Hi - I'm down to chosing the Fit or getting another Subaru. I'm generally aware of the +/- of each car and having owned a Subbie before, very familar with that compared to my two Fit test drives.

My questions are directed only at people who live in the areas mentioned. I spend the majority of the winter in the mountains of north central VT and have the following concerns:

1) Winter snow handling (with snow tires). Not just on the flats, but going up and down the mountain and back roads (I snowboard)

2) Handling in windy conditions typical of the area.

3) Mudseason. As you know, many of our roads and parking lots are not paved. How have you manged?

4) Cold weather starting: It looks (I think) like the Fit does not use a standard sized battery. This worries me. In the past I have put in a super heavy duty winter battery to assure starting on mornings in Feb. when it is -25 to -30. In my area we have long stretches of 0 to -5 as well.

5) Ability to deal with the crappy paved roads (at least in VT and NY)


Going with the Subbie is a safe, but more expensive choice. I'm now trying to decide if the Fit is an acceptable alternative.

Thanks for your sharing your regional experiences.

 

I took my Fit on several skiing trips last year up and down windy hilly snow mountians with the stock tires and it was fine....this year I did purchase some winter tires though.

Just take it easy and dont drive like an idiot and Fit holds up just fine IMO.

The stock battery isnt the best, but if you want to upgrade it..you can.

 

Not even as far north but on stock tires there's little confidence on icy roads for me, the car felt too light like it was just skimming on top of the snow/ice packed road (plows didn't get it to blacktop last year on multiple occasions).

Drove I-81 north to Syracuse and I-90 west out to Niagara Falls (basically central NY) early spring once, and that trip was extremely hairy. There were wind warnings issued so no surprise but just about everyone was blowing by while I had to keep it going 50-55 mph (below speed limit) just to maintain decent control. Felt like way too much wind/air under the vehicle, like it was going to take off.

There's others here who seem to have faired better than I did, but if you ask me, the Subaru is definitely going to be the better pack mule for you.

 

I live in a very rural area of Upstate NY. JUST got my Fit yesterday (2009 Sport). Included in the purchase were studded snow tires, mounted on rims. The previous owner said she handles AWESOME in the snow with the snow tires (I would NOT drive in this area without them!). My previous car was a Pontiac Sunfire. handled the snow load just fine.

THE ONLY CONCERN I have (and you will, too) is the ground clearance (or lack thereof...). Surprisingly, the Sunfire is higher off the ground. In my area, the roads are often unplowed with 6 inches or more of snow on them. This baby will PLOW snow, drag will result, and make handling more difficult.

I, too, look at Subaru. In all ways, Subies are better in the snow (IMHO). BUT, the Fit is WAAAAY more fun to drive and more affordable. There is a trade-off.

As previous posters said, take it slow and steady on the throttle and you will be fine. In heavy snow days, when 6+ inches of snow on the ground, maybe stay home...?

We will both have more to report in January, right?

I have the added hazard of stone roads. Again, lack of clearance is a concern (kicking up stones). So, the rule of thumb is take it slow.

 

please keep the responses coming!

I'm really interested in the mud season handling and ability in the super cold weather.

Staying home when it snows is generally not an option unless the ski lifts are closed! They do tend to keep the access roads reasonably plowed (about a 7 to 10% grade over 2 miles) but the parking lots as well as my condo entrance and lot.. well.. another story that is! Unless it is an emergency I can wait for them to properly plow the main roads to go shopping, etc.

 

for all your uses and the environment you'll be in, i'd suggest waiting for the 2012 impreza. it now has mileage up to 36 MPG and starts at 17,495.

Official: 2012 Subaru Impreza: America's most fuel-efficient AWD vehicle priced from $17,495*

 

Thanks for the link! Beyond the state of my current ride making a purchase sooner rather than later a necessity, that review actually makes me far less likely to wait and more likely to consider the 2011 2.5i (vs the Fit Sport.) I do wish I could hang on long enough for the 2012 Fit's but that doesn't seem a realistic possibility either.

That 2012 is going to be an absolute dog to drive! Coming from a 04 WRX, the current 2.5i was acceptable though disappointing drive in relative terms, dropping the hp to under 150 with just 100 pounds less and a near 10 sec qtr is well.. yuk. Not that the Fit Sport is any type of race car but it will even beat that.

