Long Term Test: 2011 Honda Fit Sport post #3

Current Miles: 40,566

The hood of the Fit, covered in bugs

Another long term post about the Fit brings another road trip. This time, my fiancee and I took the Fit on a six hour journey north to my fiancee's home town of Sacramento, CA. This was not the first time we have taken the Fit to Sacramento, but it was the first time we did the trip when there was still daylight. This meant that I would actually be awake for most of the drive instead of passed out in the passenger seat.

The last longer trip we took with the Fit was a two hour drive to Oceanside. Two hours is fairly comfortable in the Fit as the seats are not too bad. The only real annoyance is listening to the Fit's 1.5 liter inline-four buzzing away at cruising speeds. For a six hour drive though, the seats did get pretty uncomfortable by hour three. I began to notice that the seats are not as thickly padded as I had originally thought. After switching places with my fiancee half way through so that she could get some rest, I stopped noticing how uncomfortable the seats were. The engine, on the other hand, still got kind of annoying after a while. In the end, it is nothing the radio cannot drown out.

Fuel economy for this trip was not bad. Because my fiancee and I both tend to drive with a heavy foot, we were only able to squeeze out 36 mpg. When we first took the Fit to Sacramento, I thought this number was pretty good. After having the 2014 Acura RLX for a while, and seeing me get 30 mpg on an all highway drive with the RLX, I was much less impressed with the Fit's results. Of course, the RLX's engine has direct-injection and runs on three cylinders during cruising, so those results were expected.

It might just be me, but the interior of the Fit is starting to feel old. Not that any of the interior materials are wearing out, but the cluster of buttons on the center console makes the car feel out-dated. My feelings largely have to do with the RLX and MDX now featuring touch screens, and the fact that the all new 2015 Fit comes equipped with a touch screen as well. While my fiancee had the Ford Fusion as a rental when the Fit was in for repairs, she fell in love with the fancy touch screen infotainment system, the keyless push button start, proximity key doors, and all the other fancy features she has never had on a car before. Considering the new Fit has all of those fancy new features, has more power (which is one of her primary complaints about the Fit), and gets better fuel economy, I may have some leverage to get her to trade her current Fit for a new one.

Long Term Test: 2011 Honda Fit Sport 5AT post# 2

Second Update
Current Miles: 33,925

A few weeks ago, my fiancee, along with her best friend, and I decided to visit our friend in Oceanside. This meant an hour and a half road trip, which was a great opportunity for me to find out some new things about my fiancee's 2011 Honda Fit Sport. Normally, I would either be sitting up front with my fiancee or I would be driving, but since I knew my fiancee and her best friend wanted to gossip, I decided to take up residence in the back seat.

Having never sat in the back of the Fit for any extended period of time before, I immediately noticed how roomy it was. Originally, I worried it would be cramped in the back, but the headroom was more than plentiful and the legroom was adequate. Sitting in the back seat, I also noticed something about the Fit I had never noticed before: the sound of the Fit's exhaust is noticeably louder while sitting in the back. This happened to also be the case with my old 1997 Honda Accord LX, so I chalked it up to being closer to the muffler. But despite being louder, the sound of the exhaust was still not loud enough to prevent me from drifting off to sleep.

Long Term Test: 2011 Acura RL Tech Wrap-up

Current Miles: 16,640

December 14, 2013 marks the final day our Forged Silver Metallic, 2011 Acura RL Tech spent with our family. This RL, the second one we have owned, has served us well for the last three years. Besides a very minor paint quality issue I noticed when we picked up the car (which was fixed under warranty), the car has been trouble free. What surprised me most was the fact that the transmission did not suffer any issues and was not recalled for any problems. It is an odd thing to be surprised about, but considering Honda's history on rolling out new transmissions, the fact that there were no problems left me a touch amazed. 

Test Drive: 2013 Mazda2 Sport

Update: See how the Mazda2 performed against the competition in our Subcompact Showdown.

MSRP: $15,560
As Tested Price: $16,630

In the last few years, Mazda has witnessed a resurgence. The all new Mazda6 has won the admiration of the automotive press, praising its superior driving dynamics compared to its competition. Mazda's new "Skyactiv" engine technology is also helping Mazda crawl ahead in the now ever important "fuel economy" wars.

