My first post on here. Got my FIT one month ago. Took it to the dealer today for its one month checkup. Already have 1500 kilometers on it. I have the domestic Japanese model "W" with 1.5VTEC. I love this car. Also have a 1997 Honda LOGO Japanese model. I'm selling the LOGO next week. I'm American in Yokohama, Japan. For all you Americans that want this car. I hope the states gets the 1.5 liter engine. The other engine available in Japan is the 1.3 liter.

 

What is it like driving on the right side of the road? If you have a stick shift Fit, it must be wierd shifting with the left hand. :-) Hope you enjoy your Fit and it last for a loooooong time.

 

Driving on the left side of the road took a little time getting use to. Now it's no big deal. My FIT has the 7-speed automatic. My wife can't drive a stick shift so I had to get the automatic. My FIT has the 185/55-15 tires with 15" Alum wheels with 4 wheel disc ABS brakes, full auto A/C, cool blue driving lights, HID Discharge headlights and even a sunroof. I got as many options as I could. I didn't get the "S" model because it was more money. The "W" model has everything the "S" model has except the Aero package which I didn't like anyway. I would worry about hitting it every time I park the car.

 

Thanks for the reply. It must be interesting living in Japan. I'd think you'd get to see a lot of hi tech stuff, like electronics and what have you that we don't get here yet. I wanted to ask you about your Fit. How is the power with the automatic, say compared to American cars? Does the 7 speed work OK for you? What you have would probably be what I would want to get. Most of my driving is city traffic, stop and go, and some freeway driving. I guess I'd be concerned about how the car does in traffic and would the acceleration be OK when getting on the freeway. Did you compare the Fit with other cars before you bought it? Just curious. :-)

 

The Fit you got sounds pretty close to what the USA model will be, except we'll probably not get the HID discharge headlights for cost reasons. As for the aero package, we'll likely see it as an extra-cost option due to Honda's intention to sell the Fit as an entry-level car (Honda doesn't sell the Kei-class Life model here!).

One important thing is that the current engines for the Fit in Japan may not be the engines the USA model gets; we could end up with a variant of the 1.3-liter SOHC i-VTEC engine found on the 2006 Civic Hybrid sedan that just recently started selling in the USA market (complete with 2-month waiting list).

 

In Japan traffic a 1.3 liter engine is fine but in the states where you need the "get-up-and-go" power of an engine more the 1.3 liter engine maybe to weak. The 1.5 VTEC engine here puts out 110HP. I would gladly give up a few more MPG for more HP. The transmission is really two transmissions in one. Leave it in drive and its a CVT. You don't feel any shifting like normal automatics. Now in the 7-speed mode you can feel it shifting in all 7 speeds plus you can use the manual steering wheel up and down shift levelers too. I'll post a few photos in the next few days.

 

Living and driving in Japan has become interesting for example: When I first arrived in Japan in 1984 the Japanese were very good drivers. People would let you in if you were coming out to the main street from a parking lot. People even started to stop at a stop light when it turned yellow. Now you almost have to stick your front end out into traffic just to get out and the yellow light has turned into "Step on the GAS" before the light turns red and the red light means its OK to keep going for 3 more seconds because thats when the other light will turn green in the other lanes. Its crazy over here. Anyway, the FIT is the perfect car for city driving. It has a very small turning radius so you can take this car anywhere. I did compare other Honda's to this one but I really made my mind up before going to the dealership. As far as power...this 1.5 and 7-speed can go pretty good but compared to my Yamaha FJR1300 motorcycle this and most other cars are way to slow. But for what it is, it has good power. I hope this answers your questions good enough.

 

Sounds like you're driving in Phoenix! We're becoming another Los Angeles very quickly, especially on the roads. I've been here since 1986 and it has always been ignore the speed limit on the freeways & hiways, but the city traffic has really gotten worse. I grew up in Los Angeles, and we used to have a "California stop", which meant you'd come to a stop sign or traffic signal, slow down and just go thru it. This has become such an epidemic here that the cities have installed cameras in the worst intersections. They take your photo (coming & going) and you get an expensive ticket in the mail if you run a red light. I guess it's like that in every big city, Japan or the US or wherever. Arghhh I also think that is why we've had some posts about if the Fit is crash worthy. Thank you for your answers about the Fit. You're right, it is the prefect city car. I see so many little cars here, the Chevy Aveo, Scion Xb and Xa, etc, and we'll see more as time passes.