does your gas have ethanol in it? buy 100% gasoline if you can find it. better mpg, more energy per drop of gas.

 

mid to high 50s.

everything i have seen has e10.

 

We like simple practical cars without any frills or automatic transmission and the OutBack comes equipped with more than we need and cost more. There is less maintenance and lower insurance premiums on a car that doesn't have convenience, luxury, and entertainment extras added on...... My wife says we would get rid of the Fit but I think otherwise.

 

I can lose 2-3mpg when the temperature drops down to the low 60's here from the usual ~75 F. Maybe the Fit's smaller engine is a factor in losing more efficiency in cold weather. I've also noticed ethanol content to be a big mpg factor with the Fit. Have you driven your Fit in the summer months yet to see what the difference is?

 

The extra fuel that is burnt during winter driving is during warm up.. A small aluminum engine warms to operating temperature and cools down faster than larger engines and (or) cast iron engines.... They should use a lesser amount of fuel and have less internal accumulation of condensation.....Ethanol added to fuel during the winter absorbs moisture in the fuel system to prevent ice from forming and lowers your fuel mileage..... The first two winters I had my car I got much better fuel mileage and the last one before I added the boost it got much worse.... I don't get near the fuel mileage or power during the summer compared to winter since putting on the super charger.

 

I own a 10' fit sport and a 05' legacy wagon base. I feel like I have the best of both worlds!

However, I would get an outback if I were to do it again. I want the raised suspension for a trailer hitch- the hidden hitch on my legacy gets plenty dinged. At the time, I didn't anticipate the hitch, wanted a lower car for the handling, and I couldn't justify the extra cash for the outback.

This thread mentions the forester rear seats will not fold flat? My legacy's seats fold flush with the cargo deck, just like in the fit (the two cars are similar in many design features). We were shopping for a wagon just for the cargo volume, and didn't want a crossover or suv. We camp, backpack, and tailgate out of the back of our subie, and we have loved every day with it. She is a beauty.

My new fit with less than 1k miles has been exciting to get to know. Honda packs in a lot of goodies, and no design seems compromised. I know I am going to be satisfied with this car for many years. (although I'd gladly trade in my 10 cup holders for just 4 reasonably sized ones! )

However... adjusting to this new car has also made me even more appreciative of the legacy. The subie feels more like a refined grown up car, and the fit is the younger sister with an attitude. While my 05's head unit was 3+ years behind it's time (cd only, no mp3, no changer, no aux in- not even on the back of the unit) and no steering wheel controls, I am still pleased my base model came pre-wired for under the seat bass, map lights, 4 wheel disc, and has cruise control. Other than the subaru's bad HU, there is nothing I feel is truley missing from the subaru that the fit sport has.

I guess if I had to choose 1 car today, I would choose the subie: AWD, smooth handling, and off pavement ability makes this the right choice for my family. Alternatively, if we moved out of the burbs and into the city... the fit may just wqin out?! Well, more likely be looking at an Impreza? Ughhh.. decisions decisions haha!

BTW- have you seen the huge moonroof on the legacy? wow! It didn't take me more than half the test drive before I knew I wanted a subaru. And when shopping for this new car, I already had an impreza model picked out but then we decided to go econo and get a Fit to compliment the larger, heavier, and "gasier" subaru we already own.

 

The torsion beam axle that every body bitches about and the gas tank being under the front seat is the reason there is so much usable space in the Fit.... I am very pleased with the rear suspension on the Fit, It works like IRS with a stabilizer bar and as low maintenance as it gets..... The Forester has the ability to pull a small trailer and that makes it better suited to camping out while vacationing.... I haven't seen any stabilizer bar links that are easily disconnected for off road use yet though and that would make it far better suited for a little more adventure off road..... The best off road car I have owned was a VW Thing, My son still has one of them.

 

Nor should there be, as a comparably Subaru equipped Subaru costs $5,000-8,000 more than a Fit.

I also switched from a Subaru (2003 Forester), but there isn't room in our garage for 2 carrs and 4 motorcycles. Subarus, traditionally, have seemed like engineers' cars, especially from an owner maintenance standpoint -- pretty much everything is in your face and easy to get to. For just a single example, compare the oil filler location on both engines.

All cars involve compromises and tradeoffs.

 

For sure. I knew I was trying to compare apples to oranges.

The OP has a tough decision, I'm glad that I am able to own both, and don't have to make that decision.

 

Here's my question though: if you're getting this mileage with a Fit (lower than what most around here say they can get on the highway, but actually still quite close to the EPA highway figure), what makes you think that if you had a different car that this difference would change? If you have a car rated for X mpg but get a little less that X in your normal driving, why would getting a car rated at Y mpg not also yield something below Y?

Conditions have lots to do with MPG. Don't underestimate the influence of wind, even light wind. I've seen fluctuations all over the map on highway trips due to different wind conditions--I've gotten as high as 39 with a slight tailwind going 75 mph, and I've gotten as low as around 30 going 65 mph with crosswinds and headwinds. Factor in ethanol, slight inclines, temperature, winter blend gas, and 32 doesn't seem that strange. In different conditions, that same drive could easily be 6 or 7 mpg higher.

 

I think the OP mentioned something about the trade off.
Buying an economy car that gets 40mpg sounds like a good idea. But buying an economy car that gets marginally better mpg than a more powerful car isn't as appealing.

 

i have other cars, and i have lots of data collected on their maintenance and fill ups. all of those cars have achieved more than their EPA rating, with me driving. i'm confident that it's not my driving technique.

i drive my wife's fit in the same manner, and have lots of data to aggregate whether the car got a bad tank of gas, whether i drove downhill all the way to work, or had a 50 knot headwind. 32mpg actually was pretty good for this fit, typically gets 30 on the hwy.


precisely.

 

Any thoughts on the 2010 Forester anybody? Is it actually noisier?

 

We only paid $3000 more for the Forester than the Fit and it was loaded with dealer installed options..... The Forester is really nice but the Fit is a lot more fun to drive, they are worlds apart in many, many ways.

 

I can appreciate the above. The fit feels great around town- nimble, easy to park, and quick shifting.

However, the subaru is a much more confident car on the highway. And if there is snow, rain, or dirt and gravel roads, the subaru adds a whole new level of fun to my driving pleasure.

They are really apples and oranges, but I do really love them both for different reasons.

 

When we got the Forester there was not a road to my house and my wife refused to drive it because it was new even though I had warned her that she would get her truck stuck after a series of heavy rain storms... She reluctantly finally started driving the Forester after sinking her truck to the frame and the county decided to build a road that ends at my house, unpaved but it is a road.... What is cool is the state has given me a 100% homestead exemption on all but 3.53 undeveloped acres of my land and I had been expecting a large increase due to the road but my wife still wants to drive the Forester now anyway.

 

I haven't taken delivery of my Fit yet, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless. We have a 2002 Outback that I love, but the Fit will be my daily driver just for the nimbleness and economy. The Outback actually gets decent mileage for its size, especially compared to the PT Cruiser I just sold.

The only thing I can fault previous Subaru model years for is leg room. There just wasn't much. I can't stand Foresters, myself. We just recently test drove a 2010 Outback. Talk about refined! Loads of leg room, super quiet inside, plenty of power and the new interior and exterior appearance are very precise. It should be noted that as of this model year, the Outback is only a wagon and the Legacy is only a sedan. They are, however, nearly the same car.

To me, the Forester is a low-end version of the Outback. It looks and feels cheaper than the Outback, yet the prices are fairly close.