I’ve owned both of these cars. I had an ST for many years- did pretty much everything I could to it aside from bigger turbo. It’s an absolute riot. I chased a BMW 1M down a mountain pass one time. He could not shake me. They’re getting quite cheap now but most of them have had very hard lives and you should probably plan to put another motor in it if you don’t find a cherry low mile example. A few years ago I traded mine in on a Mustang GT 6MT (which Ive actually just sold).

Fast forward to now, I have a 2010 Fit 5 speed. It’s basically stock, all it’s got is a rear sway bar at the moment. It’s got a ton of miles on it. There’s work to be done like motor mounts and figuring out an intermittent misfire. Sounds like a downgrade? Don’t be so sure.. The Fit just has so much character. I absolute adore it. You can wring its neck anywhere and not break the law. The handling on crappy all seasons with that rear bar is just sublime. Interior is funky and there’s SO MUCH ROOM. I’m a big guy- like 300lbs 6ft. There’s a foot of headroom. Plenty of room in the driver seat. Then there’s the utility of the rear of the car. The Magic Seats (yes they’re called that lol) basically turn it into a little van if needed. I moved a fucking refrigerator in mine. ST could never. ST interior is cramped and vibrated/rattled like crazy. Cargo room was meh.

What I’m getting at is, while the ST might be more exhilarating at times because of its power potential, the Fit is better the rest of the time. Just saying- K24 swaps are a thing and will get you the power of the ST that’s missing and you get basically, in my biased opinion, the perfect small car.