Honda Element?

[milkbone]

Looking to buy a new vehicle in the near future. Heard about the Element today. I have a Honda Civic and I love it.
Just wondering if anyone has any input.

I have two boys (9 and &7), we are involved in scouts, soccer, cycling (all three of us), camping, kayaking and many other various activities.

Thanks in advance.

[Reesha]

I had some really adventurous friends who were craaaazy about their Elements. They loved the bomb-proof interior of it.

I don't have much input, but it's at least 2¢ worth!

[TsPoet]

lots of folks on this and other bicycling forums have them Everyone I know who has one absolutely loves them.
Everyone I know who doesn't have one wouldn't be caught dead in one. I like their looks
I'm also active on performance dog forums, and lots of people love them for that, too - fill them up with dog crates or bikes or whatever. They seem to be a wonderful way of moving lots of stuff efficiently.
People on the dog forums are chatting about the Nissan Cube as well (now that's ugly!), it might be just as functional if it is as advertised and is supposed to have good gas mileage.
http://www.nissanusa.com/cube/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09BCIQomREo

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Here are a couple of previous TE threads about Honda Elements:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=9349
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=17643

We have an Element that we haul our 2 bikes around in, plus we sleep in it when we camp out.

[GLC1968]

lots of folks on this and other bicycling forums have them Everyone I know who has one absolutely loves them.
Everyone I know who doesn't have one wouldn't be caught dead in one. I like their looks
I'm also active on performance dog forums, and lots of people love them for that, too - fill them up with dog crates or bikes or whatever. They seem to be a wonderful way of moving lots of stuff efficiently.
People on the dog forums are chatting about the Nissan Cube as well (now that's ugly!), it might be just as functional if it is as advertised and is supposed to have good gas mileage.
http://www.nissanusa.com/cube/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09BCIQomREo

Heh - I think the Element is ugly, but for some reason, I'm drawn to that Cube! Weird, huh?

We are not in the market for a new car (Toyota Matrix owner here), but if we were, I'd definitely look into that oddity.

[Veronica]

The Element has a lot of space, but it's weight limit is only 675 pounds. Four adults come pretty close to that.

Veronica

[susan.wells]

I have an Element and love it. However, I also raised two sons (they're 24 and 27 now). I seriously doubt I would have liked the rear doors with children getting in and out of the back continuously. They aren't a hassle with no kids but it would have grated on me when they were the age of yours!

[berkeley]

The Element has a lot of space, but it's weight limit is only 675 pounds. Four adults come pretty close to that.

Veronica

This was something we looked in to - almost all mid-size SUVs we looked at had low weight limits, and most sedans had much higher weight limits - it was a little counter intuitive but I guess the rollover issue with taller cars makes them more vulnerable at higher weights.

But we got the E regardless, and love it! We also have the Honda Fit and we love that too.

[KSH]

Looking to buy a new vehicle in the near future. Heard about the Element today. I have a Honda Civic and I love it.
Just wondering if anyone has any input.

I have two boys (9 and &7), we are involved in scouts, soccer, cycling (all three of us), camping, kayaking and many other various activities.

Thanks in advance.

My friends have one. Great car, but probably not great if you have people getting in/out of the back. See, the back doors only open if the front doors are open. Then you have to close them before the front doors can close. I suppose this might be great with kids? Maybe not. I found it to be rather annoying as an adult sitting in the back.

I test drove one and considered buying one... but it just had NO get up and and go to it. Not to mention, being a box on wheels ensures that it is not areodynamic at all. In a strong wind, it gets pushed around pretty easily (rode in my friends driving into a 30 mph headwind).

[PinkBike]

have you thought about the CR-V? more comfy driving i imagine, both our bikes fit in back with only the smaller 1/3-seat behind the driver up. passenger doors both sides. just a thought.

[SlowButSteady]

My son was in that age group when I drove an Element.

I loved it.

The "suicide doors" aggravated me at first but I got used to them. In fact, they're somewhat of an advantage at keeping the child "contained" until you want him to get out.

After I traded up to a Ridgeline, I kept reaching to open the back door the wrong way.

Yes, wind is a big deal. Very, very bike and camping friendly.

I had 4WD but there wasn't enough ground clearance for the off-roading that I do.