|
Initial impressions of my 2019 Fit
I am happy to share that I took delivery of a slightly used, silver 2019 Fit EX manual today. It had about 3,200 miles when I purchased it and was previously leased for just two months (not sure of the circumstances - car seems fine to me!). I had test driven it and one other ‘18 EX manual before (plus some longer drives of a 2012 Fit), but today was the first day in which I got to drive one for an extended period of time. Here are some initial impressions from the ~400 mi. trip I took from Massachusetts to Washington, DC: - lane keep assist is impressive! I quickly learned to trust it and appreciate its ability to help me stay centered in the lane better than I would be able to on my own. It doesn’t let you get away without steering at all (nor should it). I tested it on some curves, which it handled very well, but it prompts you with a beep and a “steering required” message. Really love this feature. - adaptive cruise control is great! Super convenient and worked really well. Makes long highway trips more bearable. - high revving 6th gear. As many others have mentioned, the manual transmission gearing means that the car gets buzzy and noisy when going at regular highway speeds (and slightly above). I knew this before buying the car and it wasn’t a dealbreaker because 98% of the time I will be doing city driving. - CarPlay did not make the greatest first impression. I’ve played with CarPlay before and knew what to expect, but what I didn’t like was that GoogleMaps stopped tracking the car at one point (it may be my phone’s fault) and later in the trip it stopped recognizing my or my girlfriend’s phones altogether. Resetting the head unit solved that problem. - the head unit’s software system is...meh. Pretty basic and sometimes confusing. Love the camera features. - it’s comfortable enough for long trips, in my opinion. The seats are fine. I never realized that I like to put my left foot a little underneath the driver’s seat sometimes during highway driving. That, of course, isn’t possible with the gas tank underneath the seats in the Fit, so I had to make do without being able to do that. - averaged about 38 mpg with three passengers and luggage going 70-75 mph most of the way, which I was happy about. - the arm rest isn’t as low as I thought. I’ll post some more thoughts as I get used to the car and drive and park it in the city. I’ve wanted a Fit for a while now and am excited to finally have one! I expect this will be the last manual transmission vehicle I’ll own with all the changing technology... Has anyone replaced the steering wheel with the leather-wrapped EX-L wheel on a 2018 or 2019 model? Is the process identical to the previously-posted instructions on how to do it? The Honda Sensing made me wonder if there are more electronics to deal with. The only mods I will likely do include switching to the leather-wrapped wheel (if I can get the right tools and muster up enough courage) and replacing the shift knob and boot with the leather JDM parts. Also cargo cover. The only things it has now that are different are all-weather floor mats and wheel locks, the latter of which I’m not thrilled about. Overall, though, I’m liking this car! Thanks for reading. |
Congrats and welcome! My opinions line up pretty close to yours on the car - overall very happy ~8 months in on my 18 Sport manual.
I too have had Google Maps and Waze stop tracking the car on my 18. Force closing the app on my phone and then reopening on the head unit seems to fix it. Im not sure if its the phone or the unit - but it didn't do this until IOS 12.1. Again - welcome and congrats on the car! |
The only thing I can attest to, is that when I first got my 2016 Honda Fit EX, I really hated the arm rest.
But with the passage of time, I've come to be fine with it. It is low, but that gives me more elbow and arm space. After a while, I stopped looking for it to be high enough to rest my arm on as I drive, and I find I'm fine with just NOT doing that. Many post purchase, MacGyver like fixes, various strap on pads etc. I've decided to just live with it the way it is. There is advantage to NOT having that space taken up. |
have a 2018.. I can see how some people with shorter arm lengths might not like it, but my longer arms seem to rest just fine on it.
|
I don’t believe there’s any such thing as a “2019 Fit.” I haven’t seen a new Fit in a dealership lot since last spring. |
They are a little scarce because of the plant flood, but they do exist. |
Originally Posted by BrokenLimits
(Post 1420468)
They are a little scarce because of the plant flood, but they do exist. |
I will sell my 2018 Manual EX fully loaded for around what I paid for it :)
|
Originally Posted by Uncle Gary
(Post 1420465)
I don’t believe there’s any such thing as a “2019 Fit.” I haven’t seen a new Fit in a dealership lot since last spring. I looked on the door today and discovered that my car was built in May. |
I have both hands on the steering wheel at all time so the "arm rest" is not an issue to me. It is a bin cover that doesn't matter how low it is.
|
|
Originally Posted by Kempsk
(Post 1420594)
The only difference is that 2019’s have auto high beams.
