2009 Honda Fit User Reviews

Pros

Sporty Fun Car to Drive. Low maintenance costs

Cons

A little shy on gas mileage

Purchased As New

The Fit with it's sport system, paddle shifters is a little boy's toy.The Fit's performance with 117 horse power is absolutely wonderful on any twisty road. The Navigation system is a little less than expected and the cost of updating the maps at $149 is a bit steep. Delorme Street atlas is half the price and you get new software as well as updated maps. The ride is very comfortable even on long trips. So far maintenance costs have been very low. I have not even reached my second oil change yet. I recently drove a portion of the Texas I130 toll road where the posted speed limit is 85mph(the highest posted speed limit in the US), even at that speed road noise was reasonable....read morehide

Pros

Easy to handle...Great 1st car for anyone!

Cons

Any body work may be a bit costly...but well worth it.

Purchased As New

I love my car. The gas mileage is very good. I have never had
any internal repairs, and lo and behold it has an excellent stereo system. I know I made the right choice for my 1st new car.

Pros

Value for the dollar, great economy, versatile, fun to drive, safe

Cons

Road noise, stereo needs a bit more power

Purchased As New

We purchased the Fit for our college age daughter to provide a safe and economical commuter vehicle. We chose the top end Fit with Navi in order to get the stability control as well.

In the intervening years our daughter has put more than 50,000 miles on the car and it has been outstanding. Zero mechanical or electrical problems, zero returns to dealer except for scheduled maintenance. Car has averaged 34 mpg lifetime.

I have driven it frequently and my wife and I have taken it on long trips. The seats are comfortable, driving position is great, voice controls for Navi and stereo are exceptionally good and handle my thick accent with no problems. Driver and passenger view of surroundings is better than any car I have ever driven - panoramic view is great for sightseeing. Interior is bright and airy. Air conditioning works very well.

The car is fun to drive with the perky little engine, it handles like it is on rails and is fun to bomb around on twisty roads especially with the paddle shifters. Don't be afraid to rev up the engine and have fun.

For older folks and people with bad knees, think carefully before buying. The low seating position requires a "squat and slide" entry style and it can be TOUGH on the knees.

From our experience I would highly recommend that any purchaser buy the front end bra for the car. The sharply angled flat hood seems to be a magnet for rocks and road debris, and the paint chips fairly easily.

Overall the Fit is the best bang for the buck on the market today. We highly recommend it and are pleased with our purchase. Honda did a great job with this design....read morehide

Purchased As New

Runs great, performs great and really good gas mileage. I get better then whats advertised at 35mpg. I end up getting around 40-42.

Pros

Style, fuel economy, interior space, audio options

Cons

Choppy ride, small fuel tank, underpowered

Purchased As Used

Car has many audio options and the interior can be set up in many different ways. Weird that a car with GPS has an idiot light instead of a temperature gauge and and it doesn't have outside temp sensor.

Pros

Great gas mileage, lots of pep with the 5-spd manual, crazy roomy

Cons

Some plastic parts on interior trim seem a bit chincy, USB doesn't always play nice with my iPhone

Purchased As Used

Just picked up a super clean used 2009 Fit Sport (5-spd manual) with 26,000 miles for $12,200 (Thanks BMW of Annapolis, MD!!!) and all I can say is WOW...love it! Gas mileage is great, very fun to drive with lots of get-up-and-go, and so much cargo room for the size you won't believe it.

Overall, I do love this car, and the only quibbles I have are pretty minor. The USB hookup is, for the most part, great, and I love being able to control things from the dash, but it doesn't seem to play well at times with my iPhone 3GS. When plugged in, you initially get a message that "this device is not optimized for the 3GS and may reduce reception...may increase noise..." (or something to that effect) and, instead of a lightning bolt, the power indicator on the phone will at times display a plug within the battery and not charge, despite being plugged in. Unplug and re-plug and, boom, it's charging again. I am beginning to wonder if the fault on this one may lie with my phone, but I cant be sure. The system will also, at times, be unable to read from the phone, displaying a "reconnect" message on the radio display. Again, disconnect/reconnect and it's fine. I would love to know if there is a fix for any of this and will probably contact Honda to find out. I'll try to update this post if I get an answer.

