....After 2500 miles on the car I've learned this regarding mileage - the Sport Auto isn't as good as a manual in city driving, but it's stellar on the highway. Cruising at 80, my tach registers around 2900 RPM and I can easily break 40 mpg. Wow, now that's cruising.[/QUOTE]

I totally agree, the only other honda I've had that felt as relaxed on the interstate was my 2002 oddesy, or my aunt's newer V6 accord. I love my sport auto. I would have considered the manual if it was a 6spd, or had a taller 5th gear.

 

I am a frequent renter of the CVT Jazz in Bangkok, and since it was a rental, and my first time with a CVT, I did basically everything to it, and nothing broke it, or even seemed to make it think twice.

You can go back and forth from D to S, either using the paddles in S-mode, or not at any time, and at any speed. You won't hurt anything, and the transmission will always select the proper "gear". The engine does turn over a little faster at highway speeds in M7 vice plain old "D". I thought that was interesting. Also interesting is if you hit the rev limiter in M1 the car automatically selects M3.

A CVT is kind of a "fuzzy" system, belts and pulleys vice gears. Add computer control, and there may not be any way for a driver to break it.

 

Thanks for the thorough review. Found this great site through another car forum. Looking forward to learning more about the car before deciding on the FIT!

 

I drive from lake hughes to santa clarita to go to work, and thats downhill, I often use neutral when going downhill, as traffic backs up and its a mile or 2 before theres a stop sign, and 35mph speed limit, often others travel at 60-70mph in the morning commute. But, on the way home, its uphill. Driving my sport 5at, it too seemed vague in D. Tonite on the way home, I found myself alone on the uphill, with only one truck to pass on the Green Valley uphill, and slipping it in S, and leaving it there on the last steep grade, it handliy went uphill acelerating to 70mph easily. sorry dont remember if that was 3 or 4, but for all you 5at users who complain about hunting in D, simply put it in S and use the left paddle. I must confess, this was the first time I "punched it", wfo and found the da-da-da of the rev limiter, but after trying to nurse it for the first 2k or so attempting to "break it in" , finally letting it rip was similar to wessy's. Hey, this thing rips in S! ok, ok, so its not a type R, but there is some redemption in that 1.5 vtec dbw.

 

Hmmm - must be lots of downhills and back winds in your neck of the woods - 80mph in my SAT renders low 30's at best...

 

Cruising at 80, my tach registers around 2900 RPM and I can easily break 40 mpg. Wow, now that's cruising.[/quote]
just wondering if you can give us the numbers, gal/mi that you arrive at 40mpg or more?
So far, 25-29 mpg, with once breaking into 30.

 

Driving from Bend to Salem Oregon, across the coast range. Lots of flat land, then a 4000 foot pass, then a loooong downhill. Virtually no traffic. Average speed probably around 70-75, topping out at 85 a few times, slowest (on the mountain curves) around 50.

I used just over 3.3 gallons to cover those 135 miles.

 

I dunno about everyone else but when i'm in S mode.. i have problem changing to 2nd gear when turning. my fingers are at an awkward angle.. i have to straighten out before i can change gear unless i twist my wrist.. i only rev up to about 3-3,5k before the engine get's loud...

 

Made already 66k with my Jazz and used the CVT in all its possible ways.
Not only from S into D, but also vice versa, and even from manual mode direct into N.

 

So it is normal huh? I tought that problem in my fit.. it sound's very loud on 4k rpm..

 

AMEN! I don't even know how to drive a manual yet, and I want to learn. But, as long as I'm in Philly, what's the point? I spend waaay too many hours on that damn expressway (my commute to work, which shouldn't be more than 25 or 30 minutes, ends up being over an hour!) not moving. I don't even get the chance to use the paddle shifters on the highway!

The Schuylkill was the worst example of city planning ever. A two-lane highway in a congested city area that only adds another lane when it goes towards the even-more congested city area of Philly. Lovely.