I looked on the door today and discovered that my car was built in May. Yours being built in May proves that they did build 2019's before the plant flood. |
For some strange reason Honda cut the 2018 model year short and switched over to making 2019 cars many months before they normally would have. I've never been able to figure out why they did this since the 2018 and 2019 cars are virtually identical and I don't see what advantage there was for Honda in producing 2019 models early.
|
Originally Posted by evilchargerfan
(Post 1420613)
I had my eyes on this wheel
Buddy Club Racing Spec Steering Wheel Carbon Fit 15+ - Axion Industries https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...1dae417e72.jpg Best if the BuddyClub logo is not there. That is my turnoff |
Originally Posted by evilchargerfan
(Post 1420613)
I had my eyes on this wheel
Buddy Club Racing Spec Steering Wheel Carbon Fit 15+ - Axion Industries https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...1dae417e72.jpg |
if you check axion armys fb page, a few members have it installed. I must say, it does look rather beautiful
|
i have a 2019 fit lx , got it in august , when i put the down payment on it i could have sworn it was for an '18 .
found out it was a '19 when i picked it up |
I thought I’d provide an update since I've now driven my Fit in and around Washington, DC for the past two and a half months (once again, it's silver 2019 EX manual).
What I especially like: its size (street parking), suburbs/highway fuel economy, versatility of back seats, interior/exterior styling, Apple CarPlay, and Honda Sensing. What I don’t especially like: the stock shift knob, 6-speed gearing, tricky clutch, slightly noisy, poor city fuel economy, not the most comfortable seats. MPG I’m very pleased, all in all. I’m a little bummed because I’m only averaging 26-27 mpg in my regular commute, but that’s because the majority of my driving is short trips, stop and go, with traffic. A few drives on the GW parkway and out to the suburbs of Bethesda yielded 40-42 mpg according to the car’s computer estimate (which I realize isn’t perfectly accurate). I don't think there is anything wrong with the car - city driving does not yield good gas mileage in any car. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...79d88650f1.jpg I couldn't believe how many diapers this thing could hold! MODS I didn’t love the original shift knob, which I found cheap feeling and too small, so I got the JDM leather-wrapped knob and boot. Much improved and I highly recommend it! I also daringly replaced the steering wheel with the EX-L one (it more or less installed smoothly) which I’m happy with. I figured that the shift knob and steering wheel were good modifications to make given that those are two places you often make contact with. I've also enjoyed having the cargo cover. STEERING WHEEL A quick note regarding replacing the steering wheel with the leather one: I am not a mechanically-inclined or especially handy person, so this project was a bit of a challenge for me, but it wasn't that bad overall! If I can do it, you can do it! Most difficult for me was removing the electronic components and trim pieces from one wheel to the other. I had to buy a couple tools to remove the huge hexagonally-indented bolt holding the wheel in place. For anyone that attempts it, you need a 10 mm hex bit and then a 6-inch extension bar connected to a breaker bar (mine was 9-1/2 inches). Also, it seems there is one additional electronic component (Honda Sensing) to remove compared to the 2015-2017's, but it's straight-forward and easy. This is a doable project. Thank you Stembridge! https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...3541431882.jpg To remove this bolt, you need a 10 mm hex bit and a 6-inch extension bar plus a breaker bar. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...b87801ac1a.jpg The leather wheel and shift knob/boot. Project complete! TRANSMISSION I’m glad to be driving the manual transmission, but I haven't found the clutch to be the easiest to get used to. I also think a five versus six-speed would have been just fine (I often skip the nearly useless fifth gear). Like many have mentioned, I’d prefer the engine run at lower RPM’s in sixth. Also, I found it really interesting to read about the 16/26/35/41/43 recommended shift points in the various threads here. That is more spirited than what I typically shift at (it varies, of course, depending on terrain and traffic, but maybe I usually shift to 2nd at 10-15 mph, 3rd at 20-25, to 4th around 30, and 5th/6th 35-40). What else? It took me a while to find a comfortable seat/driving position and I'm still not sure. I do miss having a little space underneath the driver's seat to stretch my leg out like in most cars, but oh well. CarPlay has worked great! I love having a sunroof! I like the auto lock feature, but I find it still beeps at me (the bad way) 10% of the time. Maybe I'm standing with the fob too close to the car? Enjoying my Fit! |
I can't really justify the time or expense to replace the steering wheel, but replacing a 2007 AT Sport Fit (leather steering wheel) that was in poor condition with a new 2019 Fit shouldn't feel like a downgrade because of the nasty steering wheel. Where did you source your EX-L steering wheel and how much did it cost, if you don't mind sharing?
|
I purchased the leather steering wheel from https://www.bkhondaparts.com/ I have zero regrets.
The part number is 78501-T5A-N21ZA and part name is GRIP *NH900L* [LEA] [DEEP BLACK] Note that while the wheel is designed for the EX-L, it works perfectly fine even if you have a EX manual like me. There are no noticeable gaps where the paddle shifters go, for example. |
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:28 PM. |
© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands