Hey there...

I think my wife and I are ready to pull the trigger and order or find a new Fit.

I have 3 questions:

1. My wife's family has a big farm out in rural Kansas. A lot of the roads are gravel or hard packed dirt out there. Ground clearance is an issue. Does anyone have the exact difference available between the height of the base Fit's front "bumper" fascia from the ground, versus the Sport? In other words, aside from the ground clearance under the body of the car, how much clearance do I lose going to a Sport from a Base at the front of the car. I know my parents, who have a late model Civic, have damaged their front plastic a couple times hitting ice, dead possum, etc, on the road. This is probably an issue for us, so I'd appreciate any feedback on the merits of one Fit over the other in this regard.

2. Has anyone actually driven both a base manual Fit and a manual Sport back to back, and can you give me your personal opinion. The only thing I care about is cruise. Hard to justify $1500 for it. The alloys with lower profile tires are actually a small minus for us given the rock road issue mentioned previously.

3. Anyone carrying a kayak on a new style Fit? If it can't carry a Valley Aquanaut HV, probably out of the running.

Thanks for input. Much appreciated.

 

I originally test drove a base MT Fit, then proceeded to buy a MT Fit sport. The sport handles a little differently on the roads, but not so much as buying the base would be a turn-off. I don't have the numbers for the base vs. sport ground clearance, but the base is a little higher.

I know that people have put racks on their 09 Fits, and I believe that it uses the same tower system (Referring to Yakima racks) as the 08. Haven't tried that one out myself yet.

Another plus for you getting the base model would be the splash guards for the wheel wells. That would probably be a nice little upgrade, given the roads.

Other than some of the interior features you would be missing out on (i.e. Standard USB connectivity, Map lights, Cruise), the base model Fit sounds like the best option for you.

If you do end up getting one, have fun.

 

Thanks, I think you're right. As far as the cruise goes, it seems that there is an aftermarket, solid setup for the early gen Fit, so no reason to think there might not eventually be one for the new style.

 

FWIW, I have a Sport and live on gravel roads (not on a farm, but in the Mountains). I have had no clearance problems whatsoever. It rides a bit rough, but that is all.

Can't compare Sport to base, but having no problems with the Sport in conditions such as you describe.

 

Out where my in-laws live, the roads can get pretty nasty. Cars with low profile tires seem to get flats more often, and the gravel can get kicked up in the middle of the road when at a bridge crossing or the like. I know back when the VW Beetles first came back out, my wife had one ( great car, high 40's MPG with diesel ) and on occasion the lower plastic under the front bumper would scrape on an obstacle. Not the end of the world, but if the base Fit had 1" more bumper ground clearance, it would probably be the dealmaker for me. Thanks.