i agree 100%. My auto also gets about the mileage as all the manuals are which is about 35 mpg combined. Just need to baby the car a bit. Regarding it being slow....yeah thats true but it isnt unbearably slow.

 

Maybe I should use the paddle shifters more and see what happens. Do you have any upgrades on your Fit?

 

Keep it Devil Dog! You're gonna lose your ass if you trade it and/or sell it outright.

 

I'm closing in on 2000 miles for my Fit, and my gas mileage is slowly getting better. It is already better than my old car, which was a 2006 Saturn ION.

My last tank averaged 27 MPG, while the Saturn ended up averaging 23-24 MPG, with all in a mix of city/highway driving. Both cars are automatic. It'll be interesting to see what happens over the rest of the year. Of course I'm hoping for a continued increase in fuel economy.

I should also note I live in an area that has the gasoline with 10% ethanol.

My suggestion: Keep the Fit. Give it enough time to break in.

Zee, I wish you the best of luck with whatever decision you make.

 

Other than cars getting heavier due to all the gov't safety regulations, I don't understand why it can't be simple to make a car the size of the Fit get somewhere well north of 40 mpg.

If you think back to the CRX HF's of the late 80's, those things routinely got 60 mpg on the highway. I realize they were about 65 HP or whatever, and they weighed less, but you'd think with technology we could do a bit better than what people are seeing with their Fits.

I average about 30 to 31 mpg, and I do drive hard, and pretty fast on the highway, so I can't really complain.

The one issue with Honda is that they always seem to be more about clean exhaust than MPG. I think that's why Toyotas always seem to do better....they are less concerned about what is coming out of the tailpipe.

 

MT Fit can easilly get 40+ MPG if they changed the gear ratios or added a 6th gear.

 

I felt that unbearable slowness too on long commutes especially with the hills.. and especially being in that "initial break-in period".. but since, i've taken it up to 90 mph after 1500 miles in trying to loosen up the engine.. and don't be afraid on the hills to crank it to 4+ rpms.. i've even been able to take moderately steep inclines at 75mph at 3800k using cruise.. if i use my foot to mash usually it needs above 4k on hills.. i'm currently at a little over 3,000 + miles.. and love the drive.. i think the first 500-1000 miles were a little torturous because i was trying to be good with the car.. give it a little more time.. see if it grows on you.. i got mine 2/18/08.. and always find myself looking back at it still after being parked..realize it's not a sports car with it's 109 hp.. but it is an "affordable", cool looking, fun to drive, easy to park, magic utility kinda car.. interior build is nice and tight.. my worse mileage was 27.. best mileage 34.. and averaging 32 mpg.. check out Find a Car.. might make you feel better.. good luck

 

i think the biggest problem with people on here and their mileage is they dont know how the hell to figure what their actual mileage is....i mean i have read people saying they are getting 20 mpg and there is people saying they are getting over 40.....i mean come on, the sticker on the car says 28 in the city....its not like it was a seceret before you bought it. go buy a dodge ram with a hemi in it and then come back and complain about 25+ mpg.

 

I find to get as close as possible, I use the same gas pump at the same flow rate untill it clicks off. I'll always buy gas early in the morning only because of my work day trip.Probably other variables involved too but miles driven with gallons used is how I do it.My Tundra DC 4X4 gets between 15-17 MPG, I'll put 14-18 gallons in it at fillups, regular gas is around 3.15 a gal. 50 -60 bucks a pop twice a week if I drive everyday. Wife's Pilot gets better than 20 mpg's so we're in that most of the time.As I've said here, an 09 Fit may be our future!

 

I just filled up my third tank. I drive an 08 Auto fit and always use the paddles. I don't baby the car but I dont race around like its a hot rod either. If I need the power I downshift into the 4k+ RPM range but usually keep it between 2 and 3k. My first tank was 31.21 MPG, my second tank was 31.54 MPG and my third tank fillup last night was 32.25 MPG. This is a 50/50 mix city/Highway.

 

Also rememeber that up here in New England they put those additives into the gas during the winter to keep it from freezing and what-not. I've lost about 3-4mpg just during the winter alone.

