Would appreciate some input from Fit owners
 

So its time for a new car. My Infiniti I30 has been great, but shes getting up there in age and I wouldn't mind getting better mpg. We've had a few Honda's in our family and there quality is outstanding. Seems like only Toyota has similar reliability. Basically I want a car that has the lowest cost to own over the long term and has room for a family in the future. Plus I LOVE the configuration, its a hatch, you can fold the rear seats flat, small on the outside, big enough on the inside.

Would love some Fit owners opinion's on the following:

What is the Fit's real world gas mileage for a MT? I know they are rated 27/33, but what have you guys experienced? I drive 720 miles round trip (Santa Barbara>Bay area) to see my family on a semi regular basis. (Among other long trips up and down California...I have a lot of freeway miles on my Infiniti) Only a few hills on the central coast then its pretty flat. What would you expect going 70-75 MPH with the CC on?

What are some common/known issues with these cars? (if there are any) Any major TSBs or recalls?

I'm looking to purchase new. For one, used Fit's seem rare and almost expensive as new Fit's. There are even a few ads that the owners are asking for more then the original MSRP! Plus Honda's hold there value very well. I plan to keep this car for a LONGGGGG time, so don't mind spending a little more for new. Seems like a lot of members here bought there Fits new?

Seems like when you search for Fit's online, or see them around town, there are VERY FEW MTs. One of my requirements is whatever car I buy, it MUST be manual. How many of you were able to find a MT, and still pay MSRP or close to it? I'd rather not over spend just because a car is rare. (Ya ya supply and demand) I know that the Tsunami hurt supplies but I'm assuming that's mostly passed? I was thinking of putting a deposit on a Fit that hasn't arrived at a dealer yet. Don't mind waiting a few weeks for a good one.

Other cars I've considered:

Corolla and Civic. For the trips up north I need CC, and you have to get more expensive models for it. Its even harder to find a MT with CC. And what's this I'm reading about how the new Gen civics are cheaply made and don't handle well?

Kia, Hyundai, Mazda sub compacts: I glanced at these cars. They seem nice and much cheaper then the Fit. However, I believe you get what you pay for. Plus I don't trust them nearly as much as a Honda over a long period of time. They've built some GARBAGE cars in the past, so they don't exactly have the best reputation 10 year warranty or not.

So that's about it. Let me know what some of you Fit owners think.

I own (and bought new) a 2011 fit base in white with a 5MT, today makes one year after I picked it up (and nearly 22,000 miles). I am in a long distance relatioship with someone an hour north of toronto, so I make regular highway trips as well.

First off, you can find manuals, you will have to order one or ask/look arround. My overall milage you can see in my signature. 36.5mpg. It starts to drop above 75, so stick closer to 70 on the highway.

As far as price, I payed sticker, 15,850 here in NJ. But it was the last one in this color, base, with a 5mt, in the north east and suplies weren't going to be in for months because of the tsunami at that point.

For known problems, only early 09's had a recall, mine had some lose bolts for the seats. Other than that the interior plastic scratches easily.

As far as cruise control, it works well and even comes on the base model fit (last I checked. Mine has it). The fit is not as fun to drive as my 97 civic, but it seems all hondas are getting more boreing, thoguh still not as bad as toyota.

I looked at the other offereings from other companies. When it comes down to it, the fit is really in the low end of the class with the ford focus, mazda 3, ect. Even though it is lumped in with the mazda 2, fiesta, versa and yaris. The interior space, comforts, options a build quality really put it in the next class up (though like I said, right at the bottom, though it is about $4k less than anything in that class).

All that said, I have one more thing. The stock tires are the worst pices of crap ever, in every possible way.

I'm constantly on the road making long trips, I don't have cruise control btw:

LA>SF Usually around 37 mpg if I go 70, 35 if I go 80

SF>Reno 38-39 mpg 70 mph (too many cops)

Reno>Vegas 39-40 mpg 70 mph (too many cops)

I have a 2010 MT Base, have had no problems with it whatsoever, almost 40k on the odo. It's pretty much great at everything as far as i'm concerned, it's not the best highway cruiser but we take it on trips in lieu of my wife's 300 just because of the good gas mileage haha.

This is the first NEW car i've had I actually look forward to driving every single time I get behind the wheel. So I guess that says something.

MT's are out there, just search. I've found that oddly MT sports are pretty hard to find. I got a base just because i'm not a huge fan of the bodykit, wheels or wing, and I didn't want CC or Navi (among other reasons).

Good luck!

I get about 26mpg but it's mostly city...and bad city traffic. I've gotten over 40 on the highway. I think you're right, for the price it's going to be hard to find another car comprable in quality and features. I was looking at a Volvo C30, but couldn't find a reason to pay $8,000 more for a car w/ HID's and less residual value/features :) With the money you'll save you can spend it on making the car a real standout.

