2009 Honda Fit in Duluth

Months in fleet: Six
Mileage to date: 13,319

Since our last update, warm weather and the open road have provided Automobile Magazine's editors the opportunity to stretch our Four Seasons Honda Fit's legs enough to pile on nearly 2500 miles since the beginning of the summer. In addition to a trip to New York at the end of June, the Fit has been used regularly as a commuter and a grocery hauler, and it recently completed an 1100-mile Lake Michigan Circle Tour.

All that time on the road, however, has given us a chance to reevaluate some of our previous insight on how the Fit fits into our lives.

"On the way home, I rowed through the gears and was astounded that anybody would call the gearbox notchy," writes associate editor Eric Tingwall, whose girlfriend loves her slushbox Fit Sport. "Then this morning on my drive in, I finally discovered notchy--the distinct grab moving the shifter from second to third and third to second. I concede that the shifter isn't flawlessly smooth, but I feel like notchy is a word reserved for gearboxes far more crude than this."

"Thankfully the driver's side floor has a plastic/rubber cover below the pedal," writes road test coordinator Mike Ofiara. "Otherwise, I'm afraid we would've worn through the carpet and down to the floor boards. Still, the clutch pedal still has plenty of travel and the brakes have good bite. Aside from a couple of exterior blemishes, I'd say our lil' Fit is holding up pretty well."

During my tenure as Automobile Magazine's editorial intern, I've accumulated nearly one-third of the Fit's total miles, and overall I've been quite a fan. Considering that I, as a college student, am in the Fit's target audience, that's high praise.... Read full article