A tiny review: 2015 LX
#1
09-10-2015, 01:23 AM
A tiny review: 2015 LX
Though I suspect this little overview will be of little news to anyone here, I feel it worth writing up just for a bit.
I tested both an EX and LX Fit before purchase. I had been test driving cars for about 2 years before I selected it. My previous cars were a 1998 Toyota Corolla and a 2002 Mazda Protege 5.
I tested a:
Mazda 3
Golf TDI
Golf
Insight
Prius
Impreza (CVT)
Focus
Fiesta
Mazda 2
Maybe some others as well... They all had issues you, either bad road feel (Prius) or lack of good visibility (Insight) or high costs Golf TDI...
So in the end the Fit won. My selection was for the LX over the EX because there was nothing important on the EX I needed and the LX had an AUX jack and some actual dials on the stereo system.
I had worked out a pretty solid deal in SoCA for a 2015 LX right as the model year was being cleared but I was moving and didn't make it to the west coast before the car was sold. No one would hold it for me. I ended up paying about 18,500 OTD for my LX: it was the last Blue LX in the LA basin at the time. This was far worse than I would have gotten on the east coast, but with 9.5% tax probably only about 500-600 worse than the best deals posted people had ever gotten (according to the price thread).
Fit in hand I had to do some pretty heavy driving right away. Trips to Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Palm Springs all in the first weeks. None of these is all day, but long enough to get a feel for distance driving.
My feel like others here is that the seats aren't that comfortable for long distances. Much worse than my Mazda for sure. I haven't done any long driving since the 2 week of ownership and not everything was perfectly adjusted at that time so perhaps it will be better, but the seats were not great. This just can't be felt in a test drive.
I had hoped to get one from a one-way zip car rental and see if this sort of thing was an issue. Alas there was no time.
The good news is that the mileage was very good. Without eco or careful driving normally the mass flow based MPG reported over 44 MPG per tank.
The next good news is that in commuting it is a great car. Even if the seat issue remains in a 40 mile commute it eats the miles. The ride is a bit firm perhaps, you can certainly feel the road's texture and bumps, but its not ridiculously harsh I don't think. For a while I had the ECO button on, but even with it off and no attention paid to how you drive I easily get 42-43 MPG on a mostly highway commute at high but typical traffic speeds. Millage would improve at lower speed.
The bluetooth system works well for music with my android phone, and calls are reported as fine by the other party. Dial by number is a little eager to give a phone number at a slight pause in speech but other than that the phone system is trouble free and very appreciated coming from cars that did not have anything.
Another niggle is that the rear window is very high so for seeing out for backing up it is not great, but you have the rearview camera and the side mirrors.
I'm at 3000 miles and 6 weeks. Would I buy again?
Yes. Its essentially a perfect car as long as it proves reliable. The seats are a: your mileage will vary item at the best of times. The foam may break in and one might get used to a posture that makes them work well for long distances. Most of my miles are going to be racked up commuting or on lower than 3 hour trips. For that, I don't see much wrong.
6 months may show some other flaws, time will tell.
I tested both an EX and LX Fit before purchase. I had been test driving cars for about 2 years before I selected it. My previous cars were a 1998 Toyota Corolla and a 2002 Mazda Protege 5.
I tested a:
Mazda 3
Golf TDI
Golf
Insight
Prius
Impreza (CVT)
Focus
Fiesta
Mazda 2
Maybe some others as well... They all had issues you, either bad road feel (Prius) or lack of good visibility (Insight) or high costs Golf TDI...
So in the end the Fit won. My selection was for the LX over the EX because there was nothing important on the EX I needed and the LX had an AUX jack and some actual dials on the stereo system.
I had worked out a pretty solid deal in SoCA for a 2015 LX right as the model year was being cleared but I was moving and didn't make it to the west coast before the car was sold. No one would hold it for me. I ended up paying about 18,500 OTD for my LX: it was the last Blue LX in the LA basin at the time. This was far worse than I would have gotten on the east coast, but with 9.5% tax probably only about 500-600 worse than the best deals posted people had ever gotten (according to the price thread).
Fit in hand I had to do some pretty heavy driving right away. Trips to Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Palm Springs all in the first weeks. None of these is all day, but long enough to get a feel for distance driving.
