wingless fit to me = not nice....hehe

 

I am in the same boat. I love the fit, but I prefer the base look. Simple, flowing lines. I've held off purchase, because it's annoying to buy a new a car but not be in control of the options that are tacked on.

I am still exploring my options as far as removing them.

I'd also get 14" alloys, if I could.

I know the bigger than necessary wheel / plastic add-ons demographic exists, I just wish Honda wouldn't cater to them exclusively. At least gimme cruise control as an option on the base... :P

 

I was tempted by the sport, but decided that it wasn't worth $1,320. What am I missing out on?


Cruise: This was the most tempting option. If I miss it too much, it should be available aftermarket. But I mostly drive around town.

Paddle Shifters: They suck -- I can shift way faster with the MT.

Audio: If I cared, I could upgrade the base speakers. Also, the base has an aux button, but no input. A dremel tool and trip to radio shack should remedy that. See the discussion in posts 64-68 at edmunds townhall. (http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/dir...ew/.f0c0db4/60)

Keyless: Got it added, installed, for $80 (since I had to pay MSRP).

Security: The car won't start without special Honda keys with embedded microchips, that cost over $100 to replace. I could be missing something, but that seems like enough security for me.

Body Kit: as others have discussed, it's okay, but there's something to the clean lines of the base. Besides, I like other aftermarket body kits better than honda's, and they'll stand out more than the standard sport body kit that everyone already has. So if I've got cash later, I'd rather do this myself.

Alloys: For > $1000, I'll see if the steelies really bother me. If they do, I'll pick out my own alloys.


Now, I was also influenced by two additional factors: I'm still a student (i.e. poor), and I like the silver "lunar mist" color, which is not available on the sport. If you've got spare cash, it's probably reasonable to just buy a sport -- in fact, you could possibly make back a substantial portion of your $1,300 primium by selling your discarded kit on eBay. But still, I think starting with a Base and upgrading is reasonable.

 

Scottie Z well put. All I wanted on the sport was the spoiler, the AUX input and the wheels. To pay that much more for those options was just a waste for me. I figured I might be able to sell the body kit, but it sounds like more people want to get rid of them than buy, so really there's only money to be made back on the sport wheels.

I love my base. I got a much better security system w/door locks on my own, I'll get better wheels later down the line, and I'll probably upgrade the stereo later anyway. I'm totally happy w/what I've saved (let's me invest in other things I really want). And the spoiler, I can live w/o.

 

It isn't yet, unfortunately, and I mostly drive on the interstate.

As soon as a reliable option comes available, I'll buy a base.

 

Would be good to remove the front 'chin' on the Sport as this always scrapes on a steep driveway or parking face into a curb.

 

if anyone takes their factory kit off of a VBP send me a pm with a price

 

I replaced the front lip spoiler on my Sport last night because I curbed the original one.

There are four 10mm bolts that attach the lip spoiler to the bumper. There are holes for these bolts in the bumper skin because they go through the bumper skin and attach to blind nuts on brackets on the lip spoiler.

The metal brackets on the spoiler have tabs for screws to attach the brackets to the plastic spoiler. The bumper skin has holes for these tabs to go through because the tabs are long enough that they'd press on the bumper otherwise. These holes are approximately 1.5 inches square. Two of the brackets have these tabs, so there are two corresponding holes in the bumper for them.

So... even the Sport front lip leaves at least six holes in the bumper. It wouldn't be terrible, but it would be obvious that you have a Sport with the lip removed.

 

Thanks, I'll leave the front 'lip' on till I really demolish it (probabbly won't take long.)

 

Still looking for pictures and "words of wisdom" on the removal of the sport trim stuff.

I hate to pay the extra for this stuff, but as long as its the only way to get all the other good stuff I don't see a choice other than to hold off on my purchase until they offer this or until the next generation!

 

I shelled out for the sport for all the options... Sure I probably could have upgraded the stereo, added a security system, and found better wheels for about the same price after purchase. (I don't use cruise control all that often so I don't really care about it, it was just kind of a bonus.) After driving with it for a week, I have to say: the leather steering wheel is nice. Anyway, I could have done it all aftermarket, but I'm lazy.

When I bought it, I was planning on taking off all the sport trim, and is seems more than a little silly to me to add parts that do nothing but add weight and wind resistance to a sport model. But now I see the light... those silly bits of plastic under my car are a lot like bubble wrap protecting the bottom of my car. The side skirts do a pretty good impersonation of mud flaps, and if any part of my car is gvoing to fall to a speed bump I would much rather it be the imitation air dam than my real bumper...

 

Do I have to tell you that nowadays putting too much common sense in your thoughts and discussions gets lots of people very irritated
Chris

 

You can't get a base Fit with factory cruise control, and the other options that go with the Sport are kind of nice.....