After work I went to test drive an '09 SSM Sport AT. First, I have to say that I really liked the new look (despite all the negative things people had to say about it). I don't think the '09 photographs well at all. It's completely different when you see it in person. I thought it looked a lot more aggressive than its predecessor. The interior was nice as well. Definitely, an improvement. I think they used higher quality materials this time around. It didn't seem cheap at all. Driver's side arm rest and dead pedal were a nice addition! Luckily, I had my IPOD and one of the porters had the USB cable, so I was able to try out the USB interface. It worked perfect with my new 160gb IPOD. I wasn't too impressed with the sound quality of the stereo system, but that I didn't mind it too much. Overall, the car was very comfortable and quite spacious. I'm 6'2 and I had no trouble at all. The only time I wasn't comfortable was sitting in the backseat while the head rests were all the way down. They go so low that my back was touching them. As far as the drive goes, they made quite a bit of improvements. I thought it handled better and rode smoother (although seemed a little stiff at times). I could definitely feel the added horsepower. Overall, I'd say Honda did an excellent job of updating this model. I love this car.
Now for the bad news...
What I thought was going to be a $1,000 "market adjustment" fee ended up being a $1,500 "market adjustment" fee. Then, on top of that, they added all these upgrades like window tint, wheel locks, sports grill, etc. After all was said and done, they were asking for $20,600!!!
This was not the model with Navi/VSA...just an AT Sport with a CD player...So I ended up not getting it.
I want one BAD...But there's no way in hell I'm paying $20K+ for a sub compact (even though it's really nice). I think I'm going to wait until the first of the year...
But for those who have the extra cash to blow, I highly recommend it! Hopefully, I'll get lucky and find a dealer selling it for MSRP.