While the mpg is better and at least in the same ball park as the Fit, it still lags. And knowing Subaru, those figures are going to be exactly what you get. My WRX gets a rock solid 20/27 with at most 0.5 variation.

From where I sit now, my concerns are primarily losing the awd and the greater stability of the Impreza. I've also mentioned the cold weather starting. This is a very difficult choice for me as I like features of both cars and both have some disadvantages too.

 

One of the roads I drive on semi-regular is in this youtube video. This was shot about a week or two before the road was closed as they were pulling too many cars out. You can fast forward to about 5:45 Mad River Valley (muddy) Road Report: Roxbury Gap, Warren, VT - YouTube Its hard to avoid the dirt roads and while this is one of the worst (and longer) ones, most have brief 20 to 100 foot sections like this.

I would still have my snows on until late April, so do you think the fwd fit could handle some of this?

 

as much as i love my fit, i personally think you'll be compromising too much if you buy it given the active lifestyle you live. i have an active lifestyle as well that encompasses road/mountain cycling year round and snowboarding a few times a year. i'm confident enough in my car's abilities on snow tires and lifted a bit more on my height-adjustable suspension on a drive to tahoe but i couldn't live like that everyday for a whole season.

 

Mmmm.. Tahoe.. Alpine Meadows! You put chains on the Fit? I was thinking about things this afternoon and remembered that one of my VT neighbors drives an older Honda Accord. Thats a FWD and while it does weigh about 600 lbs more, it seems to do fine for him in the winter with snow tires on. AFAIK, he has not yet gotten stuck in mud (at least not our driveway) but will check to see how often he takes the gap roads, etc.

Tell me more about your suspension mods? I will likely drop my 205/55 snows onto some steel rims which would give me maybe half an inch(?) and probably add that rear sway bar for stability that somebody else has mentioned in a wind thread.

 

that's the thing...you can definitely manage w/ the fit. but the question is if you'll be able to do it easily and/or while you're enjoying the drive. the short wheelbase makes it fun and easy to toss about but it doesn't help it when it comes to stability at speed or on uneven/snowy roads.

my suspension is pretty simple. it's just megan racing coilovers that you can raise to at least stock height if not a little bit higher. the last time i drove to tahoe in the snow, i had a set of tanabe DF210 springs on with 15" wheels and blizzaks (no chains) and managed but i did hit a few berms that were hard to see at night. luckily i didn't do any damage since i drive like a grandma. snow tires help a ton but depending on the model you get (sport/base), you'll still have to be worried about ride height and stability.

then again, i live in norcal where i don't have to worry about snow at all except for the few trips i take to tahoe each season. people who live in snowy areas will have way more experience and skill to take on snowy days in a sub-compact FWD car with a short wheelbase.

 

could not even afford snow tires last year, but was still amazed with the snow traction and handling. i think it would be excelent with good tires, maybe not as good as awd. we had only 1 morning it would not start, and it was-30 below or something crazy like that.

 

Live in central NH. My wife has a Subaru, I have the FIT. I take the Subaru Skiing or anytime we have bad weather. Nothing beats a Subaru in mud, snow, wind... Fit is better on gas. As far as fun to drive the Subaru is a heck of a lot quieter!

 

yeah those are really tough days on any car...I had this monster uber cold weather batter in my wrx.

do you drive on many dirt roads? if so, how did it handle the spring?

 

Hi Jon, going to guess you have an outback? The Impreza 2.5i I recently drove was quieter than the sport Fit but not tremendously so..same with my wrx. Imagine outbacks get a bit more sound proofing.

So what do you do with the Fit during mud season? Does it ever come out or is it in the garage/driveway for a month?

 

A little late to the game...

Our Fit is awful in the snow with all-seasons. The Blizzak LM-25's make it a little tank. It'll go up pretty much anything with a good set of snow tires.

Ours started on the -15*F day we had this past winter. It wasn't happy, but it did start. I'm thinking an oil pan heater will help out this winter.

Tires are the biggest part of this car's handling, and they really make/break the car. Get a good set of all-seasons and a good set of snows, and the Fit can handle pretty much any road conditions up to about 8-10" of snow. At those depths it'll be plowing for the pickup behind you.