Hey folks. Been lurking the forums for a few days and thought I would introduce myself.

I just traded my 2004 Scooby Impreza (with 160K miles - all by me) on a black 2010 Fit Sport. I got it three days ago.

I think I need to re-learn how to drive. I have put about 300 miles on the car, and have only been able to get about 28.6mpg - 50/50 highway and city. A friend of mine has one and has been getting in the low 40s with similar roads and urban/highway mix.

I am sure that some of this is an issue with my right foot. However, does the engine need to break in more to achieve better mpg?

A few impressions. I love how roomy it is. I have nearly as much room inside as I did with my Scoob wagon, but its only 3/4 the length. I also love it in the turns. It feels like a taller version of my 914. I want to put a set of stickier tires on it an autocross it once to see how it compares. I also love how wide the doors open - easy to get my son in and out of his child seat.

On the other hand, I miss the power and torque of the scoob. But that is to be expected given that this car has a full liter less displacement. I am also worried what is going to happen the next time I have to drive in the snow - which will be here shortly.

I am hopeful to figure out how to get better mileage out of it. I drive 35K+ miles a year, and I got the Fit mainly to it being fun to drive and having great mileage. It is fun to drive, but I want to get better mileage out of it.

Zach

 

Welcome to the Fit family! You'll definitely notices the difference in power from this car to your old one but it is a ton of fun to drive and own.

Cat

 

The only thing I can really say about mpg... consistency.

Sure, you're supposed to get better mpg with higher gears. But, even then, the less you move the throttle, the better the mpg.

Cruise control helps.

 

Welcome to the boards. Your fuel mileage will improve as the vehicle breaks in of course and these little engines love being whined up so when in traffic you may want to shift around 2.8k RPM minimum to be in the limited powerband yet still be shifting at somewhat fuel efficient revs.

 

My fuel mpg drops in the colder weather-the gasoline mixtures are different. I was getting around 31 -32 mpg around town and it has dropped to 27 since it got colder here the past month or so. During the summer I was getting high 30's & low 40's

 

Dunno what type of transmissions you have, but I've noticed a flaw/quirk in the Automatic. If you are acceelerating, particularly up a hill, say, merging onto the freeway, it will try to upshift to early. Just as you're nearing the merge point, it will upshift, lose it's head of steam, bog down, and immediately downshift again. It sometimes does the same climbing a long grade - the ECU really, REALLY wants to upshift for economy, but won't be able to maintain speed, so it downshifts, gets back to the set cruise speed, upshifts, slows down, etc. The shift paddles are really handy at these times!

BTW, welcome aboard.

 

I gots the MT yo!

Only took me 15 years to get back into an MT for DD.

But yeah, hills change the use of cruise control even on MT... it will GAS it uphill then cut the gas downhill.

 

I discovered the trick with the flappy paddles this morning on my way in to work. In order to keep revs below 3K I had to go into sport mode and select 5th to keep the car from downshifting. Had plenty of speed and momentum, so I was not lugging the engine - I don't think the car will allow me to lug it anyway (automatic). This helped my mileage CONSIDERABLY.

By the time I got to work (45 miles door to door) my mileage had gone from 28 to 34 mpg.

Does the MPG counter reset when you fill up with gas, or is it tied to the trip Odo, or the main Odo? This info is probably in the manual, but now I'm at work and the manual is in the car. I filled up with gas this morning, and zeroed the trip odometer, so I was wondering if that was the reason my mileage "improved" so dramatically.

Zach

 

Its tied to trip odo. Everytime you reset the trip, the mpg will reset.

 

Aha. That makes sense.

 

If you've got tow insurance, you can try taking out stuff like your spare jack and tires. Also, you can't go wrong with just stuff like not speeding, and doing simple maintenance like oil changes. I used to think overinflating your tires worked until I read Debunking a Mileage Myth: Can You Really "Pump Up" Your Fuel Economy? - Popular Mechanics

 

For myself, that's a nah.

I'd rather swap the tires and be on my way, than wait for a tow guy to come out.

I'll keep the tow insurance for when I REALLY need it.

 

welcome to the forum man...