Element owners...

[tygab]

Well, I didn't want to hijack the other thread in which Elements came up a few times, so... I am considering getting one and would like owner opinions.

what do you like best about the car? what do you like least (if anything)?
how has it helped you for biking?
What non-biking activities have you used it for?
What's your gas mileage like?
Can you really hose it out?
What options would you recommend?
Does it accelerate reasonably well, say to merge onto the highway?

I would love to get some real user opinions before I subject myself to salesweasels...

Thanks!

[LaBiker]

Well, I didn't want to hijack the other thread in which Elements came up a few times, so... I am considering getting one and would like owner opinions.

I researched a lot of SUV-type vehicles before deciding on an Element ... and I really decided before I test drove it. (Any vehicle under consideration needed to be wide enough through the interior to accommodate two wire dog crates). I didn't want a van or a mini-van.

The first time I got behind the wheel, I knew I'd made a perfect choice. Two years later I still think so.

What I like best is the amazing amount of cargo space. I immediately removed the back seats. It is easy to take them in and out, but I don't need them more than once a year.

What I like next best is the handling and general driving experience. I owned Subarus before my Element. It had gotten to the point that there were some freeway entrances that were simply too dangerous for me to use because I did not have the needed acceleration.

The Element really GOES. It's common for new-to-Element drivers to lay a bit of front rubber because the vehicle is so responsive. That's for the stick shift, which I have. I also got the AWD model.

I'm not sure how many bicycles could be transported in one, but I can readily get two in and have lots more room.

I use Quint (Quintessential Element) as my overnight vehicle at dog shows. I back her up to a EZ-Up Shade Canopy, unload the dog crates and all the gear and I've got a really comfortable and inexpensive campsite. I sleep in the back on an air mattress and one dog sleeps with me and the other dog sleeps on the passenger seat laid out flat as a "bunk bed."

I made privacy curtains from a pattern constructed by my friend who also has an Element.

A fun source of information is the Honda Element owners club. Check out the website: www.elementownersclub.com

What I like least: Rain drips from the top of the door frame onto the seat when you open it -- best to travel with a towel if you live in wet country like I do. I have a 2004 and they may have designed a better door by now.

And no, you can't hose them down, but they are very easy to clean.

I've gotten anywhere between 22 and 30mpg and I average around 24. I haul a fair amount of gear and the vehicle itself is heavy, so I am pleased with the resulting mileage. I've had her up to 90mph sort of by mistake ... I was just cruising along in a 75mph zone and it felt effortless.

I've had people tell me I drive the ugliest car they've ever seen. I just smile and say "I know." To have one is to love one, whether you like the looks or not.

[Ashgarth]

my mom has an Element and LOVES it!
She had a RAV4 before hand and was o disappointed with the cargo space (she hauls a lot of furniture). After a year or so she decided to go for the Element and she is so glad she did. She doesn't bike or anything, but I have taken my bike on trips using her car and it's perfect. there is plently of room to haul it, and the fact that the bottom is rubber (?) you dont need to worry about things getting scratched.
I think she gets mid 20's in terms of gas mileage..so pretty reasonable.

[redhot3368]

Well, I didn't want to hijack the other thread in which Elements came up a few times, so... I am considering getting one and would like owner opinions.

what do you like best about the car? what do you like least (if anything)?
how has it helped you for biking?
What non-biking activities have you used it for?
What's your gas mileage like?
Can you really hose it out?
What options would you recommend?
Does it accelerate reasonably well, say to merge onto the highway?

I would love to get some real user opinions before I subject myself to salesweasels...

Thanks!

LOVE IT!!! I have the Green 2004 Element...as does Emily_in_NC!!
It is Great!!
I first noticed it when they it the adverstising car for Mountain biking Magazine!!
I USED to haul bikes in it, but about a year ago, got a rack for the back.
Gas milage is good, about 23 miles to the gallen, freeway miles.
the back seats are great, they sit up higher then the front, quite a bit of leg room in the back too.
the whole vehicle has LOTS of room.
Quite affordable for an SUV type of vehicle.
I have not tried to hose it out...
I have taken both back seats completely out, to haul bikes and gear.
the seats can hook up to the side windows too but I hate driving when the seats are up like that, can't see too good.
Its does accelerate well onto the freeway!
I have had no problems with it.


all in all a GREAT car.

let me know if you have any more questions!!

karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We put both full sized bikes standing up inside the back of our Element. One is strapped to each side, strapped to the handy hooks inside near the ceiling- easy! We don't take any wheels off, the bikes stand inside leaning against the sides of the car. Then load all your cargo in the middle.

We usually have the back seats OUT. (We use our other car for passengers usually). If you take the back seats out and push the front seats all the way forward, you can fit a 6' 2" foam mattress in the back for sleeping. That's how we camp out, then rigging a tarp off the back for a "kitchen/dining/living area", like this:
http://www.oldsongs.org/blackcreek/2...es/Image1.html (that's a friend mooching coffee in the picture)

What I love best: no rugs!!! also: Skylight that opens so you can get air while sleeping (we throw a screen cloth w/magnets over it to keep out bugs)

What I love least: that you have to open the front doors first in order to open the back passenger doors. They overlap to close. annoying.

Most useful accessory: bought the official privacy full wrap-around curtain for the inside- and it is really nicer than stuff we used to rig up ourselves.

[twin]

I like to haul my bikes and bike related items in my Element and head out for another area. I have fairly large bikes 56/57cm and they fit fine. I can put a bike in the space between the front and rear seat if I take off the front wheel.

