Took delivery yesterday of a 2015 Honda Fit LX Manual Transmission in Modern Steel. I had a four hour car ride back home from the dealership, so I got a chance to explore the car. So far here are my impressions and little things I’ve noticed below. Most are good, some are minor annoyances. Overall I love the car and am so happy with the purchase. I test drove the CVT and it was okay, but the manual transmission was much more enjoyable to drive and it had better performance. In case anybody is wondering, I’m coming from a 2008 Nissan Sentra (CVT).

-Great visibility and handling.

-Extremely fun to drive. Gears shift smoothly and it has a lot of pick up for such a small car. The engine rev sounds great as well. Feels a little bit like a high powered go-kart in a good way. It was stable at highway speeds.

-Gets on average 48 MPG when going a constant 55 MPH with A/C off. MPG drops to 42 MPG when going 75 MPH with A/C on low. (Based on the computer's calculation. Will know more after future fill ups.)

-RPMs: 3100 at 65 MPH. 3600 at 75 MPH. It’s hard to notice the high RPMs on the highway after accelerating around in the city. You get used to revving the RPMs to the high 3000s.

-Very fun novelty having the dashboard glow blue when driving aggressive and green when driving economically.

-Physical volume knob.

-Back-up Camera has static lines. Dynamic would be better (EX Model), but I didn’t expect it to have any lines at all, so that was a plus. I still look over my shoulder though, old habits I guess.

-Right arm rest too low to be used, but I let my hand rest on the stick usually so it’s not a big deal.

-Left arm rest is rock hard plastic that is uncomfortable on your elbow. My elbow gets sore after about 5 minutes with the arm rest. This is probably my biggest gripe about the car.

-The cabin gets warm very quickly with all of the windows.

-Sun visor is really cheap and doesn’t do a good job blocking the sun head on. It is a rectangle piece of hard plastic that doesn’t go far enough when driving in the morning. It does well when you move it your side to block the sun coming from your left.

-The key is huge. It’s 2 and ½ times bigger than my old key. So have big pockets.

-Glove box is a little on the small side, but the center arm rest when opened is really deep.

-The plastic interior above the dashboard has curves and is not boxy, but there aren’t good spots to put a GPS or smartphone mount. Your best bet would be on the windshield, but then it starts to affect visibility.

-Small gas tank. It gets much better gas mileage than my previous car, but I still have to fill up just as often.


Hopefully this information helps shed more light on the LX model manual transmission since there are so few of them out there to test drive currently.

 

Awesome news! I'm trying to find a MT EX to test drive and I'm happy to read your insight. How does the clutch feel? Any noticeable sounds or softness or anything, or is it just great? I really think I want the Manual but I'm second guessign myself. Happy to read about good hwy mileage and that the engine is not annoying. How was road/wind noise?

I test drove a CVT EX and I do agree the console armrest is a tad low when you just sit in it and try to put your elbow there. However when I was actually driving it, I found that my arm sort of just found it and rested comfortably, though not so much like an armrest (that doesn't make a lot of sense I guess but, that's how it seems in retrospect). Door armrest was annoying though. Can probably buy/make some kind of padding if it get's really annoying.

 

The clutch is really soft. You can barely tell it engages in 1st gear. Shifting is really good in the other gears, but going from a stop to 1st will take a little getting used to because of light clutch. I really prefer the manual transmission to the CVT, but everyone has their own personal preferences...Road noise was a bit loud, but not obnoxious. You will definitely hear any bumps you hit. Wind noise wasn't too bad since you hear the engine mostly. It's not a quiet ride, but if you have music playing it's not a bad experience.

 

Wow!!! Big congrats on your LX M/T.

That's one detailed write-up and makes me feel how the LX actually will feel like. 42 mpg at 75mph??? w/ A/C on??? - that is outstanding and totally flushes down EPA ratings.

Post pics when you can.

As for heat build-up, consider tinting. Have your seen Kelly's white EX??? Looking Cool from the outside and am sure will help keep it cool on the inside.

Will address the noise when my LX finally arrives. Am going to deck the inards with CLD Tiles, MLV & CLF. All ordered and en-route.
Will pay this forum back by posting my findings (effect on noise and mpg implications) towards year-end.

 

Thanks for the writeup! I've always heard that Hondas have good manual transmissions--glad to hear that's the case with the new Fit too.

What do you think of the four-speaker setup? What's the sound quality like?

 

The 4 speaker set up was okay, not great. I definitely noticed the speakers didn't have the same fullness or clarity as my old Nissan Sentra. I don't really mind, but if you're big into sound quality then I think it will be an underwhelming experience listening to music.

 

"Extremely fun to drive.”
Important to know, for those MT intenders.

“Feels ...like a high powered go-kart.”
Ditto.

“Great visibility...”
Worried about this one, given the current trends.

“The key is huge.”
Everyone’s number one concern. LOL. OK, it’s funny what people notice, that’s all.

Thanks for the review. The MT reviews were pretty thin on the ground. This is the configuration I am most likely to get, and right up there for colour choice as well, although that white EX is pretty stunning, and I want the sunroof too.

But: “Physical volume knob.” is pretty darned important for me too. Therefore: LX, MT! Good post, very useful review.

 

Can we get a pic of the LX key please?

 

Great review. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and impressions!
And Congratulations on your new Fit!

 

YOU MOCK ME?!?! LOL Consider my avatar!

 

On my '09, I mount the GPS on the front quarter window, on my left. Works great there.

 

 

 

Don't you mean:Very important to give a sense of scale!

 

How well does hill hold work?

 

I haven't had an opportunity to see how the hill hold works yet. I'll let you now when I get a chance.

 

The Fit key is big. But nowhere near as big and heavy as the one on my Camaro

 

Nice review.

Tip: I wouldn't rest my hand on the shifter because it will cause uneven wear on transmission.

 

Thanks Miami, I didn't know that. It's one of those bad habits I'm going to have to break.

 

Sweet ride! I'd definitely put some new wheels on there. Also, get some tint to help with the heat. In my Fit, I have a blue sunstrip that goes across the top of my windshield. It's discrete and helps a ton with the sun beaming down. Most jurisdictions allow for some sort of strip across the top of the windshield, even were windshield tint is illegal (like in Quebec).