the split is 2012-2013 for the 2.5, to my knowledge the only differences were cosmetic.

 

i think they changed the spring rates (could be the damp rate, but pretty sure it was the spring rate). i dont know the pn's as i dont care much about factory parts. But my '12 was riding significantly softer than my '09. i had both cars at the time so i was able to do an A to B comparison back to back both with factory wheels/tires at the time.

 

Could just be me but I had a 10 and now a 13 and I would tend to agree. I didn't like the 13 as much, the 10 felt stiffer. I have only driven 1 gd (with bad rear suspension) and it seemed to handle better than both. As for ride quality/ comfort my opinion is the 12-13 are the smoothest.

 

Follow-up: Things turned out rather unexpectedly for me, in a good way. The insurance company settlement for my totaled '08 Sport was much more than I had anticipated (based on my own research of local comps), and I managed to negotiate another $1200 on top of that for aftermarket stereo equipment that I had proof of ownership but not all the original receipts. That, plus some stuff I sold, made my budget much higher than anticipated for another vehicle.

So I went out testing certifieds and noncertifieds, mostly 2.5gen GE8's, in both base and sport configurations. Some had the certified warranty, some did not. The problem I ran into with all of those is that we started creeping into new car territory price ranges.

So yesterday, I tested a '15 EX-L with 187 miles on the odometer. Immediately noticed the sagging front bumper and dash fitment issue others have complained of. The bells and whistles were nice, like the Lane Watch feature, but the leather seats were hard as a rock, quite noticeable even on a short test drive. Felt like sitting on a brick. The leather seats were a dealbreaker in my book. Not sure how Honda thinks leather would be an upgrade.

So today, I tested a '16 LX CVT with a J-VIN. Liked the cloth seats much better. I can live without the Lane Watch and much prefer the volume knob for the stereo to the capacitance volume slider on the EX trim. So I listened to their offer ($16,700 on a $17,555 list) and thought, I can do better. Went home and asked all the other dealers in the area for a quote on the same vehicle. Got some nice offers from the other dealers, went back to the same dealership where I test drove the LX and asked them to do better. They did. They brought the list price down to $16,287, with OTD price $17,519. Put a deposit down and will pick it up tomorrow.

Now my thoughts on the various models. My GD3 had a harsh ride compared to everything else I tested. The '09-10 models were somewhere between the GD3 and 2.5gen GE8. Still a little harsh in both trim levels. The '12-13 base had a slightly softer ride than the '12-13 Sport, possibly due to the smaller wheel size, but the '12-13 sport handled better. The '13 Sport I drove this afternoon probably would have been sold to me if the dealership came down on price ($13,914 w/55K miles and no warranty), but the dealership essentially laughed at what I was willing to pay ($11,500-12000) for a car without any warranty. When I told them I can get into a new Fit for less than $3000 more with full warranty, they shrugged and said have a nice day. Said dealer has had the car on their lot for 76 days, doubt it will sell anytime soon at that price.

The '16 LX was very similar to the '12-13 Sport in ride quality. The '12-13 Sport automatics seemed a little frenetic and buzzy starting out from a light. The LX CVT was much smoother in this regard. So in the end, that's what I went with.

Thanks to all for the various inputs, and hope my experience helps anyone else here on the fence.

 

Congrats OP!

 

The softness of the GK is most do to the fact that like higher end fits come with rear anti-roll. Bar. I was waiting to read that it leaned a lot more in curves than the sport. Some time car companies softens the ride for more sales from a group I never intended to buy but for the fact Republicans won't join a jobs bill to start putting people to work repairing our roads/bridges driving a car like most Honda made their car they've had to soften SUV, s too. I love hard ride. I compare my test drives to 98 M3. Not handling just how the cars feel slapping over expansion joints on interstate. Cheers to no more recalls. Enjoy.

 

Thank you both! I'm not looking to carve up any canyons in the near future, so a little bit of body roll is a quite acceptable trade-off to me.

BTW, my benchmark for that sweet spot of ride quality / handling was an old BMW 2000 that a friend owned in the late 70's - the precursor to the 2002. So Desmond, I hear what you're saying.