Fit: enough HP for long roadtrips into the interior?
 

I'm pretty much mostly a city-only driver and wonder if I should even bother with the Fit if I intend to take it on the odd roadtrip into BC or WA-state from Alberta? Driving up the Coquihalla last summer was still pretty brutal in a rented Impala.

That depends on a few factors..

1. How many people will be in the vehicle and/or luggage (Weight)?
2. How fast will you be driving? (The fit handles great at higher speeds 130-140kph's, and can hold 5th for a while at those speeds up the Rockies)
3. How much fun do you want to have. (taking it out of the city is a great ride) Also, get your MP3 CD's ready

I took my SS Sport AT on a trip to a Pearl Jam Concert near George, Washington and was inpressed how good it felt on Highways. Passing can be hard, but once your speed is up, it's great.

Not sure how long that drive is, but I have taken my Fit on two 1,000 mile round trips with 3 passengers and luggage without issue about space or comfort. I even got 40mpg on the trips averaging 75mph with the AC on the whole time.

well, alberta is pretty flat and the road trips to the coast thru the mountains and into washington state were an eye-opener. well the coquihalla stretch specifically, the steady uphill incline was pretty rough.

hell, i should just leave it at home and fly out to washington state if i need to visit there...

Another Edmonton guy!
Where did you get your Fit from?

My friend and I took his Fit to Vancouver. Was a great drive. So I'd say you would have no real issues. Just don't load it to the 9's... We had 3 people and baggage for a 2 day stay...

I have driven from Bloomington, IL to Front Royal, VA three times in the last week. 12 hours @ 70mph each way... Amazingly comfy...

I might be making a trip up to Edmonton this weekend to go look at a used car that my dad and I are interested in restoring. Might take my Fit, might take his G35, I'll have to see :)

I'm up in Edmonton tomorrow as well and I"ll let you know how the Fit handles on long distance.
Honestly, I don't see problems with inclines on my Fit. I just go into a lower gear and she does well.
Edmonton's hills should give you a great idea of how well the Fit handles - go on Groat :D
or that other road that Gateway turns into to go to the downtown core with all the twisties.

Haven't bought one yet. Still mulling over what car to get:

Civic/Mazda3/Portege5/Echo/Yaris/Fit

The only issues I have noticed about the GD3 is that when it is going up a steaper incline mountain drive you have to try to find the right gear to use with the manual transmission...

^^ I agree... sometimes it's 2nd, sometimes it's 3rd

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So I did my Edmonton trip; the hills in Edmonton weren't much of a problem at all, even that one that leads into downtown that goes straight up at a 45 degree wasn't bad.

As for the highway, passing cars was a breeze.
However the fuel economy suffered a bit since at 120km/h the car revs at 3500RPM... anyone else experiencing this?

Lastly, it was a very comfortable ride. I've driven many different types of vehicles on that 3 hr trip and I loved the comfort of the Fit compared to the others.

You must be driving a Manual Transmission. The AT doesn't hit 3000RPM til 130km/h.

I'm taking my Fit into the Kootenay area just past Grand Fork's, next week. lookin forward to the drive through the Hope Princeton... or I may take the Coquihalla and then down through Penticton.

Yup I was in the MT. I figure it's the gearing... a lil unfortunate, but oh well. :D

Do tell how it handles on-and-back on the Coquihalla :D

It was awesome on the Coquihalla. Had to go to 4th for the climbs but otherwise was great... 110-150 is what we were traveling at :)

Saskatoon to Tofino
 

Just got back from a long road trip from Saskatoon to Tofino, BC. Only myself and one passenger in the car, but we had it fully packed...mainly with camping gear, cooler, food, bags etc. Had no problems on the praires, but found it to be quite under powered on the mountain passes even in lower gears.
But, may I make a suggestion for anyone looking for a great drive in their Fit: From Port Alberni to Tofino (on Vancouver Island), was the best part of the drive. It is a extremly winding road that the Fit handled fantiastically well on. If you get the opportunity to do the drive (and surf when you get there), it is well worth it.

On the way back, we hit the Coquihalla with more stuff than we had left Saskatoon with. I spent the inclines in the right hand lane... and the only vehicles that we passed were semis.

We only spotted 4 other Fits...all in B.C.

All told, we put 4,400 km on the car to just push it over 10K.

Alas, I gave up the fit dream for 5k more and a Fiji Blue 4dr Civic!

Cheers, folks. Maybe in 2009-2010...