If I remember that model correctly, it had a CVT transmission or continuously variable transmission. In other words, it is really an automatic transmission in that it remains continuously in gear from the bottom to the top end of the vehicle’s range. There are no specific gearing combinations.
The problem with the Fit and other smaller-engined vehicles that use CVTs is that there doesn’t seem to be enough power to make them move out smartly and perform like a driver may expect. Let’s take a look at another vehicle like the Ford Fiesta. Yes, it has a small engine, but the difference is the transmission.
A normal, gear-oriented transmission, like the one used on the small Ford, will use high-ratio gearing for first to third so that the engine runs up and puts lots of torque to the driving wheels. This means that in first, the Fiesta will zip to about 15 mph before shifting to second, which then takes over and moves smartly to about 32 mph where third comes in. In third, the transition begins toward a 1:1 engine-to-gear ratio so that while third does pull strongly, the gearing is in the 1.7:1 ratio so that when the transmission hits gears four or five, it is approaching normal operating parameters or 1:1.
Contrast this with a CVT that doesn’t have any fixed gears. Since the transmission is always in gear, when you hit the accelerator, after selecting Drive, the transmission not only has to overcome lots of inertia just to get rolling, but it also has to overcome losses across the powertrain. Those losses include the rolling resistance that it has to overcome just to get moving, and internal transmission losses once it is moving.
In other words, a CVT is a very leisurely device that, when pushed by a small engine (the 2007 engine is in the 1.3-to-1.5-liter range as I remember), not only has to overcome losses in the chassis but also in the gear-train so that as it takes time to get the cruising speed.
One of the original tiny cars that first used a CVT, besides the ancient belt-driven DAFs made in Holland 60 years ago, was called the Justy by Subaru. This tiny four-door’s claim to fame was that it was the first small car in a generation to use a CVT — it predated Nissan by more than a decade as Nissan uses CVTs across its line. The reason it didn’t sell in greater numbers was because its performance was just too leisurely for most drivers. It took upwards of 18 seconds to reach 60. If Subaru had mated a four-gear automatic with the 1.3-liter engine that drove the Justy, the vehicle might have had the performance many people expected it to have. Most folks who looked at the Justy expected it to be a sprightly, nimble performer that would literally dance through turns and corners. Instead, the Justy sort of lazed its way along the road, eventually reaching highway speeds.
CVTs, especially in tiny cars with small engines like the Fit, still perform in much the same manner as the Justy, although the newer vehicles do, in truth, run circles around the ancient Subaru vehicle. The problem is that for folks are many times disappointed with the performance of the Fit and its CVT, as you are.
If you are patient, though, you will learn the operating quirks of your powertrain and you will gain the rewards of high mileage that, even with relatively low gas prices, will mean savings.
I hope this little history lesson helps. Let me know what you think.
