Trip from Boston up to VT and back again. On the way up, which is a net uphill and usually gets worse fuel economy, got an indicated 38mpg; on the way back, 37mpg. Not sure why the normal pattern was reversed, but it could be because on the way up I drafted a truck for about 15 minutes. In both cases I attempted to maintain 70-80mph, although I was often thwarted by traffic. (Not showing calculated as it was a little high from, I think, an early-cutoff pump).

Note that this is not, by any means, terrible fuel economy. The friend I was visiting pointed out that their Prius only gets 6 mpg better, which makes sense given that its tail is more aerodynamic. And I'm not done yet with trying to get 40! In particular, I can try higher tire pressure. Recommended is 33, but I ran 30 up there because the ride is uncomfortable at the recommended pressure. Safety note: I typically would not recommend deviating from the recommended pressure by more than 3psi .. you can argue this amongst yourselves if you want but this is my opinion Next time I might try 36 or so. Ride will be quite horrible but mpg should increase by 1-2mpg.

I said above I was thwarted by traffic, but I was also impeded by the Fit's sworn enemy . . . hills. There are a lot of hills in Vermont, and they're long, steep Interstate grades. Because the Fit makes minimal power below 2500rpm (about 75mph for an AT), if you tackle hills at 75mph you can maintain that speed no problem. But if traffic slows you to 65mph, your rpm has dropped, not making sufficient power to maintain that speed without slowing even more and then downshifting. This of course kills your fuel economy. In short, there's a bizarre dynamic going on there: If you can go at 75mph the fuel economy will be BETTER and you can maintain that speed up hills. But if you go 65, your Fit will slow further to 55mph and then roar at fourth the whole way up at that speed - any acceleration being, of course, impossible.

There's not much more frustrating than realizing that you've been in fourth at 3700rpm for the last mile uphill, getting terrible fuel economy, only doing 55mph with people passing you, and the car is unable to shift up.

These are gripes to be sure but not complaints exactly. For such a useful and inexpensive car, I expect some tradeoffs. And on a FLAT surface, where available power is sufficient, the tall fifth gear provides excellent top-gear MPG.

I can't really imagine how a mountainous nation like Japan can get by with the 1.3L engine option in this car. Maybe they like the sound of third-gear intake noise ringing through the mountain forests :P

For the sake of a disclaimer I will state here that the above are hypothetical, and I obey all speed limits and so should you. :P

 

I agree, hills are a mean enemy for our fits. Lived in Japan for 7 years, area I lived in wasn't that hilly; Yokosuka/Yokohama area. Was the 37 or 38mpg calculated or based of the dashboard? Either way, 38mpg is pretty good for highway miles with hills! You've beat the epa estimate by +5mpg. I get around 38mpg on flat area going 60-65mph.

At 75mph, my mpg (based on the dashboard) goes lower than 30mpg.

 

That was the cumulative MPG readout that's part of the trip odo. Calculated on the first let was actually at 40mpg, but it usually comes in 1-3% lower than the dash - I suspect the pump shut off prematurely and I do not trust the calculated in this case.

I agree it's pretty decent! Definitely not a disappointment vs the EPA estimate. I have never had trouble beating the EPA estimates. It just is not up to my personal challenge standard of 40mpg for this car

 

I'm also looking into to this. With this tough economy, we need every cent that we can save. Are there any modification options that we can do so this will be more fuel efficient?

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Buy a 2013 Honda Accord 4 cylinder auto, it gets 36 Hwy. and 27 city........it gets better mileage than the Fit Sport auto, Our fits should be getting 40 hwy. and at least 32 city with auto!!!!

 

 

I get that easily and regularly with a Fit manual.

 

Agreed!!! I averaged 45 mpg on my 07' Fit. Just a reminder, the fit is not a hybrid, you compared it to a Prius. Just saying

 

sell the fit buy a rukus. You will officially be sh*tting on the mpgs a prius gets.

 

Lately I am averaging 32.7 mpg city and highway seems to be stuck at that. Until today drove around 150 miles average drop to 30.8 mpg. High winds. Car is rated 29 city 33 highway so that is what I expect. When people are getting over 35 mpg I do not understand the complaining. When comparing the car to a hybrid calculate the price difference and figure in most cases you will not recover the difference until after 5 to 6 years.

 

It would probally be even longer to see real gains. When I had a 08 MT Fit sport I got Avg 40mpg city all day every day. Now my wifes 08 AT sport gets aroud 30-33 mpg avg. I believe the AT shifts at a much higher rpm than i would in a MT. But hey 30mpg is still great compared to a hybrd that gets only around 10-15 mpg more and costs a ton more to buy. Also the Fit is way more versatile with cargo looks the hole package really.

 

I know a lot of people do not like CR but based on their list there are only 3 non-hybrid or diesels that get a better combine city and highway MPG than the Fit

The most fuel-efficient cars#

 

38 mpg isn't bad with hills. What tipped me off though was your speed. You said you were averaging 70-80. In my car I get the best fuel economy going a tick below 60mph. At that speed im in 5th gear and around 2900 rpm. Granted that is kind of slow for the highway but doing that in light traffic I was able to average 47 mpg over a 200 mile trip this past weekend all on the highway on relatively flat ground. If im in the 70-80 mph range my fuel economy drops to around the 40-42 mpg range. I have a MT Fit Sport btw.

 

Yo my fit get like 50 mpgs. I does me own maff. I sooper gud with maff. Is post here! ! Just wanted to show you where this is going. Save you all some time. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. EVERY CONDITION IS DIFFERENT. WE JUST DRIVE THE SAME MODEL HONDA. doesn't really matter what others do or say. Op I eat fast food every day almost. I'm 31 years old 6 ft tall and weigh 155 lbs. Doesn't mean I have any right to suggest what others eat. But at least I gave the variables, height weight diet. Still worthless

 

20% difference, that's huge! Do you guys have the same driving style? I'm getting around 33 also with 185 width tires, lightweight wheels, H-Fit intake, shutting off at stoplights...

 

Do I understand correctly that you have an automatic honda fit? I am noit suprised about anything. I read many AT transmisions do a solid 40 mpg. My neighbor is one of them. If you are intrested look at my post about MPG. I have had two fits. Suprisingly the best MPG(46.4) I got was four a hundred mile drive that was on I-5 with some stop and go traffic in Seattle WA.