Honda Fit owner here as well, the car is great, but unfortunately it's being discontinued in a lot of places. I think only Japan will still have them, and they even have an EV option.
I’ve learned a lot by working on it, but I do have the say that the plastic engine protector is a travesty. Clips were originally broken during a commercial oil change. Ever since, I’ve just been using self tapping screws to reattach it.
It is quite OK to run w/o an engine cover, it is a worthless piece of plastic.
But yea, completely non-functional. Remove it if the clips are broken. You aren't missing anything.
They reduce wind noise, increase mileage particularly in colder weather (and speed up engine warmup time), protect the engine from road debris/road salt/water, and reduce lift generated at highway speeds.
"Trapping heat in" isn't a problem in almost any modern vehicle.
https://www.forgemotorsport.com/Hyundai_i30NVeloster_N_Carbo...
this is worthless, and better to keep it off.