Howdy everybody, I'v been reading these forums for a while but have not posted until now.

I'm very torn right now in trying to decide between the base and sport trim level. My primary concern with the sport is the ground clearance. What are people's experiences with this topic? I'm typically not a fan of low cars, but the fit is just so great in all other regards!

Any other thoughts on the base vs sport debate would be great!

Thanks,
xander

 

I was concerned about this too before I bought my car ('08 Sport). When I get down and look under the vehicle, it appears to me that the Sport trim does not hang down any lower than the part of the body to which it attaches -- i.e., clearance looks to be the same for both the Base and the Sport models.

I wanted the Sport because of the cruise control, fog lights, wheels, sound system, and general appearance. (The Base looks too much like an Aveo, in my opinion.) I'm very happy that I opted for the Sport instead of the Base.

 

The sport IMO looks so much nicer than the base model. Cruise control is a bonus as well. I also like the fact that I can play mp3 cds in the sport but not in the base model. (i think this is correct)

 

Get tge sport model...and drive in and out of driveways very careful....I scratched mine already but I was able to fix it and it came out great...like nothing ever happened.
The driveways that you use the most will become an instictive extra senseon how to get in and out and those that you are not familiar with you will automatically be very careful and do them nice and easy..trust me is not a big deal if you observe all basic rules of any fair driver...by that I mean going in and out of driveways slow rather than flt\ying in and out...
ERnjoy the Sport is a great car and lots fun to drive.....and I am an old fart as the young guys say...lol...lol.

 

How are you guys scraping?? I never had any problems with scraping when I was stock height. Even now being lowered I rarely scrape.

Plenty of clearance with the Sport Trim. plus you get Cruise Control

 

Umm... I have the LX model. It is not the sport but it isnt the base either. And i have cruise control.... I do wish i got the sport, but i just didnt have the funds for it. I am only 18 buying a brand new car, pretty tight budjet lol.

I dont think there is much clearence difference when it comes down to it, unless you lower it further.

 

We have the sport and live in the mountains. Lot's of steep driveways and gravel roads. Haven't scraped a single time in the 7,000 + miles.

 

[quote=xander;354810]Howdy everybody, I'v been reading these forums for a while but have not posted until now.

I'm very torn right now in trying to decide between the base and sport trim level. My primary concern with the sport is the ground clearance. What are people's experiences with this topic? I'm typically not a fan of low cars, but the fit is just so great in all other regards!

Any other thoughts on the base vs sport debate would be great!

Either has 7" listed ground clearance. If you don't drop your Fit there shouldn't be a problem as 7" is pretty normal for cars.

I vote for the Sport because it has cruise control and a few niceities not found in the base. If you're going to get aftermarket wheels and cruise is immaterial, the base might be advantageous. Performance is pretty much the same.

 

The Sport is definitely the way to go. I've had mine for a year and even though there are times I cringe when I got down a dip or steep hill, it has never bottomed out. You'll enjoy the Sport with all the bells and whistles.

Cat

 

With the Sport trim, at stock height you will not have a problem really at all, with steep driveways or anything like that. Even with my 1.5inch drop i dont have many problems. Get the sport, its worth it!

Tyler

 

Well I only have 2300 miles on mine, and I have already scraped the front lip on 2 different driveways. One was very steep, the other not so steep but it still hit. Sucks since the car is so new, but it is on the bottom so you can't see it anyway.

 

awesome, awesome, thanks for all the responses everyone. This really helps to relieve my fears of bottoming out on every driveway I see. Even if just the very bottom hits....noone would notice it seems.

Sport it is!
Now I just have to decide on a color......

 

yeah get the sport...its worth it in many different ways.

from cruise control, style, and music.


i dont see how people scrape with stock height.

even now..i barely scrape and im low!!!!!

 

I went to DTE Music Theater a few weeks back and had to park in one of those lawn lots. In my sport I cringed several times thinking that I would hit and I never did. The approach angle (this is what they call the front angle on a 4wd) is actually grater than you would think. While you will have to watch out for high parking blocks, normal driving even in steep drives and "off road" I have had no issues.

 

i do alllot of driving... my ex gf lived in the top of WV and i like 20 miles from SC lol... ive put 12k miles on her in 6 months... never scraped on anything... til my springs come in the 9th =DD

 

but you could be lower

 

all i can say is.. northeastern pennsylvania, mountains. haha i had the car 3 weeks and i scraped it even after angling it, apparently not enough.. not a huge deal though, you can't see the scratches unless you are looking under the lip, i'm just going to put some 'herculiner' truck bed coating under there to seal it up so the paint doesn't start to peel. i know its going to end up getting scraped again.

 

Get the Sport, it actually has MORE ground clearance.

According to Consumer Reports*, the Base Fit (2010) has a 4.5" clearance* and the Sport has a 5" clearance* (I assume this is due to the Sport having larger 16" tires vs. the Base's 15" tires). Also, for some reason the 2007 Sport Fit had a slightly lower clearance (4.5") so it seems that the redesign (which I think was in '09) raised it slightly.

* Rounded to the nearest 0.5". All data from Consumer Reports website.

For comparison, I had a '91 Civic SI hatchback which I thought had low clearance but never had a problem with except maybe 2 or 3 times over 17 years (and then it was on very rough roads getting to campsites). I drove it all over the Pacific NW rock climbing and camping. Never had a problem.

That Civic (according to my Googling) had a 4.7" Clearance.

 

I can scrape the front lip on parking blocks and on the gutter in my parking lot. However, the fit is so tiny that there is no reason to pull all the way forward in a spot to let the bumber hang over the curb.

 

FYI, I went by the dealership with a 5.5" wide board just to confirm for myself (b/c the only place I saw the Clearance was in CR).

Fit Sport definitely has 5.5" ground clearance.

I looked @ a 2008 Civic EX as well and it's got almost that much clearance except for right under the front axel.

I think with the Fit the trick is that there aren't ANY extra little do-dads hanging down so the clearance at the edge of the trim is the same as the clearance under the rest of the car. And because the front and back axles are so close to the front/back this further minimizes scraping on an incline/decline.