I have a form of vsa on my 2002 VW GTI. I'm pushing 210hp on the car and the only time the "vsa" kicks in is when its wet out and I "bolt" off the light. The manual for VW even says to turn it off in the snow. VSA is the most under used thing on my car. And it's wet here all the time . Hope that helps.

 

if you're making monthly payments as a majority of people probably are then shell out the $30 / month or whatever and drop HBO or something. honestly, though, if the dealer had a sport with MT without Navi/VSA i'd have gotten it. i, too, thought $1850 (or 10-12% of the vehicle's price) was way high, but Fit's were / are scarce so I jumped on it cuz it was the color / transmission / sport model i wanted.

brian

 

My last car (Acura MDX) had a built in NAV, and I absolutely fell in love with it--to the point that I wouldn't buy another car without one. My wife has a TomTom and although I like the 3D maps, it's already been stolen once, it's a hassle to take out and plug in / charge, there are messy wires everywhere and it takes a lot longer to get the signals. The built-in NAV has the Gyroscope to keep your movements accurate in tunnels and heavily wooded areas and it's ALWAYS on and always ready--even if I'm not using it. Sometimes I just use it to tell me how long it will take to get where I'm going (not for directions!)--it's amazingly accurate!

I wonder how many people who have bluetooth in their vehicle actually use it. I HATE to talk with people on speaker phone--you can't understand them and hear way too much road noise. I tell them to pick up the phone or put on a headset. It would be nice if it could dial my phone (esp with voice), though!

I've never had VSA in any vehicle, but I'm guessing there is at least SOME value to it since they are making it a requirement in the next few years . . .

So, I had no problem shelling out the extra $1800 for those features. And I have NO REGRETS--in fact I KNOW I'd be bummed if I didn't get them! I negotiated hard and got $500 higher on my trade-in than all other dealerships offereed, so it was only $1300 for me!

 

Its a small computer that boots off of the DVD drive built into it.

The DVD is from Honda and they update it every year more or less with new roads, points of interest, etc...

 

The NHTSA reported fatal single vehicle crashes were reduced 30% percent in cars equipped with stability control systems and 63% in SUVs. The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety reported that equipping vehicles with electronic stability control systems could reduce the risk of fatal single vehicle crashes by more than 50%.

Here's a link to a study conducted in the UK: http://www.chooseesc.eu/download/studies/esc_uk.pdf. The eye opening part of this study can be found on page 6, where the stability control equipped cars were involved in 53% fewer "KSI" accidents (KSI = killed or severely injured) on snowy or icy roads.

Contrast this with statistics collected on ABS, where the benefit has ranged from as little as zero to as much as 10% reduction in accident rate. It's probably safe to say that electronic stability control represents probably the single biggest safety improvement in vehicles in decades.

 

Oh. I thought you were referring to system upgrades such as processor speed, new features (weather, real time traffic, etc.), or better display screens. Every NAV system (built-in or aftermarket) allows you to update road maps and most allow you to update the operating system with bug fixes and occasional user interface enhancements.

 

I once had the opportunity to attend a driving school at Road Atlanta. One of the most interesting events I took part in was a high speed avoidance exercise comparing VSA on and off. Blew my mind. After that, I decided that the next time I bought a new car, it would have VSA, period. The basic consensus I heard from the professional drivers at the event was that they themselves brushed off the idea of stability control when it first came out only to be converted as fans after extensive seat time in cars so equipped in adverse conditions. There are numerous videos on youtube showing stability vs. non-stability cars on snow, ice, etc...search Bosch ESP or VSC, VSA, etc for some good content there. I think the comment one of the drivers made to me was something to the effect that yes, an extremely well-trained driver might be able to do as well sometimes, but for 99% of people 99% of the time, a good driver in a VSA car will do better than the same driver in a non-VSA car in an accident avoidance or inclement weather situation.

That being said, I did find it ridiculous that Honda packaged such a helpful safety feature only on the Sport with Nav. I wasn't about to buy a car that was less safe to save a little money, so I sprang for it, but was not happy about the price premium. I would have honestly bought a base 5 speed with VSA if available. VSA being available at all was a main reason I bought the Fit. There weren't many other small efficient cars with this option.

As far as nav goes, I find my Garmin Nuvi to do as well or better, and it cost $200.

One of the most common misconceptions about VSA, by the way, is that it is only of value in inclement weather. It works wonders in any accident avoidance situation. The bottom line is that a computer can often act faster than you the driver, and more appropriately. No system is perfect, and a skilled driver is of extreme value, but given the same driver in two same cars, the VSA car will smoke the non-VSA car in an extreme accident avoidance situation. No matter how skilled of a driver you are, you don't have the ability to brake wheels individually to counteract oversteer or understeer as efficiently as VSA. IMHO, many people who minimize the value of VSA have never driven on a closed track or skidpad in low-traction or accident avoidance simulations in cars with and without it, to have an educated opinion.

VSA is a hard concept for some to grasp. Unlike more obvious safety gear, like air bags or seat belts, VSA is more invisible. The accident you never have because VSA helped you to avoid is hard to quantify.

 

No regrets, mostly because I only drive to work and to my Girlfriends or places I already know...plus with My android phone its just a matter of punching in the addy...also my GF has a portable Nav so its all good. And for me, living in CA., VSA is kind of pointless as the weather is nice, and if you need VSA to correct your mistakes maybe you shouldnt be driving so fast as its beyond your abilities.

