It's been almost 3 weeks now, slowly getting the hang of 1st and 2nd gear.

 

The Fit isn't so bad... Driving my wife's Subaru Forester made me feel very good about the way the Fit shifts.

 

Just noticed this thread. I really feel like Honda messed up the clutch/tranny on the GEs. I'm no mechanical expert, but it literally took me about 300 feet to figure out the GD clutch and after about 5 minutes I was able to dump the clutch by rev matching and use engine breaking very smoothly. Perhaps there's variation between the years fro 2009 and on but I really disliked the 2013 and the 2012 Fit's clutches. I also feel like the stick is positioned awkwardly and had difficulty adjusting my seat so that my hand would easily fall on the shift knob.

 

MTlian is short with short legs.

 

and your point is? I can reach the pedals just fine! My current car is a big ole '94 saturn that drives like a boat so there's no reason I shouldn't be able to sit comfortably. I'm used to a low to the ground, seat back, arms slightly outstretched driving position. The 09 seat is higher than before, requiring a closer seat which causes the stick to be oddly positioned for me.

 

i have long legs and did not fit my 08 GD well. the reason i sold it was mainly because i did not fit well in that car. no telescoping steering wheel, i set the sets right, then shifter is too far forward (same goes steering wheel).

'12 GE fits me much better.

thus, you are short and have short legs (generalization).

 

Ditto except the rev hang as that has been present on all manual trans the past 15+ years due to emissions.

The clutch issue for me is the delay valving. I like instant feedback from the car from the pedal. Like hanging on a steep incline using only the clutch and gas to remain perfectly still. With the Fit's clutch delay it turns into 50% guesswork. Also I will clarify for myself it is only harder to drive smooth and slow. If your driving fast and staying on the revs and banging the gears no problem since you're shifting fast and quick anyway.

I read a thread on this forum where somebody took a Civic clutch master cylinder to get rid of this delay. I haven't done it yet but have been tempted.

Also I have been driving manual trans car almost exclusively for 37 years. Probably owned at least two dozen from Ford, BMW, Triumph, Chevy, Renault, Acura, Toyota, Daewoo, Honda, Datsun, Mazda, etc., model years 1968 to 2011 and the Fit is hands down the worst for getting used to. But for newbs that have never driven a manual before it is surprisingly easy to teach them. The delay actually helps them smooth the engagement. I guess the younger crowd has grown up on video games and are more accustomed to this "no feedback" joystick type of operations.

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