I put a deposit on a grey MT Fit Sport a few weeks ago and it arrived yesterday so I went down this morning to test drive it and to be sure it's the car I want. Well, after a short test drive, I decided to keep my Honda Element.

The fit's a great car--the room, the fit and finish, but it didn't shift well for me. It made me look like a rookie driver who had never driven a manual--not flattering at all (I was grinding gears, revving the motor in between shifts, slipping the clutch . . . ). First gear is really low--too low for me; and the clutch has very little engagement feel. Gas pedal too light for me as well. It has to feel right, and this definitely wasn't doing it for me.

I drove a Mini Cooper yesterday and it drove like I'd driven it for years--super easy, great fun. So I know it wasn't just an unfamiliar car.

Too bad it didn't work out, but I'm sure someone will enjoy it. I told the salesman I needed a couple of hours to think about it, but I decided in the first 100 feet.

This is a great forum--enjoy your Fits. I just can't exchange an economy car for an economy car, as the economics are just wrong. If my point is to drive an inexpensive car, then I already have one. I wanted this to work out, but I'll let someone else enjoy it.

Cheers,

Kevin
Sonoma County, CA

 

Sounds like operator error to me. Oh well, enjoy your element.

 

Have u ever driven a stick regularly? Fit is hte easiest to shift of many cars I've driven (s2000, mitsu might max, CRX, civic 96, and 06 tacoma). I grind my bro's CRX when shifting from 1-->2 (but his clutch is burnt). The fit has THE best shifter of the B segment manuals.

How is the pedal too light? I enjoy the backpressure feeling of the fit's pedal.

not to sound mean, but I feel you got upset about your shifting problem, and started blaming other things.

 

As most of us say in the tech support portion of the world..
just another IDT-10 Error.

 

+1 :D:confused::):rolleyes:;):cool::eek::cool:

 

i do have to agree about the gas pedal but a little diy fixes that.

 

When I test drove the Fit I was revving between shifts. It only happend a few times, then I got the hang of it.

 

The reason I got my fit is because my son is driving my '98 civic. I can see that you'd be hard pressed to give up the element. Talking about getting a new car is half the fun anyway! I wonder what the fit will look like feature wise when the element goes (could be a long time, both unfortunately and fortunately :-)

 

Ok, I agree that I would need to get used to the transmission and clutch . . .

I've only driven two automatics in my life, and I've had plenty of cars . . . all manuals except for a Mercedes and a Jeep.

Cars with manual transmission I've owned include VW Golf (2), VW Jetta 1.8t, Audi A4 1.8t, Toyota Landcruiser, Saab 900S, Acura Integra, Honda Element, Honda Civic.

I've driven countless other manual transmission cars, I ride a motorcycle with a manual transmission, I'm very in tune with how they work and how to operate them. That being said, the Fit's clutch was very spongy with very little engagement feedback.

I know this forum is all about the Fit and I posted my experience with it. The concept was great and, unfortunately, you can't drive one without putting a deposit on one. So, I put a deposit on one, thinking I would like driving it, and I was disappointed.

The car is not for me--you may like it but it doesn't work for me. I like many aspects of it, but when it came down to driving it, I wasn't enthused, like I thought I would. It's ok, really.

--Kevin
Sonoma County, CA

 

I had to adjust the cluth engagement point to a tad lower to enjoy the shifts. I kinda feel what you mean by the slipping btween gears when i first got the car, and I felt it was due to the high engagement point in the pedal travel i was not used to. Also the feather like clutch pedal feel is actually a nice thing in my opinion, not like those old heavy cable clutches! The Accelerator is light due mainly to the fact that it is Drive by "wire" or sensors and a motor, but that's for fuel economy. But again that's my opnion. As for grinding gears, it can happen to anyone the first time with a car you've never driven before! As you said, you have to love the car to enjoy it, and if it's the least bit, or in this case the most bit, unfomfortable for you, pass on it !

 

LOL... that has to be embarrassing; getting your own "inside" insult wrong. It's ID-10T, you... NM.

Lucas.

 

That one cracked me up too.

 

Spongy stock clutch? :(

Simple. :rolleyes:

Add a lightweight flywheel and race clutch! :p

Now you'll be in business:D ;)

I've driven other manual cars that I've not liked-
95 Maxima SE with 5 speed
84 Accord with 5 speed
Felt vague and no fun to drive.

And my worst ever experience was-
79 Ford Pinto with manual transmission and steering!
That was much worse than the rental 22,000 pound truck with manual transmission I drove once for a home move.

 

Clutch experiences are different for people, I thought the Fit shifted very easily in a test drive, actually extremely so.

 

I found your conclusion interesting between the Mini and the Fit! My girlfriend is shopping for a new economy car and is not serious yet but she has driven the Fit twice and the Mini and absolutely hated that Sloppy transmission in the Mini. While the Fit manual is a little strange at first I found you got used to it. Her current ride is an awd Element and she is keeping it for winter duty! She is currently deciding on Fit Sport and is hoping the supply will be better in March 07.

 

JB, I know a female who loved the shifting on the FIT, fwiw.

 

:confused: I uh said that my girlfriend hated the shifting on the Mini not the Fit. We both did that revving thing between shifts at first but got smoother as we got used to it in the Fit!

 

JB, I wasn't clear, just thought the Fit shift was very crisp, maybe just compared to the '86, I think she, and I, found it instantly very comfortable moving from the '86.

 

With some models the feel of the shifter and clutch can vary a lot from car to car. Might this be the case with the Fit?

As for the lightness of the accelerator, this has nothing to do with it being drive-by-wire. With any type of throttle they can tune it to feel lighter or heavier--just the size of a spring, to oversimplify just a touch.

I think the Camry Hybrid is DBW, and the gas pedal takes so much effort to push that the car feels much less powerful than it is.

Conversely, they might have made the effort light in the Fit to make it feel more powerful than it is.

 

Don't you mean ID-10-T.

I don't doubt that the Mini drives smoothly, most european cars do, but it comes with a price. I can say that I have had some grinding trying to get the car to take Reverse, but all this in a test drive....no.