I'm considering getting a Fit - moving from an old minivan to a new car for the first time.
I'm looking for any input on the CONCERNS below.

Based on research I've done here are the PROS:
- good mpg
- reliability
- initial purchase price (cheaper than most comparable cars)
- lots of interior space for a small car

CONCERNS:
- ground clearance
- road noise while cruising at 75 on the interstate
- horsepower on the highway… with three people in it

 

Personally, I have never had an issue with the ground clearance except for once. This one time I had one dude who weight 270lb at least, myself, and 2 other passengers. My stock GD looked slammed. haha. If you do not intend to drive around with serious amount of weight, you should not have an issue.

Road noise, never noticed really. When driving on the highway at 120km-130km I do not hear that much road noise, but I do generally drive with the radio going and window open.

Horsepower, never really had an issue to be totally honest. Some modifications can always help though. Driving stick does help for the down shift when passing. Never had an issue on passing down "country" one lane highways.

 

So what do you want us to tell you?

Stock Fits have very little ground clearance, but owners still lower them anyway.
They are noisy, but 2013's seem to be a little more quiet than 2009's.
A Fit with 3 people in it has less horsepower than a 5 liter Mustang with 3 people in it, and less horsepower than many other Honda models. If you want power, you won't get it with the MPG of a Fit.

Drive it according to what it is and it will probably serve your needs. It is well worth the MSRP.

 

LOL... Yup thats for sure. She aint no 5L Mustang.

 

I normally drive with 4 people in my car, and I'm lowered on Tanabe springs and I still have plenty of ground clearance

Hwy power is fine, in fact 65+ mph the car still has plenty of power with a full car

Road noise is not more than your average car and in fact I think it's pretty quiet.

Expect to get around 30 mpg combined or more depending on your driving habits

 

The low ground clearance is overblown IMHO. The Fit is not really lower than most other smallish economy minded cars, e.g. Corolla, Versa, etc. (It is lower than SUVs and wannabe SUVs, trucks, vans, etc.) Six inches, plus or minus a bit, is pretty much standard.

The Fit isn't the quietest car available, for sure, but it isn't deafeningly loud. You can carry on a conversation or hear the radio. A decent amount of the road noises comes from the tires; the stock tires are not especially quiet.

There is enough power to maintain legal speed on the highway with three people, though under hard conditions (high altitude hills) it might take downshifting a gear or two. There is not an excess of power to accelerate briskly; you are wise to think ahead a little bit when getting ready to pass semis and so forth. Again, this is not really out of line for smallish economy cars in general.

For the last couple of your concerns, I'd suggest going for a test drive and checking it for yourself, since they're subject to personal interpretation to a fair extent.

 

Ground clearance is surprisingly good for a small car.
It's not that noisey. I came from an Infiniti and I don't mind it. Besides turn the radio on you don't hear it.
Power can sometimes be in short supply but its plenty fast when you need it, you just have to rev it out.

 

ive owned 3 fits so i can explain...

- ground clearance (okay if you dont go over tire stops... wife found out)

- road noise while cruising at 75 on the interstate (2012-2013 are quieter than the previous models. AT will have better mpg as gearing is higher for expressway)

- horsepower on the highway… with three people in it (MT is significantly faster than the AT. i was quite surprised how fast my '12 can accelerate into the expressway. much faster than the 08 Fit MT sport i had before, faster than the 09 AT i have now. i currently own 2 fit sports one MT, one AT).

 

Thanks for all the great input! When researching the Fit it sure helps to get input from people who've owned the car for a while.

 

I have 2012 Fit Sport lowered on Eibach Prokit had 4 people in the car A/C blasting full back and a soft cargo carrier with suit cases on the roof driving back from Dallas Texas no problem keeping my speed between 80 to 90 mph. None this above really helped my gas mileage but drove 24 hours straight through.

Road noise will improve when I replace the tires next month. Test drive the car and see if it is really what you want. There is short falls with any vehicle forums like this one tries to help owners with those issues.

Good luck in your decision.