Mazda has always been viewed as sort of the quirky underdog of the Japanese automotive companies, along with fellow competitor Subaru. To date, Mazda has been the only car company to widely adopt the Wankel Rotary engine. It is this sort of quirky and pioneering spirit that has made Mazda the company it is today, with a heavier focus on driver enjoyment instead of building a mass market appliance.

Though the Mazda 2 is not exactly new, it is still in its first generation here in the United States while subcompacts from the big three Japanese manufacturers have already entered their second generations. Despite its age, I had hoped to catch a glimpse of Mazda's ideology of putting driver enjoyment first with the Mazda2. My fiancee, on the other hand, was looking for a car that was enjoyable but still practical. Does the Mazda2 offer what we were both looking for?

Long Term Test: 2011 Honda Fit Sport 5AT post #1

My fiancee has had her 2011 Honda Fit Sport for over two years now. In those two years, the Fit has performed very well, both as a people mover and cargo hauler. When we were searching for a car to replace the aging 1997 Honda Accord LX that I had sold to her, the Honda Fit was not actually her first choice.

The first car we looked at was a certified pre-owned (CPO) 2006 Acura TSX. My fiancee enjoyed the car, but the price was unfortunately a bit out of her price range. Another car that piqued her interest was the Acura RSX. Unfortunately, at the time we were looking, the only two Acura RSX that were available near our area were both Type-S models. This meant that she would have had to learn how to drive a manual transmission in two days, which she did not have the patience or the time for. Having to spend extra money on 91 octane fuel also bugged her. In an effort to find her something sporty, roomy, had an automatic transmission, and did not drink 91 octane, I thought of the Honda Fit. It was a car that met all of her criteria, and I thought she would find it cute and would fit her bubbly and fun personality (a point that to this day, she still will not let me live down).

Long Term Test: 2011 Acura RL Tech post #1

Current Miles: 14,537

After the lease of my parents' 2008 Acura TL Type-S expired, my mom wanted something that was more suited to her tastes. She liked the TL Type-S in that it was well built, but the suspension was too rough and the car was a bit too noisy for her. The only reason we had a TL Type-S was because I was sharing the car with my mom, so I wanted something a bit sportier than their previous 2005 Acura RL. My mom really liked the 2005 RL, so it was only natural that I took her in to check out the 2011 Acura RL. After two years of ownership, and still driving it on a fairly regular basis despite not living with my folks, here are my thoughts on the 2011 Acura RL with Tech Package.

Test Drive: 2011 Chevy Camaro SS 6MT

The modern retro revival theme, originally started with the introduction of the Ford Mustang, was continued when GM brought out the new Chevrolet Camaro. Billled as a true pony car successor to the F-body version that had been so popular during the late 90's before its demise, the new Camaro borrows themes from the classics and gives them a modern interpretation, creating an exciting looking car, powered by the ubiquitous LSX motors shared with the Corvette and several other GM products. The car was an exciting entry when it came out, promising a cool look and great performance to rival the latest Mustang and Challenger. But does the Camaro deliver as a performance car or is it an anachronism dressed up in modern mechanics?

Test Ride: 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000

Kawasaki has a long history of producing excellent race replica motorcycles, sport touring motorcycles, and commuting motorcycles, but in recent history, they have not had a single motorcycle that could fit the bill in all of those categories. That is, until 2011, when Kawasaki introduced the Ninja 1000 (sold as the Kawasaki Z1000SX in other markets). This bike, based off the hooligan favorite Z1000 super-naked, shares the same powerful inline-4 cylinder motor, excellent ergos, and strong suspension, but adds a full fairing for improved wind protection. I had the opportunity to take an extended demo ride of the Ninja 1000 through a variety of different roads and see for myself the amazing work that Kawasaki did to make this one of the best all-around motorcycles one can buy.

Test Ride: 2011 Ducati Diavel

Cruisers are not for me. They are loud, crude, soft, and silly. Nearly everything a cruiser does can be done better with another kind of bike, except for hanging out with the cruiser crowd. To me, a cruiser is all about the image of riding and much less the thrill. So imagine my shock when Ducati announced in 2010 that it was going to be introducing a bike with the styling of a cruiser, but the performance of a sport bike. Everything about this bike seemed downright heretical to both cruisers and sport bikes. Color me intrigued. Luckily for me, Ducati was kind enough to offer several demo days specifically to introduce the Diavel, so I suited up, fired up my bike, and rode out to see what all the fuss was about.

