as a daily driver. Gas mileage obviously wouldn't be as good, but unless you're clocking a couple thousand miles a month, the difference between 25 & 35 mpg isn't going to bankrupt you.

 

i bought mine for highway usage mainly. i take it on the highway everyday.

 

I drove 265 miles today mostly on 2 lane highway I am getting 36MPG based on my fill up this morning and with 167.6 miles on the trip odometer and the fuel gauge is on 3/4 of a tank..... That includes an hour or so of stop and go city driving and the rest was 70 + MPH..... The only thing this car doesn't do well is off road stuff..... It will do it but your going to mess up a lot of plastic crap.

 

I commute 100 miles a day everyday to school and back. My fit has never had me uncomfortable or question its stability. Its a great commuter car and it has awesome handling an steering response to boot.

It gets great mpg too.

 

The Fit is an excellent highway commuter. It may take longer to get up to speed than other higher powered cars, but it's pretty fun once you get up to 80 MPH. No complaints or problems except for being underpowered going uphill. Other than that, I love my GE8!

 

A few things here. The GE is pretty stable in winds. I took it on a highway commute on a windy day and while I was bounced a little bit, I had no issues whatsoever. This may be a large difference from the GD. Also I've read elsewhere where the seats are better in the GE

The 5MT in the GE was giving me a constant 37-38mpg between 70 & 75 (with some shots up to 80) on hilly highway so this too may be a difference.

As I stated above, my wife commented on how comfortable the seats were in comparison to her Civic. I too remember my prelude being comfortable for longer drives. Mine was an '86 Si though with the 2.0 & all of the conveniences added. - Still miss that car. that said, I'm 16 years older now and find the fit comfortable for longer drives.

As for fuel savings, I'm coming from an Altima (3.5SE) where I was getting about 27mpg and now I'm getting 37mpg and expect to see a lifelong average closer to 39 or 40 by summer. The difference in cost per year on Fuel alone is about $400 which I expect to increase to $450 or more/year. not something to shrug at.

Again, my only complaint (and this may be due to being in my mid 30's with a family) is the volume level of the 5MT. I wish it had a 6MT.

~SB

 

i just picked up a new 10' Fit Sport w/ MT yesterday and the first 60 miles i drove it were all on highway yesterday, with an even mix of open highway to bumper to bumper, variable highway road surface conditions, in addition it was fairly windy here in the southland yesterday.

for references, im coming from an 08' Accord EX-L V6 with AT, and prior to the Accord, i drove a 99' Tacoma 4x4 4-cyl with MT. my parents have an 06' E350, various Porsches and an 07' Prius.

first off, let me say i was slightly worried about the Fit as a hwy commuter but purchased the car anyway. my rationale was it couldn't be worse then my truck - any kind of incline or windy day, and you were flooring it in 5th or revving in 4th to maintain speed in the 65-70mph range. i lived with that truck for almost 10 years so i wasn't concerned about highway noise, but moreso keeping up with traffic and comfort of ride.

well let me say the Fit can more than hold its own on the open hwy. im still in the break in period and wanted to avoid going over 70mph on the hwy because of the lack of a 6th gear and the engine revving at high speeds. well, let me say that on certain stretches i had to catch myself because the car almost wanted to get to 75-80mph during open cruising. did it get pushed around in the wind? yes of course, but it was only a little, i never had to downshift, and mind you, even my 268hp Accord was pushed around in the wind on the drive down... so keep that in mind.

i drove over several intermediate grades (between 5-15%) during free flowing speeds (70mph+) and never once even thought about having to downshift to 4th to keep up. the Fit would actually accelerate up these grades in 5th if i wanted. yes, the car could use a 6th gear for really cruising but honestly, the engine noise at 75mph in 5th isnt that bad at all. yes, you can hear the car but im telling you from experience, there's much worse out there in terms of engine noise (my Tacoma, and my sister's 07' xB in particular).

yes the short wheel base and active steering keep it exciting, but its not even in the same realm as being unsafe. its just not like a caddy or *gasp* my Accord, where it was point and shoot (and sleep) - the car gives you constant feedback to whats going on around you. i personally find this to be a good thing. i found the ride relatively comfortable and would not hesitate to drive the car on an open road trip to say, Vegas. would it be my first choice? no, obviously in a perfect world, id like my Accord back for that jaunt... but my point is that if you have any and all concerns about the Fit as a highway commuter, they are probably valid and you're probably right on most of them... but the concerns are no where near as bad and you think, and in some cases, you'll find you have nothing to worry about, like me.

 

socalkid, a very accurate and wise review. Plus out of all the Fits out there, you have picked the very best option known to man [10' Taffeta White Fit Sport M/T].

 

i know you're biased but thanks for the props... there were/are 3-4 M/T's in all of LA right now and this was the only Taffeta

i would've waited for another to come into LA, but i wanted this particular trim, and it was worth the drive and (and time commitment and research) to get it!

 

The aerodynamics of both generations of Fits are such that stability increases with speed..... If you are feeling nervous about driving on a windy day try increasing your speed.

 

Yeah, I had to hunt mine down too and I'm glad I did. I've always been one to settle for whatever color is in the lot but this time around I had my heart set on WT Sport and I had to do the extra work.

 

I want to thank you all for this thread (OPer included). This is exactly the real world info I was searching for. My commute is 80 miles round trip and I also drive an additional 50 miles per day at work. I was very concerned about the effect of high winds at highway speeds on the Fit. Heck, I've got a Wrangler now. Based on these comments, the Fit certainly can't be any worse. In fact, it sounds MUCH better than my current ride. Engine noise be damned; I must have the MT to keep me focused on the road (and I think they're fun). Again, I still think it will be a massive step up from the Jeep's engine noise and highway stability.

 

Just a followup for ya'll.

We ended up with a 2010 Fit Sport automatic, and we absolutely love the thing. It came down to a Subaru Impreza and the Fit and as much as I liked the Impreza, the my wife, quite literally, fit the Fit better. She's 5'0" and I'm 5'9", so finding a car that we can both fit into has been challenging.

Additionally, this thing is brilliant on the highway. I was driving a 2001 GMC Jimmy, and in comparison the Fit doesn't get blown around at all.

Thanks for all the input everybody, we're really happy with the car!

 

The Impreza was on my short list too but once I looked at the mileage, game over. I thought the FIt was way more refined and sportier too. But Subaru makes a pretty nice car.