In terms of the 2012 Civic...umm Honda botched the design so bad they're having to redo it much sooner than the model year would expire normally, plus it's going to be hard to find the versitility of the Fit in the Civic. I can haul cargo or have 3 passengers who consistently say how roomy it is, even w/ my 6'5" ass cramping their style.

The only concern I've had is that Honda as a whole seems to be a little skimpy w/ honoring their warrany. There have been a few other debatable instances of this as well on the forum.

Hope that helps!

Hi, I have an '09 Fit Auto from Mexico, so the conditions are not the same as in the US, our city driving is more slow and you have to stop a lot. If I take care of it very much, I can get close to 14 km/l (32.7 mpg in city), but if I drive normally and with the A/C on (for me normal driving is quick starts to try to get away from traffic, not minding economy at all) the Fit gets me 26 MPG. I can get great mileage but I have to drive in a way I hate.

At highway speeds I get almost the same as in the city (30-32MPG) but that is because here in Mexico people drive way faster than in the US, 90 MPH is completely normal, some people cruise at 100MPH. And the Fit has a very underpowered engine to keep up with that speeds so fuel economy can get really bad if you push it. Also the Auto tranny doesn't help as 5th gear is extremely long and anything (really, anything like a hill you didn't know it existed or any unintentional slight press in the gas pedal) will make it go back to 4th or 3rd gear.

As for problems, my battery died on me last week (3+ years), and that's pretty much it. There is a sound in the front suspension but that's entirely my fault, I didn't see a hole in the road and it took a pretty hard hit.

Other thing, this thing is really loud at high speeds, if you are used to a premium medium car, you are going to notice that.

Great car!
 

We bought our first GE8 Fit, a new 2009 5MT a little over three years ago. We liked it so much that when we decided to get rid of our other car a year later, we replaced it with a new 2010 5MT.

We don't put a lot of miles on either one; the 2010 is still under 10K miles, and the 2009 is now right around 24K. The 2009 gets driven about 150 miles per week, 65/35 freeway/city (70-75 MPH on the freeway), and returns 34-35 MPG in the process, without any special attempt to drive economically -- actually closer to the opposite.

Both have been very reliable. The 2009 is old enough to have fallen under the Lost Motion Spring recall, but that's really it for anything major. One minor annoyance: one of the TPMS sensors on the 2009 has failed, but it's now out of warranty and so it's not covered. We'll wait until it's time to replace the tires to replace the sensor as well.

But, basically, it's an enjoyable car to drive as long as you don't mind what to some people seems like over-short gearing on the freeway: only 20.7 mph/1000 RPM in 5th means that the engine is spinning at almost 3500 RPM at 70MPH. It's not an issue for us, but there are people on the forum who wince a bit at those figures. The 5AT is geared a lot longer in 5th, so is more relaxed on the freeway at the cost of being (IMO, I've driven both) less responsive and "frisky" than the 5MT.

Paid $16570 out the door for my 2009 5MT. Getting 35.3 mpg right now driving however I want, but have gotten as high as 41.7 for an entire tankfull when really nursing it.

I would buy another one in a heartbeat. I set out to get a Civic Si Coupe, but asked to test drive a Fit just out of curiousity. You can guess how that worked out...

I test drove a Fit and a Mazda 3 2.5s on the same day. Loved the Fit, the Mazda was eh. The fit has WAY more interior space. I seriously feel like I am inside a van. The Mazda was still a 5 door, but filled a lot of the space with creating more of a sport/luxury atmosphere. Yeah it was nice inside, but it was heavy. The engine in the 3 was an entire liter bigger, but it accelerated like a lead brick. And the avg MPG in the dash readout was around 22. I was doing better in my 13 year old BMW with a 3L straight 6. I went back for the fit.

Wec have 2 Fits. 2008 & 2012. 39mpg freeway only. Gotta love em'.

2010 Manual over here, I too live in the bay area. Chugging in the city where there are lots of stop and go traffic, I get around 26-28 MPG. While cruising down 101 to San Jose from the city will net me 34-36 MPG while driving about 65-75 MPH depending on traffic. Though overall, I'm currently sitting at about 29 MPG since I put the Fit up last November. I do mostly city driving, going to work, friends house, and eating out. I picked it up on Craigslist for about $16,000 with 17k miles on it. This is my first manual car I might add, but I learned in about 2-3 days. I'm having a blast driving stick. I specifically wanted to have a manual for my next car while I was still car shopping on craigslist. When I was looking for a fit in manual, I'd say about 1 in 10 were manual and the rest was Auto. It took me about a year or so but I finally found one! I'm LOVING it!