The Fit is not nearly as fast as the GTI was, but, as it's set up now, it handles better, the steering is better and I just have more fun driving it. The weight difference is VERY noticeable. Changing the wheels to Enkei RPF1s (each half the weight of the OEM wheels) seemed to make the car do everything - accelerate, corner, brake, etc. - much better.

My intake and exhaust combo probably added 10 hp/10 torque if that, but the combo made the throttle response so much better and it revs much more freely. As for highway passing, you could pass anything on the highway in the GTI in pretty much any gear because of the turbo; as I said before in the Fit you really have to be in the right gear. You aren't going to be passing anyone quickly in 5th gear in the fit. Hit 3rd, though and you will have no problems.

It's hard to explain the appeal of the Fit to someone who hasn't drive one. You will either love it or hate it, probably nothing in between...

OH, it's also really nice not having to worry about it getting dinged, nicked, scratched, dirty, etc. It's just a simple, low-maintenence, anti-pretentious joy to own...

 

Nala,

Thanks for your input. I went to Honda today, and this older gruff guy helped me out. I was thinking "oh man, this is gonna suck." Turns out to be a nice guy after he relaxed a bit. He grabbed keys to the CR-V and said "look, you and I both know you just want to drive it. Let's try this one, and then the Fit, I'll give you some numbers, and you can buy it today or in a month from now. No pressure."


The CR-V was ok - all around a good SUV, but the interior felt kinda gimmicky.

The Fit felt... fun, actually! I was really surprised at the handling, and the engine felt strong enough; not exactly what I'd call stellar, but decent. The interior seemed a bit too...rental car like. Still, everything felt comfortable and where it should be (then again that might be from always having hondas). The shifter was surprisngly smooth and light.

Salesman asked me to hang around for 5 minutes while he worked up some #s; he understood that I wasn't buying that day but said he was obligated by his boss to make an offer. He came back...with his boss. His boss tried to get me to buy the CR-V because the Fit was "only for people who can't afford a Civic." Then he started to ask about what it would take for me to buy today. I told him I wanted to wait to see what the '09 Fit would be like (slightly larger, 9 more hp). He kept lowering the price till we got to 14.5 for the sport trim. A good deal, but I still want to wait to see the '09 Fit, which are supposed to be in this fall. If I can get one for about the same price, I might be fitting up Nala for recs on upgrades.

Thanks again!

..and yes, I still have to drive the Audi, but I gotta say, for about 1/2 the price the Fit is pretty appealing.

 

You know, when I was in the dealership they were dogging on the Fit to. But the thing is that they have 20+ Civics sitting on the lot and the Fits were being sold before they could even get on the lot. I had to wait 3 weeks to get into mine. At any time I could have easily picked up a Civic.

 

Volkswagen Scirocco, anyone?