 

I drove the the Schuylkill expressway daily with a manual transmission for a few years from Audubon on 422 to Center City, starting at the end of 1994 when I first got my Integra. If I left at 6:30am, I could fly to work in 30 minutes. If I waited to 7:15, it took 1.5 hours.

If you want to learn to master a manual transmission, driving on the Schuykill will give you the chance. Keeping the distance between you and the car in front of you to a minimum is important, or someone will pull right into that space. Maintaining that insanely close distance will teach you to intuitively find the right gear for quick acceleration at any speed. The countless 70mph to 0 to 70 flows of traffic will have you playing the gears like a master in no time!

Joe

 

Personally, I <3 my MT, and I won't go back and traded it for the world. I owned a 2005 Ford Focus ZX5 together with my husband before he left...and it was an AT. I can't say I will ever go back to an AT unless someone basically gives me a free car.

I average over 40 mpg. I'm about 50/50 on highway vs. city.

 

Leaving early does help. My friend had the same commute as me for a while out to KOP, and she said that, if she left between 5:30 and 6 a.m., she would fly down the Schuylkill, and the later she left, the worse traffic became.

With the growth of the suburbs right outside of Philly, traffic on the Schuylkill has gotten worse over the years, it seems. Too bad there's no possible way to expand the thing, bah.

I have this weird problem judging distances, so I don't keep a close following distance behind cars. I'm always scared I'm too close to the back of the car in front of me, and that I'll smash into it if I follow too closely. But, if I don't keep that close distance, cars cut me off (you're totally right about that one!), which annoys the crap out of me. So, I guess I need to practice that close distance thing, heh.

And, thinking it over, you do have a point about how that stop and go traffic can be helpful in getting a person to intuitively learn how to shift. I just need someone who knows about manuals and is patient (and fearless!) to teach me how to drive one, lol. My father knows how, but he's neither of those two things

 

For those of us planning to add a proper sounding rice can muffler/exhuast we know MT's enhance the experience; especially rev matching for downshifting.

 

I don't commute on the schykill, but i drive down 309 to the montgomery township area - I leave at 4:30 am - takes me 50 minutes. If I left at 7 it would take me 1 hour 45. That's enough to make me a morning person

As a bonus, the lack of stop and go really helps me hone my "driving for mileage" skills...

 

Originally I thought I wanted a white a/t Fit, But I now have a Silver Storm m/t. After reading all the talk about mpg; S and N drive, etc I'm sooo happy I tookthe M/T. I pick the gear, so it is always in the gear that is correct based on road conditions. My Fit only has 500 miles, but I have no problem getting low 30 mpg with the a/c turned on high and city driving. Just like I expected. Nothing fancy, just a reliable Honda. Life is good and I'm a fully satisfied owner.

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2005/09/30/c...-transmission/
Apparently MT can also serve as a deterrent for the below aveage car-jacker and theives who have no idea how to drive it as this article suggests.

However, as the article may imply...I doubt that a good census of this new Fast & Furious generation or oldschool Import Tuning crowd can be taken. The underground trend now made mainstream of having MT for sportier driving has many a punk being able to drive anything.

just a thought.

 

excellent review, well thought out and totally what I was looking for!

 

silly to think you cant pick the correct gear in 5AT.
have you ever had to downshift or upshift using a M/T?
obviously you were previously in the wrong gear then? right?
what a foolish assumption. at least with 5AT, shifing is accomplished with the touch of a finger, up or down. sort of like changing songs on cd. (but faster, I might add!)
question. does the 5MT use the rev limiter too. have you ever downshifited, then had to downshift again, or after downshifting soon upshift?
only to again upshift, as you accelerate?
why is that?
cant you find the right gear?
(ok, all this tonque in cheek, I miss being able to dump the clutch in the 5AT tho)
I guess all us 5AT people are just plain lazy, or too dumb to use our fidgeting left foot still trying to find that missing deadpedal.