So after owning my Fit for 4 months/6000 miles I'd like to share what I love and hate about the Fit

Love: I love the quick, nimble handling. This car feels nearly as nimble as a Mini Cooper; which is I'd have to say this is about as much fun as you can have in a front wheel drive vehicle. I also love the gas mileage. I'm a pretty heavy footed driver and I average 35mpg in the city. Can't beat that. Very reliable too, although you can't really judge reliability on a 6000 mile car...

Hate: The gear ratios. I love the gearbox...compared to any other car in its' class the gearbox is exceptional in feel, but the 1-2 shift leaves a lot to be desired. More often than not I find myself going too fast to shift into 1st (the car won't let me) but if throw it into 2nd I lug the engine. If the 1st gear were a bit taller I think it'd solve this problem. I guess they're fixing that for the '09 fit?

Overall: I love this car and I am looking forward to many many more trouble free miles in it.

 

huh, im 4months too, about 4.5k miles... here's my review:


Love: gearbox, nice gear ratio's, feels quick, fun to drive,
can't ask for a more fun car in this price range. Looks cool
too. very roomy inside.

imho, the car is not 'there' with my 03 cooper-s as far as
driving spirit or fun factor, but it's about as much fun you
can have on a economy car in this price range.


Hate: no ambient air temp gauge (im installing a scangauge soon),
rear torsion beam preload (which i corrected using EnduraTechs).

 

I have no problem with 1st and 2nd gear. Rev match 1st if you don't feel like lugging 2nd.

 

Nice review man.

Tyler

 

What do you mean rev match 1st? The car physically won't let you to go to 1st because it's too short and you'll over-rev the engine.

I don't find the gear ratios to be too big of a deal. I'm also at 4 months/5k miles. I love the handling, gearbox, looks and utility, hate the rattles and blind spots. Also, I feel like it wasn't the best value. $17k out the door is definitely not cheap for an econo-box, I probably could have custom-ordered a stripper Mini for $19k or a barely used MX-5 for $17.

Oh and I love the color but hate the paint.

 

If you're going slow enough that you're lugging in 2nd gear then the speed is not fast enough to disable shifting into 1st gear nor will the revs be higher than the limiter.

What I mean is, if you don't feel like putting it into 2nd and "lugging" it, then tap the throttle and get your revs up to around 4,000 or whatever they need to be for the speed you're going so when you shift into first you don't get that big lurch. I do it all the time so I know it's not impossible.

 

True, I wouldn't really know since I never downshift to 1st except for the occasional parking lot hill.