I've always says, if you want to evaluate the effectiveness of a given technology, ask somebody who doesn't own it.

Not really kidding, either, but whatever.

 

Get the nav package. The vsc and traction control are well worth dealing with the crappy audio on the nav head unit. I ponied up the extra $$ for it and would of regretted it I didn't.
On snow and ice the fit is way better than our wrangler and gets better mpg.
Upgrade the head unit latter when the cash flow returns.

 

That's the problem with VSA. It's really hard to understand its value if you haven't driven it. Even when it's working, all the car does is go where you want it to go in a controlled way. You get home saying that you guess the road wasn't as bad as you thought. Or, if you want, you can pat yourself on the back for being such a great driver. The biggest surprise to me was how much it helps on a dry road.

I understand that in 2012 all cars will have it. The debate will be moot.

I agree with vulcaninja about the lousy audio quality in the sound system. I think I'll try to get some expert advice about how to improve that.

Cheers.

 

OK sooo... from what I am understanding is that the VSA is well worth the money but the navi has poor power and audio qualities with no bluetooth.
I have had 3 pretty powerful sport cars in my life(im 26 now) 1 had traction control and the others did not. Im not really worried about crashing my car without brake assist, i mean knock on wood Ive done fine all these years without it.

You see, spending 1800 bucks on something that you MIGHT have to use every once in a great while is questionable.

Spending 1800 bucks on a poor quality sounding stereo w/navi that I will USE EVERY DAY kind of makes it a no brainer.

 

all im saying is that there is billions of cars on the road every day with out it

 

Was driving in slush about 3days passing everyone not realzing that the road conditions were bad because the vsc and traction control made the car feel like it was ok and safe to go a little faster than the others-amazing.
All my other vehicles with all wheel or 4wd suck next this car at being connected with the road surface.
My short term remedy for the nav head unit audio is a sub and at least 2 good front speakers.

 

Vulcan where in CT u from? Also what dealership did you go to? How was the experience?


Also how is the compatability of the nav w a sub and new front speakers? Ive heard its not good

 

the HEADUNIT sucks. speakers and subs will only be bandaids for the crappy headunit. same with the GD fits.

 

If you are a safe driver you do not need it.... for example: this winter i was driving my crx... no ps, no tc, no abs, and cirtinly no vsa. I also had Yokohama es100s on (high performance summer tires). There was about 2 inches down pand it was packed ... i was going down hill with no stopping... i was faced with a short 90* right turn with a straight for about 150 feet with a "T" shaped intersection (all of this down hill). now i was at a crawl, and my car wouldn't turn taking the first right... what do you do?.... full the e-break and turn right, drifting almost... ok, well that worked, but i had a bigger problem... i couldn't stop... and an even bigger problem, there was a ups truck coming, also there were cars and houses opposite from me.... so, as i couldn't turn i again pulled the e-break and tried to work some magic. idk how i did it, but i never hit a thing..... lesson learned, now rolling on winter/snow only tires... cant wait to try them out...

 

Well i see your point....my days of driving like a maniac are over....I do like to drive"sporty" occasionally but the Fit is not a sports car.....Far from it! I think I have decided to go without the navi. I love my music and to think that i would eventually want to upgrade the OEM navi is not good feeling.

I really like some of the pioneer in dash navi units. Cheaper and a lot more features!

 

No matter how safe of a driver you are, there is some idiot who will run into you.

 

And that is exactly the moment vsa comes into play, if you want a chance to swerve out of the way and maybe avoid soomething.

 

what if you are in traffic and there are car on both sides of you? you should have slowed down anyways

 

Love the steering wheel controls and USB iPod integration, but the Navi's lack of Bluetooth is almost inexcusable.

 

I can't think of a more boneheaded decision than Honda made to make VSA only available with a navigation system. That to me is something I will not ever understand. Why must someone pay all kinds of money for a navigation system if they don't want it or need it just to get VSA? It's a complete rip and Honda, a company who's slogan is "Safety For Everyone" really should be ashamed of themselves for doing this. I guess it's "Safety For Everyone" if you're willing to get a navigation system with it. Dumb, just dumb.

That being said I think people are putting a little too much importance on VSA. It can be helpful but millions of people every year in every kind of climate drive without it and do just fine by using a little something called common sense. My 2009 Hyundai Sonata has stability control and it was the first car I've ever owned with it. I've been driving for 20 years and I've never had a problem without it. I bought the navigation system option with the Fit not for the VSA, but because I'm one of those people who gets lost very easy and I need a navigation system. Even in the short time I've owned my Fit I've used the navigation quite a bit. It's a heck of lot easier than fumbling with a map in the car while you're trying to drive.

So I would say get the navigation if you really need the navigation and want OEM. Otherwise to buy the navigation for the VSA is really not worth the money. VSA is not worth $1,800.

 

Exactly wat was gonna say. My fit doesn't have vsa and it snowed and iced over like crap on the road in chicago and I was able to travel, brake, accelerate, and turn fine witout vsa. I personally hate vsa and tc on my sporty cars cause its just annoying when I'm tryin to go fast and the nanny doesn't let me. Unless ur car is a porshe and has like shiz load of hp and torque, i say i can live without it.

 

Obviously everyone has different needs. If you're an audiophile you probably will not care for the nav option and have the ability to put your own thing together. Personally, in my situation the Fit is for my g/f and I feel a little better knowing she has VSA during these lovely Chicago winters of ours. I'm sure the audio will more than suffice for her needs.
On the subject of VSA... it has the word assist in it. To me this means the convenience of knowing that when you slip or slide b/c of f'ing around or driving lazy you have the piece of mind that it will be a little easier to get out of or avoid a potentially bad situation. I don't think it's an absolute necesity or the end-all solution to ensure your life be spared a horrible and firey end. Don't get me wrong, I consider myself a pretty good driver but that's not to say I haven't gotten myself into some dumb situations before where it may have come in handy. SOOOO the great debate continues.

 

Everyone has a lot a good points..... but like i said before, paying 1800 bucks for something I MIGHT USE every once and a while and also not having a quality stereo system with it at that is just inexcusable.

I could have a top of the line nav unit, or even better, a middle of the line nav unit with some good sounding speakers for $1800.

I have a long commute everyday.... music and navigation are very important to me.

Now if everyone on here was like" Wow! Such a bargain for VSA and a great sounding nav/audio system with lots of features!" , my skepticism might be different, but most reviews are quite different.

I guess I just gotta bring my ipod down to the dealer and just let er rip for myself!

 

VSA is OK but it needs some traction to work so.......
dedicated snow tires (IMHO) go beyond what VSA can do in ice or snow (especially if they are studded).
Plus my Garmin I can move to my motorcycle, snowmobile, rental cars.

I dont know how much you get back from factory Nav/vsa so go to Kelly Blue book and check it out that way

 

It appears that the people who bought the vsa/navi are glad they did. I didn't read one post from a vsa/navi owner who said he or she regretted the purchase. I can certainly understand why someone would want a different nav system. I'm happy with the overall integration of it and would definitely not trade VSA. I studied the system enough before buying it to know that driving skill has nothing to do with the need for it.

We bought the car to go cross-country. With any luck, our navi will take us from Beantown/Boston to Chinatown/San Francisco in the next six months. We have kids on each end of the country and we're tired of flying. Navi or not, VSA or not, the Fit is the way to go.