Honda Fit

Wow, you have my admiration. The Fit will seem like a luxury car to you. I assume you are buying the MT. I don't have personal experience, but I from what I have read, I would recommend you get the Sport model. You could be driving this car for the next 20 years, so the small additional cost will add a lot of enjoyment. Live a little, you've earned it.

I've had the Fit since early June of this year. I have no negative comments and plenty of positive ones about it. As of my last fill up, I am averaging

36.46 MPG overall. Of that, about 60% is city driving. My worst mileage was 33.59 MPG. My best mileage, which was almost all highway miles, was 43.98 MPG. I have a 5 speed manual Fit Sport model, but the automatic's mileage would not be as good.

For a 1.5 liter engine, it has plenty of pep, especially the manual transmission. It corners effortlessly, and it shifts better than any other new car I have ever owned, and that includes a 1965 Mustang 289 4 speed, a

1969 Fiat 850 Spyder 4 speed, a 1978 Datsun 280Z 5 speed, and a bunch of Datzun/Nissan pickup trucks and still more cars.

In the past, I lusted after the Mini Cooper, but could never justify it from a practical standpoint. This Fit has plenty of room for hauling, especially with the rear seats down. The rear seats raise up so you can transport objects over 4 feet high. It has a lot of great qualities, but what I like about it, most of all, is how much fun it is to drive! After driving pickup trucks since 1984, I had forgotten about driving fun. If you haven't noticed by now, I can't recommend this car highly enough, and I'm from the generation that came before the baby boomers ;)

Oh, and the link below should provide all the information you need. I hoping you'll take the Fit (especially the manual tranny) for a test drive.

Robert A. Cunningham

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Thanks for the information. It sounds good. I am from the generation that came before the boomers myself (barely - born March 1945).

I am an amateur wine maker and grower. It sounds like I will have no problem transporting 5 lugs or so of grapes - about 30 pounds per lug. I was initially considering getting a small pickup truck but this looks like a much better option.

My wife recently bought an Accord and she is very happy with it and the dealer we bought from is very nice also. I think I will be giving him some more business. I may wait until spring. I don't want my new car to get all messed up with ice, mush and snow when it is brand new.

. Well, based upon the information you provided I will make one recommendation. When you buy your fit please spend the extra money and buy the "cargo tray." It is a plastic molded tray that covers the whole area behind the rear seats. When you asked for positive and negatives about the Fit, I totally forgot about this, but it reminded me when you mentioned transporting "lugs of grapes." The rear floor area of the Fit, above the spare tire, is protected by only by some sort of mat over a thin piece of wood, or particle board, or something similar, and while I have never had any problem I would be very cautious about loading heavy articles, especially if they have a small footprint. By opening the hatch and lifting the tire cover you can see the material. I would highly recommend the Cargo Tray if you are going to do any hauling. This would also help to keep the area from getting messed up.

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Thanks a lot. I appreciate your help.

Paul

The Fit would not be my first choice for that much highway driving. My wife drives a base model with A/T, ALL miles driven are city, the best mileage is a little over 25 MPG. Here's the fuel log I keep (because I can) starting from the second fillup.

Date Brand Trip Fuel M P G Cost per Gal

7/30/2006 Chevron 320 9.57 33.44 $3.199 8/23/2006 Chevron 210 9.30 22.59 $3.119 9/19/2006 Chevron 230 9.20 25.00 $2.799 10/12/2006 Chevron 218 9.02 24.17 $2.499 11/2/2006 Chevron 224 9.18 24.45 $2.279 11/30/2006 Chevron 221 8.86 24.94 $2.399 1/2/2007 Chevron 205 8.99 22.80 $2.579 2/4/2007 Chevron 211 8.80 23.98 $2.479 3/6/2007 Chevron 209 8.70 24.02 $2.919 4/2/2007 Chevron 219 9.19 23.83 $3.239 4/29/2007 Chevron 213 8.31 25.63 $3.359 5/20/2007 Chevron 214 8.79 24.36 $3.395 6/12/2007 Chevron 205 8.61 23.80 $3.199 7/24/2007 Chevron 210 9.30 22.57 $2.999 9/2/2007 Chevron 219 9.30 23.55 $ 2.659 9/22/2007 Mobil 217 9.46 22.93 $2.889 10/14/2007 Chevron 231 9.00 25.67 $2.982 10/30/2007 Chevron 177 7.26 24.37 $3.119

While the Fit will get the job done for you; I think the CRv would be a better choice.

-- Tp,

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Hi, Took a look at Nissan Versa?

The above mileages are for mostly city driving, with an automatic. Normally, I would not recommend the purchase of an automatic Fit, because the mileage, and the performance, would be lower and slower; however, due to the OP's claim that his mileage would be approx 600 miles per month, mostly highway, the automatic would probably be just as economical, but a lot of mileage depends upon driving habits, especially in the city. But in city driving, people with automatics have expressed more displeasure with their mileage. Also, I have kept record of every fill-up (though my spreadsheet does not indicate price), other than the initial fill up by the dealer. Finally, the Fit sells for considerably less than the CR-V.

Robert A. Cunningham

Not yet, but I will before spring.

Do you have experience with this vehicle?

Robert is right on with his analysis.

But, I could not spend that much time in a Fit at highway speeds, it's not going to be fun, nor will it be, what I consider, comfortable.

-- Tp,

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I live in a town of three stoplights and only drive through two of them on a daily basis (about two miles) to highway access on the west side of town. I live two blocks from farm land.

My hightway driving is to a gym 15 miles away and back or occasionally into another town also 15 miles away in the other direction and back.

I will not be doing hardly ANY stop and go driving.

I do need a vehicle that can carry a very light and small load. Right now, I am able to get it into the trunk of my Mazda Protege but a more accessable compartment would be nice.

I do not want to spend the amount of money that a CRV would cost because I need to buy other toys for my backyard vineyard and basement winery. Everyone has their priorities, I guess.

yep

Well, you may be correct, but since both fun, and comfort, are relative terms, every person will have his/her own definition of each term, but in my experience, I have found the Fit to be one heck of a lot of fun, at any speed, and very comfortable as well. Moreover, I came to that conclusion, after I drove it, not before. My only recommendation for someone interested in buying a new car is to take the Fit (or for that matter, any new car) for a test drive. You may like it, love it, or hate it, but you will come to your own conclusion based upon your experience, not with a preconceived notion of what you may think it would be like.

Robert A. Cunningham

Sounds like it will "Fit" your needs; go for it!

Me too.

-- Tp,

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yep

Hi, I just tried once when my neighbor got one. I think they it is roomier and more standard features than the others. If they make AWD version, I'd get one. My family drives only AWD vehicles.

You missed the part about how he has been driving a '94 Mazda Protege. Compared to that the Fit will seem like a luxury car.

Fit replaced a '90 Integra, with

yep