Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
2009 Honda Fit
This discussion has been closed.
Most popular vehicles
Popular New Cars
- New Acura MDX
- New Acura RDX
- New Audi Q5
- New BMW 3 Series
- New BMW X3
- New Buick Enclave
- New Cadillac Escalade
- New Chevrolet Equinox
- New Chrysler 300
- New Dodge Challenger
- New Ford Edge
- New Ford Escape
- New Ford Expedition
- New Ford Explorer
- New Ford F-150
- New Ford Focus
- New Ford Mustang
- New Honda Accord
- New Honda Civic
- New Honda CR-V
- New Honda Fit
- New Honda Odyssey
- New Honda Pilot
- New Hyundai Elantra
- New Hyundai Santa Fe
- New Hyundai Sonata
- New Hyundai Tucson
- New Jeep Compass
- New Jeep Grand Cherokee
- New Jeep Wrangler
- New Mazda 3
- New Mazda 6
- New Mazda CX-5
- New Nissan Altima
- New Nissan Maxima
- New Nissan Rogue
- New Porsche Cayenne
- New Ram 1500
- New Subaru Crosstrek
- New Subaru Forester
- New Subaru Impreza
- New Subaru Outback
- New Tesla Model S
- New Tesla Model X
- New Toyota 4Runner
- New Toyota Camry
- New Toyota Corolla
- New Toyota Highlander
- New Toyota Prius
- New Toyota RAV4
- New Toyota Sienna
- New Toyota Tacoma
- New Volkswagen Jetta
- New Volvo XC60
- New Volvo XC90
Popular Used Sedans
- Used BMW 5 Series
- Used Chevrolet Impala
- Used Chevrolet Malibu
- Used Chrysler 200
- Used Dodge Charger
- Used Ford Fusion
- Used Ford Taurus
- Used Honda Accord
- Used Honda Civic
- Used Hyundai Elantra
- Used Hyundai Sonata
- Used Tesla Model S
- Used Toyota Camry
- Used Toyota Corolla
- Used Volkswagen Jetta
Popular Used SUVs
- Used Acura MDX
- Used Acura RDX
- Used Ford Edge
- Used Ford Explorer
- Used Honda CR-V
- Used Honda Pilot
- Used Hyundai Santa Fe
- Used Jeep Compass
- Used Lincoln Navigator
- Used Mazda CX-5
- Used Nissan Rogue
- Used Subaru Crosstrek
- Used Subaru Forester
- Used Tesla Model X
- Used Volvo XC90
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
And tiff_f is right about the gas mileage too. Not the Fit, but there are so-called the kei-cars in Japan, all of which are 660 cc in displacement. They can guzzle gas for their size because people push them hard to get a meaningful forward motion. Smaller engine does not always translate into a better mileage.
His Jazz was great because he lived in a city of about 2 million people, lot of traffic and crazy drivers much worse than here.
But 60 kph was as fast as you could get the car to go in the city except late at night.
We did get it up to 100 kph but that was on a trip out of the city on a very long rural road. That's only 60 mph! It was ok at those speeds even with 3 of us and packed full of fireworks. But on a US highway it would be like riding a bicycle.
Also his mileage was always 10.5 km/l no matter how slow and careful or rough he drove it. Outside the city he'd get 12km/l but never better than that.
Maybe the 1.5L would do better, I don't know. i did test drive a 1.5L CVT and it was ok, but no idea on fuel economy.
Jacksan is right. Little cars only do well when you drive them easy. Drive them like a big V8 and the mpg drops big time.
As far as I can tell it won't, which is a shame because that's one feature I really want.
There's a big difference between the acceleration in the Manual and in the Automatic, which I leads to a lot of the differing opinions. I live in Ohio and when I drove a Fit here it seemed to handle the terrain well enough, but I don't how it would handle when I travel to Pittsburgh, the home of some terribly steep hills and poorly designed on-ramps. I have a V6 Ford Contour right now that laughs at all of those things, but some other vehicles I drove in the area (Dodge Dynasty, Chevy Blazer) made it more stressful.
Love the panoramic roof too (is the US model getting that as an option?).
Styling is a subjective matter. Apparently, enough people do not consider it as deal-braking, since 2 million Fits had been sold world-wide as of July 2007.
Assuming my guess is nearly accurate, will any details or additional photos be released prior to the premier date, or is this now on lockdown?
