As the title states, I was wondering how bad the wind/road noise is in the 2nd generation Fit. I currently have a '13 VW GTI, but I'm probably trading it in while it's still under warranty for something more reliable. My last car was a '06 Ford Focus.

Anyhow, is the freeway noise as bad as I keep reading? I know a short test drive will only tell me so much about a car? What cars would you compare it to in terms of freeway noise? IMO my Focus was pretty tolerable, but I don't know if I'd want something any louder (I don't want to have to shout to talk to the person next to me). How's it do on cross-country trips (every car I've had in the past 5 years has land up taking 1500+ mile trips) with regards to comfort? First upgrade I'd probably do is Clazzio seat covers to make the seats better.

I think I can handle ~3200 RPM at 70 MPH fine, although I'm sure I'll initially miss having effortless torque everywhere. A 2012-2013 Fit Sport MT is towards the top of my short list since it's cheap and reliable, but I'm also considering 2013 Civic Si and V6 Mustang which are both closer to what I already have. Any thoughts?

 

I don't think the noise is bad.

 

What cars would you compare it to in terms of noise?

 

2012s got better sound insulation. Comments are that it helps.

The 09 isn't bad for a low-end Honda (Honda's transmit a lot of road noise to the cabin for some reason). If I were on the open road often I'd want a bigger, quieter car. My daily drive is an hour each way and it's fine for this use.

Best to test drive it on the highway before deciding.

 

Yeah, a test drive would obviously be in order. Thing is I can go on an hour test drive and say "yeah, this seems fine" then turn out to hate it on 5+ hour drives. Case in point was my Focus which had terrible seats but was otherwise fine.

I guess I could just look at bigger cars, but it's excessive since I only go on very long drives maybe once a year, but may do 600 miles in a weekend every other month. The detractors from the V6 Mustang is I don't really believe Ford has fixed the transmissions on them yet, and the Civic Si is still pretty expensive used for what it is (plus it costs more to insure than my GTI).

 

If you're looking at used cars, it's not unreasonable to take one home overnight for an "extended" test drive. Even new cars this is possible sometimes.

I think the car is comfortable enough for an hour commute. I drive it 3 or 4 times round trip from Atlanta to Key Largo per year. It's fine, but more tiring than a larger car would be. You spend more effort correcting due to wind, road surface. It is noisier. Plus the seats have fewer adjustments than a more expensive car.

If you're looking at SIs and Mustangs, are you sure you want a hatch? It's the versatility of the car, and its economy (both purchase and operating price) that sold me.

New 2013s are deeply discounted (there is no 2014 Fit model in the US). 2015s are a major model change and are arriving on lots now.

 

To be honest, my parent's '12 is no quieter than my old '08 was.

Its definitely louder than is to be expected in a brand new car, no idea how loud it is relative to an '06 Focus...those were horrible cars, but maybe they were quiet.

 

My current and last car were hatches. I like the utility, but realize that I can live without it too. I'm going to pass on the 2015 Fit since I don't want to deal with the added complexity/maintenance of Direct Injection (otherwise a 2013+ Focus would be on my radar). I mention V6 Mustang and Civic Si in the same breath since they should both be able to pull 30 MPG on long trips, still have fairly good handling, braking, acceleration and seem to be above average for reliability (and the Mustang depreciates crazy fast).

As far as the '06 Focus being a horrible car goes, my only complaint about it (besides seat comfort) was the "lifetime" air filter which cost ~$400 to replace. It handled well, braked decently, accelerated fine, could do 35+ MPG on long trips and never stranded me over the 120,000 miles I had it. Sold it because I didn't want to be bothered making a car I was going to sell in the not-too-distant future pass smog upon arrive to California. In my opinion the only better car in its class was the Civic (which was a lot more expensive). In terms of it being quiet, it wasn't. It drones a little at speed and didn't have any real sound insulation (you could hear the sand, rocks, ice, etc hit the wheel wells in the winter, but ultimately I could have a conversation at 70 MPH without shouting, to me that's an acceptable amount of road noise.

 

In my experience (and I've done a good bit of extended highway driving in my Fit), noise is certainly present but not horrible. You should have no problems with carrying on a conversation without needing to shout. However, the Fit is no Caddie, nor even an upmarket minivan.

The main thing seems to be that the Fit communicates more noise from the tires to the cabin than some other cars. Consequently, tire selection and how worn it is makes a significant difference on the noise level—as does road surface. Wind noise isn't bad IMHO, and engine noise not too bad unless one is climbing up significant hills such as the rockies.

As with any hatchback, you do hear everything that rattles in whatever luggage or other cargo you carry. It's obviously not the fault of the Fit, but it is something to bear in mind if you're used to a sedan.

 

Why are you opposed to direct injection? Its great!

 

Because it requires a high pressure fuel pump and won't use fuel to wash deposits off of the valves the way port fuel injection does. I'm sure one DI will have no drawbacks compared to MPFI, but currently MPFI wins for durability.

 

My 13 Fit is great for road noise, but then again I'm used to a 94 Accord with coilovers and H22 with aftermarket exhaust so....... But I can definitely have normal conversations even with just a normal speaking voice.

 

This is the kind of information I'm looking for. Thank you. Is your Fit a manual?

 

Yeah it is, engine noise is negligible, sometimes when I'm sitting in my driveway I forget that it's running. Biggest noise factor is definitely the tires though, and wind isn't atrocious given it's a subcompact car. Only real noise complaint I have is that the stock stereo isn't loud enough for me cuz I drive with my window cracked

 

The stock stereo thing is easy to fix. My current car is the only car I've had with a stock stereo I'd describe as "not bad" or better. I think I buy too aggressive of tires for tire noise to really be a complaint (current tires are better than stock in that they're "noisy on most surfaces" rather than "noisy on all surfaces"). I don't expect any car to be quiet with the windows cracked (65+ MPH winds are loud no matter what). Sounds like the Fit is a serious contender. Which transmission do you have?

 

Manual 2013 Sport sits at 3300/3400 RPM at 70mph on the stock tires, and the noise to me is like a medium fan on the far side of the room.

 

Just went and tested it. lol

 

Haha, thanks. Honestly, that sounds fine even at ~3350 RPM. I remember in 2008 I test drove an Accent and it seemed like it was spinning at almost 4000 RPM going 70, the salesman didn't believe me when I told him it was in 5th (didn't buy that car). For a very short period of time I had a VW Cabriolet that I was going to try to fix up and was using to teach my ex to drive stick shift and it spun about 3500 RPM at freeway speeds and it didn't bother me, but the whole car was loud being a 23 year old convertible.

Do I like the gentle cruising in my GTI? Yes, it's one of the many reasons I bought it, but I'm at a point in my life where good enough is fine and I can make some compromises for reliability.

 

I love driving my Fit on the freeway, but no there isn't a lot of torque in 5th gear :/

 

Definitely take one on the highway yourself since this is all relative.

I don't do a lot of long distances and I'm used to larger sedans, but it was noticeably loud when I first took it on the highway.

Perfectly tolerable, able to hold conversations (even with toddlers in the back).

My '13 sport MT is louder than a 4cyl 07 accord and on par with an '02 maxima v6 MT that are known for terrible wind noise (again, relative to other cars that size and price).

Only driven ~4000 miles in 8 months but come to really love the car!