I agree with the "fun" part of driving. Sure the MT is more work but it's so much more fun! Nothing compares to a smallish car with a MT. I have had my 2017 MT EX for over a month and really enjoy it everyday. The gas mileage is great! If the CVT is better on gas, I will pay a few more dollars a month to have the fun driving.

 

My 07 got 42 MPG driving a 1400 mile road trip at a average of 75 MPH.
Higher RPM doesn't always mean totally worse mileage usually a car has a tip over point where the mileage starts dropping, on my GD that's right about 75.

 

The GK cvt with the Tanabe does not drone at highway speed, only on slow acceleration, I still like it but it was better on my GK 6M. I wish I had one of both, a cvt and a 6M, the 6M is like a poor mans S2000 especially with the Tanabe. That engine loves to rev.
The perfect GK would be a 7M with the rpm being 2500 at 75 mph, you would be getting the 41mpg (You would only use 7th out on the open road)

 

Have been blessed to own several great rides, and I’ve driven mostly manual my whole life. The Fit was an impulse buy whilst picking up my teenager’s new Accord. There was no doubt about getting the 6MT.

I really missed my old manual SX4. I owned a 1 Series M Coupe, but there is nothing like the manual Fit in the twisties. Even at 30mph, I feel like I am on the track. For the money, this car is stupid fun in the MT format.

My assumption about the buzzy highway gearing is that the torque etc. was not sufficient to support different gearing for the top i.e. Honda purposely did this to allow it to handle inclines in top gear. Total supposition and I have no data to support that.

I don’t find it intrusive until 75mph.

 

fyi... The financial break even point for the $800 CVT increase of 5MPG (36 CVT vs 31 MT) @ 3.00/gallon is around 60,000 miles if my calculations are correct from here:

https://www.carmax.com/research/mpg-calculator

Of course, lower cost of fuel will take longer to realize the $800 break even point. Likewise if you really don't gain 5mpg over the manual, then it will take even longer as well.

 

Since I've owned my Fit, I'm averaging about 41.5MPG and I have about 49k miles. So I've already hit the break even for me.

 

Interesting tbFit! Nice addition to the thread.

The difficult cost to figure out is CVT maintenance and potential failure vs the cost of clutch replacement for the manual. Those costs vary so much between users that it's probably too hard to determine.

We don't have a GK, but I suspect the real fuel mileage difference is somewhere between a 4 and 6 mpg spread. Plenty of manual users are reporting high 30's+. I imagine it depends greatly on average speed. The higher the average speed the better the advantage for the CVT I would think because of it's higher gearing.

 

IDK, I routinely get between 39.5 to 42 MPG on my MT fit. My commute is about 45 miles each way with mostly 55 mph county roads and 70 mph highway. Keep in mind that don't drive it to maximize fuel economy and routinely take it to redline on the freeway on ramp.

 

FWIW the belt/Chain/magic rubber band, in a CVT is a wear item, so are the shivs, so far I've been hearing Honda doesn't rebuild, they swap for a new one.
about 2800 base or more.. ??

Average on a clutch is about 750 if you pay an small shop.. about 1200 dealer last one I heard about.

 

Those numbers look right. So now the question is...what miles for each service?

Strictly a total guess, but our Fit was improved with a clutch change at 130,000 miles. Wasn't slipping, but was getting harder to shift and was jerky on take off.

We'll need more time to determine the lifespan of the CVT. Nissan and Ford found them to not last very long, but that isn't Honda.

 

I still have the cvt, I like it for what it is. But about 20-50 % of the time I want my old 6mt back with the Tanabe exhaust,

 

Yup... "We shall see"

Based on all the industrial equipment I've worked around with CVT boxes, you want to avoid 2 things,,High torque low speed situations (Dragging a heavy load) and getting it hot.. Since the basic function is its a friction drive, the less slip the better for long life. At its core thats the part I distrust, its slipping all the time and its metal on metal..

 

If I was buying a car any car for a 16 year driver as a first car , automatic

For me nothing but a manual ; unless I hit the lotto and purchase a 2017 NSX

 

the only reason i drive my wife's GK cvt is because i dont want to get dings on my car while running errands. lol

 

I was recently stuck in a 45 minute traffic jam, creeping ahead. It was no problem with the CVT.

 

sounds good. i do it with DSG.. but then 45min traffic jam is nothing in my area.. i use to do that everyday in my MT coupe. basically 2-2.5 car lengths ahead and used only 1st gear. and the clutch was like 10x heavier than the Fit's clutch. and i didnt think it was fatiguing.

on a bad day traffic can quickly double, add snow add like 3hrs (seriously).
i could creep slower in MT and no need to constantly apply brakes like AT.

 

This is my first car with an automatic transmission. A planetary-gear automatic has no advantage over a manual, other than that you don't have to shift; a CVT does. Planetary-gear is more expensive, and less efficient, and accelerates more slowly, than either a manual or a CVT. The oil-passageways that function to turn the bands on and off are essentially a mechanical computer that runs on hydraulic pressure that is used to determine gear ratios. It is quite an excessively complicated, clunky contraption. The honda cvt has an electronic digital computer to determine pulley ratios and it does so with more detail, and with elegance mechanical simplicity. All the complexity of choosing pulley ratios is micronized, into tiny integrated circuits. I can understand preferring a manual transmission to a a honda fit cvt, but I have difficulty understanding preferring a planetary gear automatic, to a honda fit cvt. The experiencing of getting maximum acceleration out of the CVT may not be as much fun as a manual, but it is fun. The experience of having that little 1.5 liter engine, with its high compression, yet running on regular gas, rapidly rev up to nearly redline, and staying put at nearly redline, whilst the car smoothly accelerates to 75 mph without the slightest jolt - you hardly realize it is accelerating - is fun. Planetary gear automatic feels like it is accelerating, but the CVT acceleration, as measured, is actually greater.

 

That could well be. When crusing at 75 mp and 2300 rpm in my CVT, if the road starts to have even a mild incline, the CVT will bring the rpm up to over 3000. With the 6MT, and downshift would not be necessary as it is already keeping the engine at over 3000. But of course many gearbox owners wouldn't mind downshifting at the first suggestion of a hill. In my 2010 corolla matrix, I found it necessary to downshift the 5 speed from 5 to 4, in these situations.

 

My son checked in & he loves the CVT. He tells me he is averaging 36 MPG & figures it will get better as becomes accustom to the Fit & its CVT.

I'm thinking that changing the CVT fluid at 50,000 miles may be a good idea. My wife's MINI non-cvt automatic gets its changed every 40,000. They seem to fail if not serviced. I'm figuring the cost of the preventive maintenance will be much cheaper than a repair.

The DSG in my GTI requires a fluid & filter change every 40,000 miles.

I've driven manual transmissions almost exclusively until 2 years ago. I really like how connected they make you feel to the car. Then my Ortho Doc told me get thee an automatic. That's why my GTI as a DSG. Closest thing to a manual without a clutch peddle.

I always thought CVT transmissions were the work of the devil. Driving my son's fit changed my mind about that. In fact I think I could live with one. Did I just say that?

 

I think that would be money well spent!

What I don't understand about CVT's is why they get replaced instead of repaired when they fail. I would think that failure is almost always due to belt slippage and a new belt would fix the problem.

What I know about CVT's could be written in crayon on a matchbook though.