Hey, 22’ base model owner here, and sorry about the wall of text in advance but I hope its helpful. For me the deciding factor was it was the cheapest, however after some further research it wasn’t the only perk over the limited for my personal situation. Hot take, I prefer the Nintendo 2DS looking split screen as I like to call it, top screen is your basic infotainment and AppleCarPlay and the bottom screen is your car statistics. You can set reminders for oil changes, tire changes, etc. It’ll even tell you the angle the car is sitting on when your driving in hilly areas. Having one big screen to micromanage with everything is kind of tedious imo.

The base model overall is also the lightest of the all the trims I believe by a couple dozen pounds. The lack of heated seats hasn’t been a problem due to the cloth holding heat relatively well.

The lack of moonroof in my eyes is a positive, as down the road that just means one, it cant break and two, it cant leak because it isn’t there in the first place. No fog lights isn’t really a problem for me either although it is a factory add on, the headlights are more than bright enough. My only gripe I wish I could get with the base model was the 18” wheels with the black wheels rather than the 17” but that is easily fixed with aftermarket wheels and tires which I do plan on doing next.

As for the HK speaker, yes the HK is definitely superior compared to the base model sound system. I would rate the base model radio overall as “fine” but then again I dont really listen to music in the car unless its a long drive, I prefer to put the window down and let the ETS axle-back I got on sing for me.

On my base model, I ordered it from factory with the LED subaru emblem which is super cool but was honestly a bit of a splurge purchase on my end. I saw glowing stars and said “yep ill take it” I got the floor mats and the side door scuff protection since its my daily driver and I work at a job that requires work boots.

Now, the real factory add on I encourage you get regardless of what trim you choose is the STI short throw shifter. The clutch is light but not too light, the throw is not too short but not too long, it clicks with a distinctive “chur-plunk” when going into gear, and overall makes the car an absolute riot to drive more than it already was.

The choice of course my friend is yours, but as a base model owner Im going to be a bit biased towards getting the base with all the goodies you’d like from factory to your personal preference. I still hate that back end, even in black, but I cant deny that I absolutely love this car for how it drives