It is easy to clean because you do not have rugs so you can sweep it out very easily.

The Element is great for bringing items home from places like Home Depot and the grocery store and when I have had to move.

I have not taken my Element on a long road trip yet and I will most likely for backpacking and it will hold all the gear for three I think.

One of the best features is the acceleration, the Element is so good at that. It seems a bit faster than my sisters CRV. I like how the back seats are a little higher so the people in the back can see better and I know the CRV does not have that feature.

It does not have three seatbelts in the back and sometimes I find that to be a little bit of a disadvantage.

Overall I have no complaints and all good feelings about my black Element. Gas milage is ok.

[dakay]

I love my Element. It is a 2005 AWD with a stick shift. I usually have the back seats out. I built a shelf for one side of the back for my wire dog crate to sit on and there is storage underneath it. There is room for 2 bikes to stand upright next to the dog crate. I like all of the tie down points to keep things from sliding around. Like LaBiker I have camped in mine at dog shows.

My husband and I drove it from Seattle to Ohio about a month after I got it last year. There was plenty of space for everything, even with the dog crate in the car. There is a lot of room in the front so you don't feel cramped and can move around some on long trips. Before the Element I drove a VW Vanagon for several years and then a Subaru Forester. The Element is much more stable and peppy than the VW and has a LOT more room than either the VW or the Subaru. The inside height is great and it is wide enough that my bike will fit across the car without taking the front wheel off.

When you drive the Element it feels like you are sitting up high like a van or a truck but it is very easy to get in and out of. Having to open the front door to open the back is a bit of a hassle but the accessability with both doors open is nice. I agree with twin that there are times when 3 seat belts in back would be good.

The Element is the most practical car that I have ever had. It works great for me.

[KnottedYet]

When my dear old Subaru Legacy was on it's last legs, I was considering an Element.

There were only 2 things that I didn't like: 1. The safety pillar was "made" out of the overlapping doors rather than being part of the roll cage. 2. The AWD version cost more than the Subaru Impreza and I couldn't get AWD and manual transmission. (2005)

My old honda Accord was a great car, and since the Element is built from a Civic (also a great car) I had no concerns about quality. But I did worry about the safety pillar, the price, and I'm a stick-shift afficionado. ("if it don't clutch, it ain't much")

So I got Subi #3, but I still have a little lust in my soul for an Element...

[Tuckervill]

I'm responding without reading the other responses, so there may be some duplication or contradiction here.

I just got an 07 Element in November. I don't like the gas mileage, because I was driving a 40 mpg diesel Beetle before this. No, you can't hose it out--there are a lot of electronics that could be damaged. But I do use a rag and a bucket to clean the floors after I vacuum. I don't like that it doesn't have an outside temperature gauge. It holds my bikes just fine. I will put a hitch on it so I can use my bike rack, too, but I don't really need it.

I'm not really, truly happy with the acceleration on the freeway. It's kind of sluggish, but I can adjust my driving to that. I don't regret buying it, though it doesn't have the sense of tradition or panache that the Beetle did!

OH! I see you got one already. Congratulations!

Karen

[PinkBike]

congrats tygab!!!
after posting here, i finally settled on the CR-V, got a 2004, probably paid too much, but it drives nice.

[tygab]

I just got an 07 Element in November. I don't like the gas mileage, because I was driving a 40 mpg diesel Beetle before this.

>>I currently have a Subaru WRX wagon AT, so mileage will be a wash, but I won't have to buy premium gas. We may keep the WRX as the 2nd car for a while longer instead of my husband's current one. We are in part trying to space out our car purchase planning since we both had new cars when we first met.

No, you can't hose it out--there are a lot of electronics that could be damaged. But I do use a rag and a bucket to clean the floors after I vacuum.
>>Yep, I see that is an "Element urban legend" now...

I don't like that it doesn't have an outside temperature gauge

>>I plan to get one and add it, have seen a few nice ones out there. This will be less expensive than a dealer offered one would be anyway. The WRX doesn't have one either, so not something I will be missing right off.

I'm not really, truly happy with the acceleration on the freeway. It's kind of sluggish, but I can adjust my driving to that. I don't regret buying it, though it doesn't have the sense of tradition or panache that the Beetle did!

>>I hear you. That's my one worry about it, because the WRX is an extremely fun car to drive - a true performance car. It's also got better AWD, or at least I don't expect to get as much from the E's AWD. If we keep it [the WRX] tho, I will still get to take it out for fun once in a while. In dry and or in snow (if ever we get any). Put another way, the WRX is a car with a lot of soul and emotionally I love it. But practically, we need one car that can haul a lot of stuff, more than what I can comfortably put in or on the wagon (or his car for that matter). And we didn't want to go the luxo-SUV/Minivan route. It's a trade off that I am making (but also why I am lobbying the DH to hang on to the WRX for a while longer ).

OH! I see you got one already. Congratulations!
>>Yep! I did. I plan to tweak it up both in creature comforts (electronics, mainly) and styling a bit too. I'll enjoy that part.

[twin]

My 2005 Element is wearing a For Sale sign on it because now that I have moved to a town where I can ride my bike most of the time I think I can live without it. When I lived in a larger town it did everything in the world I needed. I also had a newer Volkswagen bug and loved it however when I had my accident on my fixie that I no longer have I could not shift for a very long time and that is when I decided on the Element. I still like all the Element can do and if I can not sell it I will be very happy with the Element.