My comment about some of the interior trim being a bit chincy was prompted by a crack I heard while propping my elbow on the upholstered portion of the driver's door armrest while scooting up in my seat. Not sure if the underlying plastic actually broke, but it does seem to have just a bit of give now. Guess I just expected it to be a bit more solid, y'know? About the only thing that I in any way don't like about the looks of the car is the weird little bubbles in the headlight housing where the turn signals live. I just find them a bit odd and superfluous, and would prefer them to lie flush with the rest of the hood, but it's a small detail. I really like the overall look of the Fit with the sport trim, whithout which the base model ends up looking quite a bit more 'blah'.



As I said, these things are pretty minor in my opinion (and they're seriously the only ones I can really think of). I would not hesitate for a moment to recommend this car to anyone, especially the manual version. As far as those who say the Fit lacks power, I can't help but wonder if their expectations were a bit unrealistic for a car in it's class. I believe it has plenty, but for those that want to take matters into their own hands, my car-buff roommate tells me there are certainly ways to squeeze out some extra hp, such as an aftermarket air filter like a K&N, and an aftermarket exhaust (I can't recall the numbers that were quoted, but it was a pretty good boost). I do think I may go for these when I have some spare change to throw at my new baby, but even without I am INCREDIBLY happy with my purchase. So shop around, find a deal, and GET FIT!!!...read morehide

Pros

This is a great commuter car and good enough to do nearly everything else I have to do

Cons

The interior loves dirt and dog hair

Purchased As New

I've had this car for nearly a year now and have already put over 20,000 miles on it. I still enjoy getting into the car every morning and driving it to work. The manual transmission reminds me of what it's like to actually drive a car instead of steering one.

The gas mileage is great and interior room very sufficient. I've taken the car camping, tailgating and helped friends move; it holds a lot of stuff and is very functional. The stereo is very good for a factory version and included USB with the Sport Package is great for MP3 players. It's much nicer to control your music through the car stereo. It handles well, corners well, and accelerates with plenty of power.

There are some downsides to this car. The interior upholstery can seem cheap when it's not clean, and it's mostly not clean. I find that wiping it off with a damp towel is sufficient to bring life back to it. Dog hair is difficult to remove from the seats, even with a lint brush. On the highway at high speeds (80+), gas mileage can fall below the 37 mpg I get around the city. Also, Honda does some odd things with the AC to maximize fuel efficiency so the compressor kicks off when the engine has a heavy load (accelerating). It's more odd to feel a slight change in temperature than an issue. I drive around in Arizona and find the AC to be sufficient. Window tint is a must in hotter climates; I don't think they sell cars without tint here, but all of the windows mean you're exposed to the sun.

Overall, it's a great car for the 99 percent of driving I need it for and a good car for that other 1 percent. I used to have a truck and miss some of the convenience of picking things up when I needed them, but I certainly would trade the gas bill everyday....read morehide

Pros

A joy to drive, great gas mileage averaging 37.6 mpg, unbelieveable head room and storage

Cons

I am still trying to find just one something I don't like....

Purchased As New

I gave up a 2007 Mercedes Benz ML350 which was truly no sacrifice. This little jewel is head and shoulders above the over engineered Mercedes....which warned itself to warn itself....truly an annoying car.

The Fit is quick, responsive, corners well, very manueverable, and it can move out with the big boys believe me. It is very comfortable to drive long distances at highway speeds and I can tell you that it glides so smoothly I have to really watch my speed. I use my cruise control much more than I used to because it is easy not to realize that you are going 80....The cruise is located in such a handy spot on the steering wheel that it couldn't be easier to use without taking your eyes from the road.

It was tough for me not to purchase an American product but at the time of my purchase Chevy and Ford didn't have a product to compete. I am hoping that they will step up and produce something as worthy of my dollar as this little Honda is....read morehide

Pros

Good fuel economy, better than window sticker

Cons

not so great in snow

Purchased As New

fun to drive, fits two full size bicycles in side cabin, overall great car for long distance economical driving.

Pros

great fuel economy; handling is outstanding; big cargo area

Cons

close to ground so kinda rough riding; seats aren't comfortable for a big driver;

Purchased As New

I use my '09 Sport for work and have 43k miles logged. So far, it runs like a top. Plenty of room to haul my medical sales product. The heater is not really very efficent, especially here in the Pacific Northwest. I don't care for the upholstry material...tends to collect everything, and I wish the drivers seat would slide back another click or two. The optional armrest is a must. Overall, I got a sporty little car for not much money and get great gas mileage....read morehide