Last I've heard was that it will not be released until after the New York Auto show. So that's next week, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to show up in showrooms for a while after the show.
I doubt there is a moratorium on pictures since so many are floating around, but the magazines have likely tested the car but cannot print anything until after the New York show.
The car becomes official in my opinion when Honda puts it up on their website under cars you can buy and lists all the specs.
My concern is the drivers seat height adjustment, but my wife is loving her Civic which I am also driving and I doubt I could pry it away from her with a Fit even the new Fit.
Rumor was the Fit would be released in the Spring after the NY show. But I've also heard August and also early 2009. I think it's safe to say that it's anyones' guess as to when the car will be in the showrooms for purchase. I certainly have no idea.
I'd like to see a diesel Fit or the AWD Fit here but sadly that won't happen.
If they made a diesel Fit I would go right down and buy one today even with diesel costing 60 cents more a gallon than regular!
Honda is developing a small diesel right now. Whether or not it gets on a Fit is a question mark, and even if it did, would it show up in North America? Only time will tell, I suppose.
Yes possibly but it doesn't have to be that way. I mean yes the AWD system would suck up at least 10% of the fuel economy and they might need a bigger engine as well like a turbo (cheap power) as running 4 wheels instead of 2 (but technically 1) but what a great car and they sure could sell them AWD Fit with a diesel option. They'd sell in the snow states like mine for certain!
As it is people boost up the power now as it is.
But AWD well it would be a wild ride if done right.
Honda is very conservative so it probably won't happen here but it would be great if they did sell them. Suzuki had a winner with their Swift Sport, what a FUN car to drive but not available in the US! :sick:
I drove one and it's a great little car and could put some kick into Suzuki but no chance of that and a FWD car that can drift I mean it's a great little car. Sadly we won't get that either.
Honda has stated on the record that they will use small cars for hybrids and large cars and trucks for diesel. i hope they change their mind.
Hyundai has a 1.5L CRDi in the Matrix as it's known outside the US. But it's turbo is a slow spooling one and it drives horribly like stretching out a rubber band then then letting it go. I didn't care for it, it also looked like a turtle. :P
But I'd consider buying one if the price was right.
The Fit could really become as big as the Civic and the Accord if Honda would allow it.
http://automobiles.honda.com/2009%2Dfit/
http://www.hondanews.com/categories/877/releases/4444
http://www.hondanews.com/categories/877/releases/4421
http://www.hondanews.com/categories/875/photos
I guess it would depend on where you live. I drive a 2008 Civic Si with traction control running Nokian WRG2 snowflake rated all season tires. The only all season tire made with a snowflake rating.
Now I have also driven the Fit up here and you can get by with snow tire IF they plowed the road, which they usually don't do very often as I am in the boonies and there just aren't that many people compared to the city.
So they sell a lot of Subaru's up here. But in town with plowed roads you will find that a Prius will have no problem or any other car and most don't even bother with snow tires. You at minimum need snow tires if you want to get to my house due to unplowed roads. Once plowed it's ok. Last storm they didn't plow at all and it was a nightmare getting around. Yes Nokian RSi's would be better or any real snow tire but when the roads dry out you get that squirmy driving on jello feeling that all real snow tires give you.
Doesn't matter what FWD or RWD car you own. It really is the tires.
For example I saw the new STi yesterday and the dealer will not allow it outside as there was an inch of snow on the ground and with it's summer tires it would have a tough time in the snow, or so he said.
AWD is good for unplowed roads like we have all to often. On plowed and sanded roads, the Nokians are amazing, but chains.... useless to put them on considering the hassle and chains allow you to go 5-10 mph Max and you'd have SUV's and trucks smashing into you as they barrel down the back roads at above normal speeds.
I did check out these and they are an option to chains but seem like less of a hassle.
http://www.spikes-spiders.com/
An AWD Fit would sell really well in the snowbelt states.
I use snowflake rated tires now, see my reply to the other post for a more detailed explanation.
Yes, and if I may add something else, it's also the ground clearance. I live in a snowy area, and at times the plow does not come around in time for me or my wife to drive on compacted snow. When that happens, our Subaru Forester shows up, with a grin on its face. It has AWD and a relatively good ground clearance (over 7 inches), which makes a world of difference. I am sure that an STI would have a tough time even with winter tires in a condition like that because it ends up floating, thus losing traction.