 

At least a little bit of this is because if you spent the $1900 extra, you are likely more mature, more educated, a bigger bread winner etc (on average). Less accidents in this group and less fatalities if you are in an accident. 16-25 year olds for example are less likely to be in stability equipped cars and that is the age group with the most accidents and most fatalities. The huge SUV number is because people think they are up high with all that metal around and thus safe, but a very high number of suv single vehicle accidents are roll overs which are big killers.

Here vsa is so good because so many drivers dont even know how to counter steer if they get in a skid. It works by sensing yaw and pitch of the vehicle, steering angle and individule wheel speeds, it senses something wrong and applies selective braking to individule wheels, so it does require some traction to work. That is why I am such a huge fan of dedicated studded snow tires. Those and vsa would be the ultimate in winter safety!

 

I, too, love my nav/vsa Fit. I actually bought it more for the vsa than the nav, but as far as factory navs go, they don't get more intuitive than Honda, the resolution is decent, and it does a good job of keeping me found. The only thing that can make it better is realtime traffic reporting, and the bluetooth Honda screwed us out of.

To me, steering wheel audio control was worth $200, vsa $650, and nav $1,000. But, I have actually read recently that nav adds nothing to future resale, and in some cases may diminish resale, though I have a hard time believing the diminish part. Their rationale was that in five years the equipment and technology would be grossly outdated.

Will I get any of that $1,850 back on resale? No, because I plan to own the car till the wheels fall off or it gets totaled.

 

wow, lots of great responses with general consensus among those who opted for the combo seemingly quite pleased with their choice, while those who didn't are quite happy to have saved a substantial sum.

i'm very much a value-driven consumer, so do find myself weighing the economics of how much "value" a $19.5k fit provides. like most folks, i really wish honda would've de-coupled vsa from navigation as that may just prove to be the deal-killer since gps offers very little utility to me.

thanks to everyone who chimed in!

 

You'll have a heck of a time finding someone to say they have it and don't like it b/c that's like admitting they wasted almost $2k.

I am having this same dilemma and wish Honda had kept Nav and VSA separate. I'd still pop for the VSA, but go it my own with better, aftermarket stereos or Nav stereo.

So the interesting question would be, Can the Honda OEM Nav be installed in a non-Nav car and retain all functions? If so, what is the value of this headunit on the street if taken out and offered up for sale?

 

Want the VSA but not the Navi. Navi isn't worth $2000 for me. I know where I'm going. I don't need directions

 

I don't neccesarly regret not getting the gps but am kinda wishing I had vsa with the ice we have benn getting lately. Would be piece of mind.

 

Don't mind not getting the navi/vsa. Living in Hawaii, I'm pretty sure having that Navi in the Fit would target it for being stolen for sure. Besides that, Oahu is so small that I really don't need a nav. I've lived here all my life and know just about all of the island.

VSA might be good to have but after 3 years with my Prius, I've only seen it kick in 3 times and usually thats from driving over a pot hole.

 

I wanted VSA, so I got the navi and absolutely love it. It looks nice too...Many people is complaining about the glare...I adjusted the brightness, blackness and the contrast and screen looks pretty good to me.

 

You should be able to install the Nav in a non-nav car. The same unit is used in the Civics. If you were to buy if from bernardi the Nav unit alone (made by Alpine) goes for $3547.71; street value who knows?
Then you got to buy the steering wheel controls, and go through a wiring nightmare to get them run, and connected properly. That procedure alone to me is not worth the headache.

The way I see it depending on your wants each option offers a different value. For some the VSA would be more important than the Navi, or the steering wheel audio controls.

I'm sure the VSA will come in handy in numerous situations (rain, snow, ice, etc). The Navi is decent; if we can get it hacked (https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ge-thread.html), even better. Worse comes to worse you can upgrade to a better head unit in the future, and wire up a Pac adapter to retain steering wheel audio controls. Or just use the remote included in the respective aftermarket head units. An aftermarket VSA (price) would be quite expensive I would imagine.

As a package the Navi, VSA, and audio steering wheel controls are worth it as opposed to buying them, and installing them seperate. But it depends on each person and what they want.

 

Eh, steering wheel controls is the buyer's responsibility. I'm just wondering if I can sell the nav unit if I buy a Sport Navi (to get the VSA). Chances are good if the nav unit would work in non-nav Fits (sans steering wheel controls, of course).

But then I flip-flop and think the VSA equivalent on my Neon has probably only fired up a handful of times from starting from a full stop (and I live in Michigan). Maybe my GF and I just don't drive into enough emergency maneuver-required situations. Decisions, decisions.

Going the other way, I wonder what's involved to install VSA in a non-VSA car? Could it be as simple as a different computer brain?

 

I am a new owner in a new area of the country (Fargo, ND).. and am thrilled to have the Navi system-- it is a must for me since I am a transplant here-- i love it- very very useful- just wish i could have gotten the integrated Satellite radio with it too (like my bro-in-law has on his Civic)..

 

I'm in minnesota, and the past week with my fit (just got it last week) we have had severe ice and snow conditions, to the point that freeways have been shutdown due to icing and the large number of crashes. The VSA is freaky amazing. It really cool seeing how stable this car is in snow and ice. I did get to test it on a parking lot with it off, and it is an entirely different ride (fun tho!).

The nav is nice (but no RDS! WTH?). If the VSA was an option without the nav, I probably would have done that, but having said that it's a pretty decent nav. I miss the text to speech of my nuvi, but at least I don't have to worry about forgetting the unit, or leaving it out. The voice control is decent too, and the steering wheel controls are cool. I miss the 3d views of the nuvi, but the 2d map layout is pretty good.