Test Drive: 2011 Toyota Prius

The Prius looking at home at a beautiful house on Oahu

My wife and I had the good fortune to travel to Hawaii a while back for a friend's wedding. We were going to spend our entire time on Oahu so we took the opportunity to rent a car and drive around the island. Of course, being the gearhead that I am, I wanted to rent something fun and impractical, but unfortunately, since we had a decent amount of luggage and would be traveling with a few friends, we needed something practical and at least somewhat spacious. In looking down the line at the rental car location, I first spotted a 2011 Jetta among the various GM detritus littering the lot. Rushing over to it before anyone spotted it, I found that it was locked, indicating that someone had beat me to the punch. Damn....

Beautiful scenery abounds throughout the island

Looking down the line again at the sad collection of GM products, I spotted a 2011 Toyota Prius. Figuring that since the fuel was expensive ($3.73 a gallon for regular was the norm on the island) and that we needed some practicality, the fuel sipping hybrid with its hatchback shape might just do the trick. So we quickly rushed over and claimed this one, before anyone else could beat us to it.

Getting into to Prius, the layout of the interior felt odd and somewhat disconcerting, with the instruments way out towards the base of the windshield and centered in the car, rather than in front of the driver. While I had driven with this layout before, it is something that I have never really been 100% comfortable with. After getting situated in the seat, my hand fell to the nub of a shifter that looked like some sort of candy colored vestigial limb. I am still not quite sure why Toyota bothered with keeping this feature. Perhaps it was to make people feel like they were in a car and not some spaceship?

Foot on the brake, push the start button, and the dash begins its dance, but not a peep to be heard. It is an odd sensation getting nearly no aural feedback when starting a car. Looking up at the dash and checking to make sure that we were "Ready" to go, I slide the shifter into reverse and am greeted by the shrill cry of annoyance that I would be intimately acquainted with during the next week. Yes, the Prius beeps every time you put it in reverse. That sound made me want to crash the thing every time I heard it just so I would not have to hear it again.

Out on the road, I began playing around with the different buttons on the console and steering wheel, quickly discovering the 3-D overlay effect used for every press of a button on the wheel. It is mesmerizing and a totally unnecessary distraction to the driver. Maybe if Toyota would take some of that engineering time to sort out the rest of the rather blah interior, all might be forgiven. Getting onto the highway, with the car set in Eco mode, I ever so slowly managed to crawl up to the 50 MPH speed limit. Holy crap this thing is slow. I swear there were bicyclists passing us by accelerating up to 25. As much as I wanted to squeeze the entire trip in on a single tank of fuel, I knew I could not tolerate using this mode the entire time.

Weather was highly unpredictable,  but added to the
character of the island

Hit the button and switch off Eco mode and get on the throttle again. Hmm....better. Ever so slightly more responsive to throttle inputs, less resistance to additional throttle pressure, and we were getting going at slightly better than the glacial pace while in Eco mode. Let's try the PWR mode. Another slight bump in responsiveness and the damn thing finally was starting to pick up speed like a slightly anemic Toyota Corolla. I guess there would not be much in terms of tire spinning antics on this trip...

 Over the course of the next several days, I got to acquaint myself with the characteristics of the Prius even more, playing with the different settings and learning a sense of the chassis. Oahu is a driver's dream during the off-peak hours. There are miles and miles of windy twisty roads for one to explore and are lined by lush green vegetation on one side and sparkling blue oceans on the other. Driving around in this environment makes even the Prius tolerable.

Windmills are present throughout the island

To be honest, the Prius actually tracks surprisingly well, despite the skinny tires and tiny wheels. While the steering is clearly overboosted, there is adequate feedback for the amount of speed that can be attained. There is certainly little engagement for the driver, but as an appliance for getting from A to B, it really is quite easy to get comfortable with. In fact, it is almost relaxing since without even the capability to compete with most cars on the road for position, it is easy to just stay in the middle lanes and cruise.

So while over the course of week, where we saw a wide variety of weather conditions and enjoyed the fantastic scenery, I gradually began to understand why people like the fuel sipping hybrids. Even with driving around the island and traveling over 400 miles, we averaged close to 50 mpg driving normally. And while I still would never purchase a hybrid for myself, I have finally come to realize why there are people who like these contraptions and why they drive the way that they do. Definitely not an experience I plan on repeating anytime soon. The next trip we have lined up, I am looking to work a proper sports car into the plans.