I think you should stick with it for the time being... unless you already have it paid off, trading it back in after 2 months is financial suicide on your behalf. You'd be looking at probably ~$4000 in negative equity onto whatever car you decide to get, if not more. I traded my '06 Civic in after a year for my Fit and even after a year I still was upside down by $2000. So even though the dealer gave me my MT Sport for 14,800, I paid close to $17k.

 

3000 rpm @ 20 mph seems high but what do i know ive got a manual, hit the paddle shifter into the next gear to get the revs down

 

I have a 2006 Civic Ex 4 dr sedan with AT, gets about 30+ mpg with little fuss driving the same areas with same drivers as new FIT Sport with 5AT getting 25 mpg both cars empty or about 2 people.

I did do some experiments with rpms and found the Fit AT can be driven around gently keeping the rpms as low as 2000 or less most of the time.

On the freeway 2000 rpm with overdrive is about 54 mph which is OK.
60 is 2200 rpm. You can get overdrive gear to kick in and drop about 300 rpm by easing off the throttle.

I'm going to give this technique a chance and see what happens. I did it for a day and got about 30 mpg for a change. In the past if accelerating it's easy to rev up the motor to 4000+ rpm.

And it's pretty boring to drive at 2000 rpm but if gas prices stay high it's a good option. Also thinking about getting some narrow tires to put on the stock rims, maybe 185/60-15 loose maybe 3 lbs and reduce rolling resistance and increase comfort.

 

its very silly to assume that any MT fit driver will get 'x' mileage because its a MT, and the same goes for auto guys; it depends on the driver.


my mileage has steadily improved since i've had the car (7 months 19k miles) and my average mpg has gone up from 21-32 to 34-35 and is on the rise.


if you are not happy with the power, i wouldn't suggest a civic other than the si, because unless you buy a MT civic and launch aggressivley, acceleration is not that much faster. (a lot of magazines have the ex civic at about 9.5 seconds 0-60, which is about the same as an A/T fit. I owned both and that description is pretty much spot on.) The civic weighs about 250lbs more, has about 30 more horsies and a bit more torque, but only .03 litres more of displacement. Its pretty much on par with the fit, with a bit more room for passengers, but its not nearly as flexible or athletic. (well, at least the regular civics are not, the si is a different beast.)


how are you calcualting your gas? going by how much you have left when you fill up is silly....if i calculated by that, i would have to assume that my 06 vw Rabbit was more fuel efficient because i could go longer between fill ups...but obviously thats not the case, it costs me less money to fill up in the fit, and the gas tank is a lot smaller. See how it can make you think that you are getting bad MPG?

what you need to do is fill up your tank all the way and make a note of how many gallons you pumped. reset your car's trip computer/odometer thingy until it reads zero before you leave the station. once you get to empty and have to re-fill, take the number of miles you drove and divide it by how many gallons you pumped and that will give you an idea of how many MPG you averaged.


let us know how it goes!

 

Thanks for the trade in advice. I am going to stick with the Fit. I got my Fit from my cousin that works at a Honda dealer, so I think I got a good deal, A/T Sport 15,500. Just wondering why the Blackberry Pearl more expensive than the other colors?


I took my Fit to SwiftmotorSport and they recommended a Injen cold air intake $280 installed, so I am prob going to get that in and see if it does any better. What do you guys think?

 

Now thats useful advice, thx eldaino
I WAS thinking of getting the Civic Si but of course I am going to complain about the MPG on that too lol. The increase of gas prices every week is getting to me.

 

Lots of good advice for you has already been posted so far; I would just like to add that you really need to give it more break in time. I have a manual, and after 1 year and 16k miles, I routinely average 35-37 around town, and 40+ on long trips. And by the way, Good luck @ Parris Island!!
Gysgt, USMC Ret'd
'07 VBP Sport 5MT

 

I came from a 2007 civic coupe, and i would never go back. The fit is a much more versatile car and handles better. The only thing I miss is the moonroof, and the rear disc brakes (for looks).

 

Which is why the Yaris is ULEV II and the Fit is only LEV II.

Hell even the "sporty" tC is ULEV II.


But anyway...I never understood why someone would get a car like this with an automatic. Automatics are going to suck the power out of pretty much any 4 cylinder, especially one as small as the Fit's 1.5L.

I've also noticed that as the car has broken in, mileage has only gone up. Looking at around 35mpg in the city, and I have a pretty heavy right foot too.

 

And strangely enough, the Civic is ULEV II