After a month or so of debating, I finally went into the dealer to re-check out some color options and to freshen the mind with a new test drive. I have pretty much narrowed it down to black, white, or modern steel metallic in an EX or EX-L model. After seeing things in the flesh I think im going to jump on the white color. Black and Metallic Steel didnt look "deep" enough for me. One thing that I did not like was the amount of engine noise in the cabin. Naturally, when purchasing a low priced vehicle, I understand this just comes with the territory. Just for giggles, i also test drove a Civic Sedan EX, which did not have as much cabin noise and had me second guessing. Still on the fence. Ill prob have to check out both more thoroughly. Just thought id share my experience at the dealer today.

 

typically i would say get the fit cuz civics aren't even cars in any other part of the world than north america but now that fits are made in japan I'm not so sure. i think the fit is still a better car than the civic though

 

He means "Mexico" of course.

 

Since you are looking at the EXL, I can assume you are only testing the CVT which is very quiet once up to speed and cruising. Granted, acceleration above 3K RPM can be heard, but it is may be only a fraction of the time unless you spend a lot of time in stop-n-go traffic or you like to hammer the acceleration.

I find that I can keep the RPMs not much above 2K and have adequate acceleration and rarely hear a lot of engine noise unless I'm getting on the freeway or going up a hill. Even then, the engine noise is not drowning out conversation or the radio.

I would say overall cabin volume on the highway is a lot quieter than my 2002 Odyssey (which is not known for being particularly good with road noise).

The Fit is hard to beat if you are looking at the best MPG and cargo capacity combination.

 

I would have to agree with tbFit, I also keep my rpm's as low as possible (for fuel efficiency), and I have never had any issues with excessive engine noise. BTW tbFit, what are you doing up so early in the morning???

 

Being a qualified fit freak...

 

Other than when booting it to merge into 65 mph traffic, I've been less irritated than I thought I would be by the noise.

My husband has 25% hearing loss in one ear and 50% in the other, so I definately had him come on a test drive, to see if it would be an issue for him, and it isn't. He is able to hear me quite well (which he enjoys, since we've always had 5 minute conversations that last a couple of hours).

He is also able to hear me if I pair my Blackberry to the car and call him from it.

 

Mexico? I thought they were made in Mxico

 

 

yes, sorry, i forgot to mention that. I will be going with a CVT. I had issues with mainly the initial 0-1.5K. That initial start up and push off point had a ton of engine noise.

 

i plan on pressing the ECO button 100% of the time.

 

so i guess reading all this.... its just up to me to choose a color. I really wanted Modern Steel - but it looked so dull in person. Wondering if this was just the specific car i saw or the color just doesnt have depth.

 

There is no right or wrong color. Honda offers all these colors because they've done extensive research and know what's popular and to whom. You can't choose a color based on what anyone else thinks, simply because they are not you. Choose a color that you'll be happy with and don't concern yourself with anyone else's opinion, after all, it's your car.

 

If I lived down South again, white (with darkest legal tint) would be at the top of my color list.

 

i waffled a lot between the ex and ex-l. i considered this:

leather needs to be treated at least once a year, preferably with the best leather treatment available - leatherique. you'll get probably at the most of 4 treatments out of the $75 dollar set of two bottles, the leather cleaner and the leather rejuvenating oil. the process to treat the leather is a huge hassle as it's best done in the summer, when you can let the juices bake into the leather, covered by plastic bags. leave it for at least 1 day, better 2 days. then wipe off the excess. i only did this once when i owned my previous car with black leather interior.

if you don't treat the leather, after a few years it looks old and if it's cheap (which for the fit, it probably is) it will crack.

cloth, on the other hand, won't look as old as untreated leather after years. and you never have to treat cloth.

ultimately i decided that the fit is supposed to be my lowest-maintenance, highest utility car, and that leather would detract from this goal.

it's all about your personal goals...

 

so after you treat, do u get oil stains for several weeks after on your ass?

 

you probably pick up some residue but the point is to thoroughly wipe off excess.

no stains in other words

 

thats interesting. quite a process.

 

yup. agreed. im going to look one more time at a different dealer. i want to see if the color of the steel was in fact just because the car was dirty or if this is how it really is.

 

Dirt most definitely affects the way the colors look. When I went in to buy a passion berry pearl (purple) fit on Saturday my wife was not very happy with the color. If the light hit it just right it looked almost brown. We looked at some other colors and went with the purple. When we were waiting for the paperwork they washed it and left it just outside a window. When I walked past it all clean...fantastic. I went and got my wife to take a look I am not sure if she believed it was the same car. HUGE difference.

Now it is my goal to keep this little thing as clean as I can.