Just go for the base. It is the only way you will get cloth seats (unless you put them in yourself).

Heated seats break and who cares in the south (I live in south Texas so I understand what you say)!

Fog lights are a joke and do nothing but look cool (IMHO).

Power seats break down then you are forced to repair. And the power seats in the crossfire don't have memory settings as far as I know.

One other selling feature for me was the tire pressure sensor. The base does not have this. One less thing to break and annoy you on cold days. I have one in my new car and it is constantly going off. Drives me nuts!

When I bought my base I knew I wanted a stick and all black. I knew I wanted cloth seats. The base was the perfect fit for me. I had all the other options on my previous car and knew I didn't care for them. No offense to the limited... but to me personally I don't care enough for the extra features. The base coupe is not as stripped down as you think.

The radio is practically the same. The good thing about the base is you can buy a Blaupunkt radio. Plug and play installation you can do yourself. A monkey could do it. For a hundred dollars you can do a serious upgrade. I know the base coupe is a perfect match on the existing wire harness. Just slide out the stock radio and slide the new one in. That easy!