About the advantages of AWD, if you live in a pure city environment, then I could make an argument that FWD with good tires would be fine even in a snowy area. If you live in the countryside and/or a hilly area, however, AWD becomes a savior. That probably explains why Japan, which is over 70% mountaineous, is full of regular, non-SUV cars like the Fit that can be had with AWD.
Yes, cars like the Forester do quite well in snowy conditions and the issue is ground clearance. My Civic Si has low ground clearance and low profile snow tires. Not the best thing for snow.
But up here there are days where I can't get out of my own driveway! :sick:
Next year i'm buying a snow blower but a 120 foot driveway :sick: is a lot of snow to blow.
About the advantages of AWD, if you live in a pure city environment, then I could make an argument that FWD with good tires would be fine even in a snowy area. If you live in the countryside and/or a hilly area, however, AWD becomes a savior. That probably explains why Japan, which is over 70% mountainous, is full of regular, non-SUV cars like the Fit that can be had with AWD.
I wouldn't argue about a city environment for any FWD car unless that city was someplace in Minnesota. :surprise:
My area has a lot of fairly steep hills outside of town and too often they go unplowed as they are low priority.
So for us up here the Fit with AWD would be a huge advantage. But in many places it just wouldn't be worth it.
But since everyone loves gas guzzling SUV's here why would they buy an AWD compact car. At least thats the mentality.
What i also find interesting is that I see very very few Fits up here and yet I see tons of Prius and MINI Coopers. Heck I've seen more Honda Insights here than anywhere else as well.
If you don't mind my asking, where is "up here?"
How's the ground clearance on the Fit? Is it greater than the Civics?
How's the ground clearance on the Fit? Is it greater than the Civics?
I'm up in central New Hampshire. Plus the area my house is in is very hilly and often unplowed.
The ground clearance on the Fit is probably within an inch of the Civic, although I'm just guessing about that.
I don't own a Fit. I did test drive a Fit up here.
The traction control on the Civic which is only available on the Si model is great but thankfully it has a switch to shut it off. There are times the traction control will make it so you can't make it up a hill but when it's off you can.
I had to buy Nokian snowflake rated all season tire my first week of owning the Si as it couldn't make it up the hills with the stock all seasons.
Those Spikes-Spiders look like they could be effective, assuming they're reasonably easy to mount and remove. Unfortunately, regular chains aren't.
I've been to Illinois or rather through it many years back, nice State, good people.
I've heard you get some pretty nasty winters up there.
NH is great in the summer especially further North of me but in the winter it's warm up the Subaru time. The further North you go the more likely you will need a 4x4 truck or SUV. The budget for plowing the snow isn't all that high as we have a low population density in the upper part of the State.
Those Spikes-Spiders look like they could be effective, assuming they're reasonably easy to mount and remove. Unfortunately, regular chains aren't.
I haven't actually seen them in person but they look like a good option for some vehicles. Useless for my Civic as it will go through the snow up to it's diffuser under the front bumper after that you are a snowplow and that takes it's toll.
We drove a lot of cars today. I'm hoping the 2009 Fit will be out fairly soon. They claim August, I hope much sooner. I drove the Scion xD again and this one had a miles better shifter in it and was very solid on the highway like my Civic.
I'm hoping the 2009 Fit will be the same way.
I hope the armrest on the new Fit is at the correct height and is wide and sturdy enough for you to actually relax and rest your arm instead of having to keep it tense to prevent it from falling over the edge of the narrow ledge provided.
If it's only 2 or 3 inches wide, the edges will dig into your arm and will be uncomfortable if you're driving for more than short trips.
I drive my Civic Si with snow tires Nokian WRG2's and no more problems in the snow on hills anymore. The Fit should be ok in the snow. But not without snow tires, central Vermont is about an hour away from me.
Here you need snow tires but AWD is better because of the hills when you add to that the often unplowed or poorly plowed roads.
AWD's benefits is best seen when starting on a hill which we have a lot of. In flat areas it helps but not as much.
The Fit would feel massively underpowered with even the new 118HP engine and AWD. A Subaru with 170HP is sluggish, of course it also weighs a lot. The AWD drivetrain sucks up a lot of power. :sick:
Actually, I had a chance to drive a previous-generation AWD Fit (1.5 L CVT) in Japan for a day. I drove in a very congested town, and then took her up and down a mountain road from the sea level to 4,000 feet. I did not find the AWD Fit underpowered at all. In fact, I found this car really perky, due perhaps to the well-tuned and -matched CVT. Granted that I did not take this Fit up to the expressway speed because there was no such road nearby to test it on, in this pretty vigorous driving environment that I subjeted this car to, I did not find the AWD Fit underpowered by any manner. Since this was the first Fit I had ever driven up until then, I was quite impressed with the model.
