OK since everyone here is a Fit Freak, lets find out why you selected either the 5 speed Stick or the 5 speed Auto ???

Are gas mileage results one of the reasons or the racy feeling shifting gears . . . . . . . .

 

5 speed Manual because:
1) FUN!
2) like the control I have when climbing hills

I'm a bit aggressive with my driving and mostly have city miles but have still managed a 31.5mpg average.

 

I only chose auto so that my mom and girlfriend could drive the car if they ever needed to. And because it's easier to hold your lady's hand. And it had paddle shifters so if I could always use those when I felt the urge to play around.

Aside from that, go for 5-speed. Faster, more control, better gas mileage. I'm only getting 27-28mpg combined (but I also drive pretty aggressively).

 

My Fit is just a practical, convenient DD. The fun-to-drive factor was a plus. I have an A/T with paddles. I'm the only one who drives a stick in the fam and besides I have a 5-sp for more fun if and when I want.

Eco mpg can be had with either config. setting aside tech specs. though others may argue. Just depends on how and where you drive. It's your decision to make! Good luck!

 

We live in the hills, lots of up/down. AT geared to tall.

 

of about 10 cars this is my 2nd auto. and first auto in about 10 years. went with the auto on this one simply for ease of driving. better mileage from what i've read also. and with the paddle shifter, with the cruise on, i can up shift at the top of a hill when i don't feel it's necessary to downshift. i figured they'd be useless but use them for that. also this is my first "family" type car, so manual really isn't necessary.

 

It's used as a commuter pod in stop and go Atlanta traffic. Automatic for sanity's sake.

 

Manual for the superior MPG, less dull to drive (Fun to drive is a bit of a stretch for a Fit), easier on other components, etc.

 

I chose the automatic because I get Gout flair-ups from time to time and the last thing I needed was to have it my left foot and need to go somewhere.

 

I went for the manual. I didn't have a huge preference one way or the other in terms of driving and performance and such like. The fact that the manual was $1K less than the automatic gave me a distinct reason to prefer it. I've no regrets so far; it's a nice shifting manual (at least by economy car standards).

 

I am the world's biggest MT fan (well maybe not but pretty close), but I couldn't justify it.

This was going to be our only car - we both take the rail into the city for work - and my wife doesn't drive stick well. I had a 5MT CRV before and although she COULD drive it, the amount of complaining and the dangerous driving style meant that in practice I was driving everywhere. And sometimes you don't want to drive, right? Maybe you're tired, or hung over, or you twisted your left ankle, or you're just lazy and want someone to cart your pigu around town. And on top of this, if we have kids we'll still have this car, and I wanted the driver to be able to control the car well.

Like many girls my wife is simply not a very skilled or engaged driver. She is not confident and lives in fear of the car doing something she does not want it to. We're talking about someone who refuses to touch the shift paddles even to see what they do.

Women are overall safer drivers, but it's because they drive slowly (because they are afraid!) and they don't take risks while driving. It is NOT because they are better able to control the car or more aware of what's going on around them. I can't tell you how many times I have seen women drivers run their SUVs up curbs because they have no idea what the turning circle is like. This is an indicator of minimal skill or engagement, no? But while it's annoying and causes increased municipal expenditure on curb repair, it's also not dangerous. Certainly some amount of danger is created by being oblivious to other cars, but less danger than created by a male driver who is very aware but chooses to go from lane 1 to 3 within one car length. Women see their cars as appliances for getting from A to B, ideally in comfort and safety, and some add on that they want it to make a statement about their position in society (ahem, Lexus); but it's an appliance you operate at a speed prescribed by traffic and speed limits. There's no need to try and drive faster or better than anyone else. At least, this is how I reconcile the statistically superior safety of female drivers and the observed lack of skill.

Don't take the above the wrong way. It's just my opinion based on my experience and observation. I have known well only two girls who seemed extremely comfortable controlling a car and driving a manual transmission. So clearly there are some, therefore, and if you're a girl reading this and you're thinking "wait, I'm totally confident driving a stick in any situation" I actually believe you and that's great.

But my wife likes the auto and I like that she can drive me to Ikea on the weekend.

Fuel economy is a wash in my mind. The 5MT would probably do better, but at the expense of awful highway noise.

That said, the paddle shifters went a long way to convincing me I would be OK with the auto. I highly suspect those paddles - even though I don't use em! - will prevent me from going out and buying a used Miata or stealing my Dad's (formerly mine) del Sol off his driveway in the middle of the night. We really don't need two cars so being fun is important on the one we have!

 

The 5 speed is almost like a different car. It comes down to what you want. The shifter is amazing, and one of the best I've ever handled. If you want the car to perform as well as it can in every way except comfort, the manual is more than worth it. It's got a light pedal feel to it, so it's actually the easiest to drive in traffic manual I've owned fwiw.

 

5MT. Reason: $850 cheaper than AT.
I'm still not sure that I made the right decision. The clutch delay valve combined with the drive by wire throttle makes the drive feel artificial. Oh well... I'll keep it for a few more years. LOL.

 

I also thought that the $850 price difference for the MT was a nice perk until I realized people were getting just as good of a deal OTD as those who were buying a MT.

I hear you about the Drive By Wire thing but I still prefer having a MT with it over an AT.

 

Mine was not a price factor before my previous car I had mostly manual transmissions in my cars. (Seems to be getting harder to get a manual transmission.)

In a small car like the Fit I feel I can rev it in lower gear for faster take offs at traffic lights and on ramps. Can not tell you if can do the same with the paddle shifters.

But, with my previous car it sometimes felt like the automatic did not shift as fast as I wanted it to get get it up to speed.

 

I don't have a lot of experience driving manuals, but the auto in the Fit seems very responsive to me in regards to shifting down quickly when you want it to. Howeve, it's pretty obvious that Honda designed the transmission program to shift into the upper gears as quickly as possible to improve gas mileage if your not using a lot of throttle.

It may be in my head, but the car seems a little faster with the paddle shifters to me. It may just be that with the paddle shifters it's easier to keep it in the lower gears and really let the engine rev, where the tranny tries to upshift as soon as possible in auto mode.

-Dustin

 

I did test drove a sport with the the paddle shifters the dealer did not have a manual at the time. Based on my reading I was anticipating the car to be slow. It seems that any car not rated at 300 hp by the auto press is consider slow. I was quite surprised by the automatic but still wanted the manual.

 

I've owned both highly modified Auto and manual Mustangs for the past 30 years.I sold my 600hp supercharged 2011 5.0 6spd manual and got my 2012 Fit sport A/T

After a test drive in a A/T Fit I was sold and did not even need to drive a manual Fit to make my decision.This little automatic is fun for me and I have mastered the paddles

Other then being able to launch at a desired rpm in a drag racing situation
I can keep up with any stock Fit that wants to dance.

 

After daily driving an auto Element for 4 years or so I decided I didn't want to be bored out of my mind commuting every day anymore. Wife knows how to drive stick so she didn't care. Sold my "fun car" also so needed a fix to keep me sane day to day.

Also keeps people from wanting to borrow the car

 

I would rather, performance-wise, have had manual. But I chose AT for my Fit for two reasons:

- Would be doing A LOT of running in it daily, so I didn't want to have to hassle with a stick all of the time.

- It has paddle shifters, I really like paddle shifters, so in a way it's almost like having the best of both worlds, minus the clutch. The AT performs better using the paddle shifters... that's for sure.

I thought it was rather cool of Honda to add paddles to the AT option.