Has anyone seriously looked at this? I'm in the market for a Fit. I require the 5MT and I would really like the sport, but man the sport 5MTs seem to be rare. There do seem to be a few base 5MTs around and I'm starting to wonder if I should consider them and just upgrade what I can by myself:

Exterior Body Molding - this doesn't seem upgradable, but I don't really care about it.

Weels - Man I hate hubcaps, but it looks like the 15" alloys are available off of ebay or elsewhere

Stereo - I could add the Aux plug as described here, that would probably satisfy me

Wireless entry/security - Looks like that is available from Honda

Fog lights - Also available from Honda, but I don't know if I care enough to buy them

Cruise Control - Aftermarket solutions, but I don't really care about it too much.

Are there any other differences I'm forgetting? If I got everything then it would definitely be cheaper just to buy the Sport model. But given that I can't find a Sport, and that I'm only truly interested in about 2/3 of the upgrades, maybe this would be a workable solution? And maybe even save some bucks?

 

Cruise Control
200-watt AM/FM/CD audio system with 6 speakers (base is 160w w/ 4 speakers)

 

I was editing in the cruise control even as you were typing.

I've listened to both the stock and the upgraded stereo and neither impressed me too terribly. I'm not too picky and would probably be happy with the stock (assuming I could AUX in my mp3 player/cell phone)

Is there any difference in interior trim between the base and the sport? Any difference in fabric quality? Or is it just different color selections?

Thanks - J

 

You can get after market cruise controls? Thats news to me

As for the interior it is the same. You could add the body kit if you wanted to.

I dont know if the base has powered mirrors

 

The only differences in the two models are those things you mentioned. The engine, interior, electrical, everything else is the same. I opted for the base MT because the only things I really cared for on the sport were the wheels and the Aux, similar to you. The wheels are readily found here or on ebay, but the Aux is much harder to come by. Not so easily taken care of through Honda, you basically have to get a knowledgeable stereo guy to add it for you (unless you are able to do it yourself, there are instructions in the DIY forum here). If the sport MT is really that hard to come by, I don't think you'd be disappointed in the base. Once I got my wheels, I was fully satisfied. And I opted for an aftermarket alarm, roughly the same price as Honda's but better. I think you'll be happy with the base if that's your quickest option.

 

Not in a MILLION years I would buy a non-Sport Fit, they look way different and if you wanna be different (I understand NOT your case) just no other way, Sport and only Sport... and those paddle shifters are super-GREAT, use them maybe 20-30 times/day, passing slow-moving vehicles, speeding-up the gear shift when crossing an intersection on yellow, also cruise control is very very good (open road of course), all together 5AT Sport is a very unique automobile... and just very few vehicles on the market, mostly high-end ones, have this paddle shifter feature, but to be honest with you, if you're not a speeder to hate slow driving, you do not need the 5AT Sport, get the MT like, sorry to say it, everybody else, so BE like everybody else!
Regardless, enjoy your Fit and drive safely
Chris

 

I do not know about your area, but up here, Toronto, the largest Canadian city, 5 mil people, is very very very rare to see a Fit Sport model, overwhelmingly you see just the regular non-Sport models and, super-rare, to see a 5AT Sport Fit, reason is either people do not want the most out of a relatively small-medium car and/or very few Sport and even way fewer the 5AT Sport... my dealer for months, including two days ago when I paid a visit to them, has never had a 5AT Sport Fit in the showroom, they have a regular one and they added-on Sport body, 205/45/16 tires on 16x6.5 tires, why?, they cannot get a real 5AT Sport Fit, they are very rare OR in high demand elsewhere...
Chris

 

Beside the stuff mentioned above, AFAIK the fabrics and and other interior trim are the same(except for color) between the base and sport, except for 2 things:
1)The sport has a leather wrapped steering wheel.
2) The shift knobs on M/Ts are slightly different between base and sport.
3) Only A/T Sports get the paddle shifters.

I guess that's 3 things

 

Why wouldn't you be able to add a body kit to the base?

 

Sport model with bodykit looks better than base model...
also i love paddle as well..

 

Glad to see I'm not the only one thinking this way. I'll probably be patient for a few weeks in the hope that a Sport 5MT shows up, but I think the base is going to be my fall-back plan.

 

I meant that Honda doesn't offer the spoiler and groundmolding as an upgrade to the base fit. I'm not referring to aftermarket stuff (not really my area anyway).

 

The body kit isn't really my cup o' tea either, although I do like the spoiler. You can add it later, Honda just doesn't really give you that option at purchase, but it is available if you want it.

And I'm sure the paddle shifters are very nice CB19, but I guess us unoriginal, just like everybody else, MT lovers have a different view of enjoyable driving. Down here in the states the MTs are the rarity, but for me it's a personal driving preference, not a point to be different. And I guess somewhere in this world maybe the Fit is still uncommon, but I would imagine by now, almost a year in the N.American market and much longer everywhere else, it's gonna be hard to be so different than everyone else, but if you think so, then super cool for you.

 

All things being equal, I would probably prefer the auto w/ paddle shifters just so my fiance could comfortably drive my car. But I'm not real interested in paying extra for auto (+sport for the paddles), and apparently the MT gets slightly better gas milage which is the other reason I'm interested in the fit...so...5MT it is.

Hatchgeek - do you have any pics of your car? I'm curious to see what the base model looks like with good wheels.

 

Here's my base,
I added the fogs, keyless entry, cruise control comming soon, and as soon as they finish the radio bezel I'll buy a sport radio from someone here for cheap.

 

Very nice. Simple, but classy. I can live with that look!

 

cruise control comming soon-- who makeing this i was told no one is going to make one

 

Link to after market Cruise control -> Honda Fit 2007

 

You can drive the 5AT Sport model either manual (in M all the time) like any other standard vehicle (the only difference is the location of the shifter, from the traditional location to the steering wheel), automatic (in D all the time) or mixed by switching btwn manual (M) and automatic (D)... so, if are in love with MT you will forget about the automatic mode (D) and always drive the 5AT in the standard mode only... 5AT is MT, AT and MT/AT all in one, letting the driver to decide how to operate the vehicle and this is for me very very
Chris

 

A slushbox is a slushbox is a slushbox...

Since jay_cee_in_da_house lists gas mileage as one of his criteria, I doubt he'd be happy with an AT. In many conditions it's simple to drive an MT for high mileage (and contrary to popular belief, it does not involve Prius-on-weed acceleration) because of the one state that paddle shifters don't give you.