Oh, I should add that in this test, I averaged 26 MPG (11 km/l). That may not sound impressive, but the city roads I was on were crawlingly slow, and I took the Fit up on a very steep hill climb right from the harbor to 4000 feet. So seen from that perspective, I think it was an admirable mileage.
One advantage of the dual-pump AWD system that Honda offers in the AWD Fit and a car like the CR-V is the it reduces the drivetrain losses (the true advantage is that it is cheaper to Honda). The disadvantage is that it often reacts slowly.
I drove a Fit a friend of mine owned when i visited him overseas and it's great in town, but merging into 70+mph traffic on the highway puts a whole new perspective on the Fit. in the city it's a great car and even on hills. it's the fast highways where the Fit has it's real problems. Not surprising because the Fit is a City car.
Oh, I should add that in this test, I averaged 26 MPG (11 km/l). That may not sound impressive, but the city roads I was on were crawlingly slow, and I took the Fit up on a very steep hill climb right from the harbor to 4000 feet. So seen from that perspective, I think it was an admirable mileage.
My friend used to [non-permissible content removed] all the time about only getting 10.5-11km/l in his 1.3L but it was almost always in the city in stop and go traffic with the A/C blasting. :shades:
Yeah it was ok in the city tho.
i'm not at all surprised the JDM car was better than the US version. Why the Japanese still do this is unclear to me but since it hasn't bit them yet they'll still continue to do it. :sick:
I'd love to have more options when it comes to the Fit. But I think it will be a while before we see that happen.
Any car that you drive hard and aggressively will suffer in MPG. I still believe a smaller engine yields better MPG for not just city MPG but also highway. If you look on http://www.fueleconomy.gov for cars with engines smaller than 1.5L you'd be surprised at the MPG they get. Their highway MPG is also in the 40s or more.
The M3 got far better MPG than the tiny Prius' engine being thrashed around as it was basically loafing along. In fact, to even get the claimed 0-60 time in the Prius, your MPG drops down to about 20 while doing it. You have to drive like a 90 year old grandfather to get 40mpg. We're talking 0-60 in 20-30 seconds. The car isn't all it's cracked up to be.
I miss the bluetooth speakerphone, but other than that, my wife can keep her Prius.
1. It still doesn't offer cruise control, and so far, there appears to be no aftermarket option. (I didn't want the Sport with its other higher cost options--particularly the performance tires that cost twice as much to replace.) So far I'm stuck.
2. Is a small issue but still a problem. There is no way to lock the car from the passenger side unless you purchase aftermarket keyless entry at $108 to buy, plus whatever the dealer charges to install it--a lot of money for something my previous 15-year old car automatically included with its power locks. I'm used to opening the passenger door for lady riders. That is a conundrum in the Fit.
Options:
1. Ask the lady to open her door slightly then punch the power lock, walk around the car to help her out, then close the door.
2. Lock the doors, go around and use your key to unlock her door to let her out.
3. Walk around the car to let her out, then return to the driver's side to lock all doors before leaving.
None of these are good options. Honda needs a switch on the passenger side.
Fit base AT looks like the better deal - better ride, better mpg, less money. 15" alloy wheels & better tires, a rear sway bar center counsel will do the trick for me. That has been my plan when I am ready to sell our 04 A4 (will get a Forester to replace the A4 for our AWD travelling car).
But then Honda throws a curve ball with the Insight. After reading 3 reviews I gotta confess that the Insight looks like a Fit beater when it comes to an around town scoot about if it if Honda keeps the price differential 20% or less.
Even though Honda has said the hybrid premium for the Insight will be around $1500, it appears to me that like equipment to like equipment comparisons will be more like a $2000 spread, still pretty reasonable.
Of course, if you have to have a stick shift like me, there's no question, the Insight is out. ;-)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
My guess is that the Fit is faster, but makes less noise and has a smoother transmission, making it less noticeable when you accelerate. Neither is a rocket, but the Fit should be faster.
Any ideas?
http://autos.aol.com/article/honda-fit-recall