Yeah, it was just me in H Street, but this thing (‘15 Honda Fit CVT) is freakin’ hilarious to drive. It’s so much more fun than its meager power output and automatic transmission would lead one to expect.
I’ll start with the negatives, since they are few:
CVT is hard to convince to launch. Best I could get was by holding both the gas & brake briefly, then letting off the brake while flooring the gas. Minor complaint, maybe .5 of a second per lap.
CVT has paddle shifters, but it still upshifts automatically when you hit redline. Not cool. Had to compensate by triple-clicking the downshift paddle all the time to get it back into 2nd “gear.”
CVT won’t downshift to 1st except at <5mph. Eh, whatever.
Alright. Now for the positives:
This car is light. 2600 lbs light. And despite its height, all the seats can be folded down flat, for a low center of mass. The engine is plenty responsive above 5,000 rpm.
But show it a corner, and the true magic happens. At 7/10ths, it feels pretty mediocre, but at 11/10ths it evolves from “Fit” into “RAGE.”
I found that the combination of FWD and relatively soft suspension rewards absolutely silly driving. Taking a smooth racing line is nice in other cars, but the Fit really shines when you fling it around corners. The body rolls onto the outer wheels, and allows the tires to dig in and rotate the car.
Was there understeer? Sure. Was there oversteer? Surprisingly, yes as well!
This is an excellent car on which to learn about weight transfer and how to corner better with it. It’s balanced but it rewards aggressive inputs too.
Bone stock, CVT, OE all-season tires. Said tires will be replaced soon.