My feel like others here is that the seats aren't that comfortable for long distances. Much worse than my Mazda for sure. I haven't done any long driving since the 2 week of ownership and not everything was perfectly adjusted at that time so perhaps it will be better, but the seats were not great. This just can't be felt in a test drive.
I had hoped to get one from a one-way zip car rental and see if this sort of thing was an issue. Alas there was no time.
The good news is that the mileage was very good. Without eco or careful driving normally the mass flow based MPG reported over 44 MPG per tank.
The next good news is that in commuting it is a great car. Even if the seat issue remains in a 40 mile commute it eats the miles. The ride is a bit firm perhaps, you can certainly feel the road's texture and bumps, but its not ridiculously harsh I don't think. For a while I had the ECO button on, but even with it off and no attention paid to how you drive I easily get 42-43 MPG on a mostly highway commute at high but typical traffic speeds. Millage would improve at lower speed.
The bluetooth system works well for music with my android phone, and calls are reported as fine by the other party. Dial by number is a little eager to give a phone number at a slight pause in speech but other than that the phone system is trouble free and very appreciated coming from cars that did not have anything.
Another niggle is that the rear window is very high so for seeing out for backing up it is not great, but you have the rearview camera and the side mirrors.
I'm at 3000 miles and 6 weeks. Would I buy again?
Yes. Its essentially a perfect car as long as it proves reliable. The seats are a: your mileage will vary item at the best of times. The foam may break in and one might get used to a posture that makes them work well for long distances. Most of my miles are going to be racked up commuting or on lower than 3 hour trips. For that, I don't see much wrong.
6 months may show some other flaws, time will tell.
#3
10-03-2015, 08:32 PM
Yes this is the CVT. I can report that a 150 mile trip each way (300 miles on the day) was significantly more comfortable after 2 months of use than the first semi-long trips. No modifications have been made. I did get rubber floor mats since which does change the quishyness of the floor.
Hauling 4 people does reduce gas mileage somewhat, total passenger weight probably was 600 lbs. (vs 130 normally).
Hauling 4 people does reduce gas mileage somewhat, total passenger weight probably was 600 lbs. (vs 130 normally).
#4
10-03-2015, 09:13 PM
Thanks for your review. Any and all reviews give varying viewpoints and helps others consider car modifications.
#5
11-29-2015, 04:55 PM
Minor update:
The LX CVT fit continues to do well in daily driving. A few more long trips proved less unconformable in terms of the seats than the first ones.
In my daily commuting which is mostly highway miles, I typically average about 41 MPG without being in ECO mode and not taking major measures to improve economy.
The exact mix of the daily run is 23.8 miles on a superhighway at 65 MPH roughly, and 3.2 miles in on 2-3 lane roads with lights (limit 35-40 MPH).
Although it would have cost some in fuel economy, I wish they had increased the tank size by 2 or more gallons. Range is acceptable as is because of the high economy, but this car would be better if range were slightly higher. That said I know the seating is partially enabled by the tank design and that the 2nd generation had the same 10.6 gal capacity and worse fuel economy, so clearly this is a design choice that was worth making. I also just drive too far these days probably.
The LX CVT fit continues to do well in daily driving. A few more long trips proved less unconformable in terms of the seats than the first ones.
In my daily commuting which is mostly highway miles, I typically average about 41 MPG without being in ECO mode and not taking major measures to improve economy.
The exact mix of the daily run is 23.8 miles on a superhighway at 65 MPH roughly, and 3.2 miles in on 2-3 lane roads with lights (limit 35-40 MPH).
Although it would have cost some in fuel economy, I wish they had increased the tank size by 2 or more gallons. Range is acceptable as is because of the high economy, but this car would be better if range were slightly higher. That said I know the seating is partially enabled by the tank design and that the 2nd generation had the same 10.6 gal capacity and worse fuel economy, so clearly this is a design choice that was worth making. I also just drive too far these days probably.
#6
11-30-2015, 06:39 PM
#7
12-05-2015, 03:14 PM
Their engineers know better than you. The trade off in weight wouldn't be worth your not having to micturate sooner.
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