I'll leave it in D after my next fill-up and see what happens. I had started out driving it in D and my mileage wasn't so great, so I started using S and the shifters and it went up slightly.

 

I'm looking at purchasing a used manual fit. What is the cosensus regarding the paddle shifters versus the manual transmission? I know on the M3 you still feel connected with the SMG (it is arguably a bit too harsh), but most people only go with them if they are regularly in heavy traffic.

Is the Fit Electronic Auto worth driving? I live in a traffic free area. Is the manual infinitely more fun than the Auto? Are the paddle shifters just a gimmick and do they take the fun out of driving the car?

Please state whether you drive the AT or MT in your reply.

 

I have the paddles, the car is slow. I would recommend a manual.

 

First of all... welcome to fitfreak. I want to chime in real quick before the manual supremacists do and tell you that I would buy the AT again in a heartbeat over the manual. The clutch placement is a bit odd and the gear ratios leave a little to be desired especially on the highway. I drove them both side by side. The automatic in the fit shifts faster than ANY auto i have ever driven (as fast as DSG... don't believe me? drive one...). The really cool thing about it as well is that you can tap the downshift (in M mode) and blip the throttle and it sounds seriously like an S2000 if you have a CAI. This is all coming from someone who took a performance driving school in a (manual of course) S2000 while in Germany so I know alot about driving... I would definitely recommend getting the paddles without question even if you're not in traffic at all! It's way more fun. But, either way you seem to be set on getting a fit so that's all that really matters right?!

 

The AT is so the wife can drive it. I consider the vehicle to be underpowered with the AT.

 

I came from an 04 ACura TL 6 Speed MAnual.. That car was fast. Lots of torque.. I have an Auto Fit Sport. The car is decent powered for such a little thing. Yes I miss the power, but i DONT miss the gas price! You'll have fun with both. If you can get a manual get it. if u can't get the auto. I like the auto b/c when i dont feel like using the paddles I can just sit back and just cruise.

 

I am using the manual mode
1. To hold the gear.
2. I am driving in the DFW area and the car does lack the power to merge safely. Passing in this car requires serious consideration before making any kind of move. Drivers here are also dangeroulsy aggressive and lack any kind of courtesy. The manual would be much better for the cut and thrust driving condiotns in the DFW area.

 

It's an automatic based on a torque converter. If you enjoy driving "autosticks" then you should enjoy the paddle shifters; they are the same transmission with a different interface.

I don't care for either.

 

This is true - the paddles are not new technology - it's just as watermelonman describes.

I'm a long time MT driver, and my Fit is also MT. I've driven both versions, and here's my .02, trying to leave out as much MT bias as I can.....

The AT is very good. The long haul highway mileage is slightly better than the MT according th CR, and runs at considerably lower cruising RPMS. Acceleration is a bit sluggish compared to the MT, and it will often downshift on hills on the freeway - it's the price of tall gearing, I guess.

Of course if you use the paddles you can override this, but you are still running a conventional AT with it's inherent drivetrain power loss.
However the difference in the power between the AT and MT is less than similar AT/MT versions of other small cars I've driven. If you prefer driving an AT for whatever reason, you'll like the one in the Fit.

But if you're an MT fan, you should get that - the MT is faster, more fun to drive IMO, cheaper and gives better gas mileage overall, especially in the city.

 

No, at 80mph mines at about 3k in fifth. Auto trans. it climbs pretty fast after that though.

 

ALL cars are lots more fun with manual transmission. Who could honestly deny that?

That being said, mine is an automatic, and the paddle shifters make it a relatively fun automatic. I chose the automatic because it is easy, and I am old. Slightly better highway mileage is a small plus, and with the lower revs at 80MPH, the engine might last a little longer than the MT version driven the same.

Obviously, every decision is a trade-off.

Just my take.

Joe

 

That seems high, but it's a lot lower than the M/T. At 80 mph my M/T is at about 3900 rpms.... Above about that speed it starts getting buzzy for me...

 

What he said - everything is a trade off - you just have to figure what's more important to you.

As far as having the engine last longer with the AT - I actually thought about that when I was debating which to get. When I think back to my other MIJ cars that I've had, I never had any engine problems other than alternator/starter replacements- the rest of the car always wore out before the engine showed any problems at all. I figure the engines are good to at least 200k miles these days, so I'm guessing it's good for the life of the car.

I have a friend with an old Mazda pickup that has over 340k miles on it, and it's still going like clockwork, but boy does it look like crap.....

 

Thanks for the input guys. Arashi, thanks for the welcome. I am not trying to be rude, but taking a driving school does not make you a driving authority. It does mean you know a little bit about driving, depending on how much you learned at the course.

It sounds like the AT is something I will have to try. If it shifts quickly and on demand, and holds gears properly, it might be worth using. I've never been a fan of them unless an automatic has been required. I haven't had a chance to drive a manual Fit, either.

My daily driver is a manual. I've driven the IS300, Prelude, and M3 SMG to name a few, and haven't been terribly impressed by any of them. The IS and M3 shifted pretty quickly, and the M3 SMG behaved properly despite being a little harsh. I guess I'll be finding out how the Fit compares.

 

i dont think so.

 

i currently drive a 2007 auto fit with paddle shifters...everytime when i wanna go fast...i would just put it on "S" and just floor it....and i won't change the gears with the shifter since it will change by itself...i was wondering...is it really bad for the car..?? seems like..the RPM went up really high then change gears....felt like hurttin the car so bad afterwards....thx...=]

 

like with any car, revving it higher will do more stress on the motor. create heat and other things but that's normal and expected. your mpg is what gets affected more.

 

I've noticed that when I'm in S mode, in first gear I'll get up to about 7 mph, and then the car stops accelerating. The RPMs go up, but the speed doesn't. The same thing happens in 2nd gear, to about 20mph. I haven't noticed it in any other gears. Is this normal?

 

when in S mode itll hold the gear until you the driver hit the paddles to up shift.....

going from D to S while moving will more than likely drop the car down a gear so be prepared for that.

 

It'll also downshift automatically if you slow down enough, or start going up an incline.