There seem to be an adjustment to the engine spec for the CVT, a reduction in hp and torque. Comparison specs
2017 Honda Fit Specifications and Features - Honda.com
2018 Honda Fit Specifications and Features - Honda.com

 

All the more reason to buy a manual transmission.

 

Sorry Uncle Gary, the manual guys are insecure in that they have to convince the CVT drivers they made a mistake, and they are not having "fun" or their car is "slower". Even though all my personal cars are manual, the CVT is made for the Fit. 90% of the buyers can't be wrong. Honda knows that, and that's why they charge $800 more. That tells me that Fit buyers did not buy their car for fun, but for practicality.

 

Listen...Manual Transmissions are Great!

And I say that as someone driving a CVT.
But I chose it? Because I'm getting lazy and old. And even though I appreciate Fun To Drive, and The Fit, manual or CVT the Fit is fun to drive, the reason I chose a CVT, was because most of the time, I'm not looking for fun. Most of the time, I'm exhausted and just want to run up to the store.
Most of the time, I'm not up for the extra mental acuity of clutch and shift...yeah I've owned manuals, I know it becomes second nature.
And I know they are a blast to drive. I think the Fit would be extra fun to drive with a manual transmission. I just don't want one....most of the time.

And unfortunately, I think we've raised a generation that is more akin, more connected to the "automatic" than the stick shift. And it is a shame. But some young people today? Don't even bother to learn to drive stick.
I learned on a manual 1st...then occasionally drove an automatic.

I will admit...this is the second "automatic" transmission Honda Fit I've bought. And in each case, I do find myself musing about the fun of having a stick shift.

The paddle shifters? IMO...not at all the same experience.

 

Stop saying more work is fun, therefore, having to shift gears is not fun. The Fit is a utility car. It is designed to get you from point A to B efficiently. There is nothing fun about the Fit. It's your imagination. Honda sold us the Fit with magic seats, not that it has a 6 spd manual transmission.

 

Take a ride with me. You'll either have fun or be scared. Either way, I'll be having fun and rowing gears.

I should add that I also could drive a school bus and have fun. Sad for anyone that just finds driving mundane or not fun. I think it's a generational thing.

 

Honda markets to sell.
Therefore they are going to market, fuel efficiency, utility, versatility..and YES..fun to drive.

The Fit is NOT a high powered vehicle by any standards. It's not a sports car. But it nearly defines the cliche..."It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow". In the usual and much more typical driving experiences available to most drivers NOT on a closed off twisting mountain road, or The Autobahn, The Fit is IMO a very fun car to drive.

Also being utilitarian and efficient are not mutually exclusive realities to also being fun to drive.

 

My Mom has an '09 Fit Sport Auto.

I thought it would be boring, but nope...it's also fun to drive.

My Dad has a '17 CR-V with the 1.5turbo and CVT. It is NOT fun to drive in any way I can possibly come up with.

 

Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters say Hi.

Of course that was the Mid 1960's and there were "extenuating circumstances" beyond aerodynamics, vehicle design and acceleration...

But yeah..bus's can be fun.

 

So the guy who has "swim upstream...yadda, yadda" quote as his signature chose what everyone else does?

Also, where are you getting your numbers that 90% of Fits sold are CVT?

 

Yes, because he doesn't have to defend himself getting the CVT. He just wanted it.

 

this tread is an example of posting something and swimming up the creek..

 

I don't think I'm either defending my getting a CVT or attacking it.
I am sharing my reasons for getting one, despite my opinion that manual transmissions are great.

Basically saying...I chose the CVT because I'm getting lazy and old...is hardly a defense of the choice.

As I said, at this stage of my life YES...I "wanted" an automatic transmission. My last 3 vehicles have all been automatics.
That doesn't mean I don't have regrets in regards to not having a clutch and a stick shift. Or recognize the ownership experience advantages of having a manual.

 

Without getting into the manual/auto debate, I wonder why they list different engine specs? Manufacturers usually list crank HP, rather than at the wheels- and it's such a small difference it has to be within the margin of error for any dyno. Could it be a different ECU with different mapping?

 

probably a map set to run better with the cvt resulted in the reduction.

 

wow, your post describes me...like not at all.

 

My first firt (first gen) had a CVT, and my current fit (third gen) has a manual.

Honestly, 90% of the time I'm driving, I'm going from light to light stuck behind slow drivers, and the manual is NOT really great for driving to and from work on a straight road.

This will be the last daily driver I have with a manual. Maybe I'll be rich enough one day to afford a weekend cruiser, and that one will have a manual. But this getting to work and back in a manual is a lot more effort than it's worth.

 

I bought my car gently used from a Subaru dealer.
The salesman who sold it to me is in his twenties and drives a WRX STI daily.
After I took him for a test drive in the soon-to-be-mine 2016 EX 6MT I was told this was the very first proper test drive in his 2 years of employment.
I had a blast and obviously it must have shown.
I doubt I could do it with a CVT.
In fact I would not even consider looking at this car if it was not a manual.
I still remember reading a very superlative new car review of a 1991 civic SI that ended with something like this:
"Oh, and by the way, Honda also sells this with an automatic.
But of course it is a totally different car...."
So I bought a white manual SI 25 years ago and was so glad to have found another one recently, except this one has four doors and 3 years bumper to bumper warranty remaining.
Also, I had two consecutive Aprilia scooters during my "save the planet" period and they both had CVT.
Just sayin' ...

 

Good analysis. This is what I don't get--everything is relative. No, the Fit isn't a hot hatch. But it is quicker than many of the hot hatches of old, and it handles just fine. Where I live, the roads are heavily potholed, cracked, glacially formed, and inhabited by all sorts of animals (many of a nocturnal nature), there is very rarely a chance to safely open up a fast car.

The Fit doesn't have the handling of a Fiesta ST but it is perfectly safe and fun-in my opinion-to throw around off-camber corners at crazy velocities nearing 35 mph! I'm really not being facetious, I've driven through mountains with 90 degree switchbacks, and the roads at sub-1000 ft above sea level that I frequent are far more dangerous than those.

Now, if I lived in the desert or plains states where roads are flat and straight for 20, 30 miles, and city streets are laid out in grids, the Fit would be a lot more boring.

My friends all tell me to get an older 3-series BMW, or a WRX, or a Fiesta/Focus ST. Nah, give me a slow car with a manual transmission and I'll have plenty of fun with it. Many Americans, for reasons unbeknownst to me, say that driving manuals in traffic is THE WORST THING EVER. Okay, tell that to the taxi drivers and 70 year old grandmothers in Italy, France, etc who depress a clutch and move a lever 100, 200, 500 times a day. Tell them how sore your leg gets. It's just second nature to them. To each their own, but it's never work for me to use a manual gearbox. Just my personal opinion, I'm no "purist" and I don't give two craps what anyone else likes to drive.

 

People buy cars for all sorts of different reasons but I believe as long as you love your car, it will love you right back.
And regarding the first post, I'd doubt the number differences between year models mean anything at all.
I bet it was always there, they just mentioned it for the first time in 2018.
As advised by their legal team, no doubt.