I have nothing negative to say about the Element. Even though the 4WD aspect of the Element wasn't near as strong as the 4.3 liter powertarin in the Chevy. On the other hand we never needed to use it anyway as we no longer mud and rock climb and sand dunes aren't on our list either. So the Elements soft off road capabilites weren't an on going concern. Room, room and more room ! With the roof racks (I have never stored a bike inside a vehicle. Too messy and sucks up way too much space) I can mount both of our bikes upright on the roof along with a average size cargo basket for folding chairs and such. The stereo is da bomb so we don't need to upgrade to a after market audio system to quench our need for high end sound quality. The rear moon roof is a hoot. XM satellite radio fills the void when out in the boonies where normal radio signals are non existant. With the Element's better fuel economy we can now travel longer distances without the hassel of counting change for gas.

The stock tires are useless. Got the dealer to credit me the existing stock tires and had them install a set of B.F. Goodrich All Terrains. It looks great, gives a bit more ground clearance and these tires will easily last 50,000 miles and go just about anywhere.

Purchased this traveling bread box after much research and comparison to similairly priced vehicles. We are avid out door types with lots of gear and camping equipment and we have always used small to mid size 4WD vehicles. Our biggest problem has been useable space. Our prior vehicle, a Chevy ZR2 4WD Blazer was good on power, not so good on fuel economy,and had excellent off road capabilty. I actually liked the Chevy alot but we were acquiring more and more stuff to take a long on our frequent camping trips and this little 2 door SUV finally ran out of space to carry it all. The Element sloved that problem.

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Comfort, versatility, integration with digital audio (mp3/AUX jack), very good enthusiast community for support and/or customization, fuel efficiency, visibility

I don't like the placement of the cruise on/off switch, but wheel mounted controls make use painless. Cup holders are often identified as a weakness in this vehicle, but they're fine for my stature and driving position (perhaps Honda reformulates the arm rests in the future to address this?). It is possible to put the front door in the closed position (it won't latch without the rear being closed) then close the rear door against the outside of the front door, potentially causing damage. I would like to see a mechanism that keeps this from happening.

Fabulous vehicle. Incredibly versatile with room to spare. Fun to drive and you can even sleep in it. Very few design elements fail to meet expectations. Internal hidden storage could be improved, but is better than average at present. The element feels underpowered, but likely is not for the intended purpose.

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Versatity of seating, lots of interior space for large people,excellent stereo,easy to clean interior with kids,dogs,mountain bikes,fishing etc.I found the engine performs very well and got a lot better after it broke in - even with the automatic.The 4x4 works flawlessly in the snow.

The stock tires are very good on dry pavement but very poor on wet streets- especially on takeoff.

Probably the best car I,ve owned due to it's cost, gas mileage, performance,reliabity and most of all versatility. I,ve had a Suburban 4x4,Dodge Dakota,Bronco II 4x4,Dodge Caravan,Windstar,CRX Si and Accord. I'm so glad I went back to Honda-their quality is the best. I also have a Honda motorcycle and lawnmower that are great.

Pulls well, Love the backseat. I am 6'2 and I sit more comfortably in the back then in the front. Great for outdoor stuff. Decent gas mileage for an SUV. PERFECT IN SNOW AND RAIN.

The cigerette plugs are on the passenger side. Needs just about one more foot to hall bigger items. No side arm for passenger. Have to buy accessories that normally come standard on a vehicle. (cigerette lighter and Arm rest)

I love this car. I bought this car when it was first released. I have not had any problems with it. I have had it for over a year and a half and have put 60,000 miles on it. Not one problem with it so far

Haven't needed the AWD yet, but it's nice to know its there!! My cross country bike fits perfectly and my downhill bike fits great, but I have to compress the front shock to keep the handlebars from digging into the headliner. With both bikes on the left side of the vehicle (left passenger seat against the wall) I still can leave the right passenger rear seat in place. This rig is to cool!!

I thought with Honda NOT making an in-dash six-disc changer available for the Element was going to be a HUGE negative for me as other factory honda stereos wont work with the wiring harness of the Element. But come to find out the single disc stereo ALSO plays MP3 discs. I can cram 150-160 songs onto 1 MP3 disc versus with a six-disc changer you would only have about 75 songs available. So not really a weakness after all. The 270 Watt System sounds great!!

It's actually a 2005 Element. Absolutely love this vehicle. I did lots of research online at sites like this one, and the Element was the winner. I'm an avid mountain biker and wanted a vehicle I could put my bike inside of rather than on a roof rack. The Element fit the bill perfectly. I considered panel vans, but at 10-12 MPG and due to their much larger size, I viewed the Element as a superior alternative @ $2.00/gallon for gas. Typical Honda build quality = superior, and typical Honda fit-and-finish = superior. The engine is quite peppy for a vehicle that wieghs 700 pounds more than my 1997 Accord. With the Element's shorter body, I can load the vehicle in my garage and stay out of the rain!

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My first "SUV"

Pretty much what everyone else said, plus everything is light enough for a woman to handle (removing seats, etc.), so that's cool. Easier to get into than my RAV4 was, and more room for my tall men friends.

Here's why I decided to post. The Element was designed for men - Honda admits it and marketed it that way and I knew that going in. For the most part that's not a problem. But some things (like the cup holders) are all but inaccessible to (most) women when they have the seat in driving position. You have to reach back and under the armrest, or flip it up altogether to get to them. Not convenient. Obviously not a deal breaker, I just bought a cup holder to hang on my window like "back in the day". Same gripe about the location of the cruise button, same for the fog lights - way down there - inconvenient. If Honda wants the truck to be safe, they should put stuff you reach for when you're driving up where you don't have to look way down to get it.

Excellent versatile vehicle - all the stuff everyone else says - easy to clean, lots of interior configurations, etc.

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Very comfortable seating and ride. Spacious, easy to clean. Lots of storage with seats up. Versatile interior with many options. Plastic exterior parts durable and ding resistant.

Underpowered -- need to downshift into first gear to get up hills. Low clearance - pitiful bottoming out on simple dirt roads. Poor traction -- poor AWD system when compared to Subaru, with frequent initial slipping on wet hills and inclined twisties. Cannot climb up dirt hills without spinning out -- never happened on same hills with my old Subaru Outback. Seating -- limited to only 4 maximum.

Interesting care, very comfortable and practical. I live in the US Virgin Islands where we have steep hills, dirt roads, winding roads on incline, and pavement that gets very slippery when wet. In summary, an ideal environment for a 4WD SUV test. See below for strentgths and weaknesses. Conclusion: Very poor vehicle for intended use -- not enough power to go up steep hills, LOW clearance, 4WD not up to snuff when compared to Subaru, Suzuki, etc.

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Ford Escape - better value and performance. Subaru Outback - better in every category. Jeep Liberty - much better 4WD, power and clearance. Safer in variable road terrain.

Some people knock on the rubber coated floors but when your into Mountain Biking and Snowboarding you tend to bring your gear back wet and muddy. These floors make it a breeze clean up after yourself. The fold up seats are great and make it easy to loadup bikes and doubles as a changing room on the mountain when your up snowboarding. Just fold down the driver's and the rear seat flat like a bed, foldup the passenger rear seat and push the passenger front seat up a blam, on bench and changing area for you and a bud! No more having to walk it over to the lodge change and then walk back to the car or buy a locker for the day! The four wheel drive works great and not having to push buttons or switch it is nice. Having a wider wheel base and lower stance lets the truck ride smoother and less tipsy so you don't have to worry so much about flipping it! The seats being crud resistant is a big plus when you have dirty wet people who want to sit down. The sucide doors are awesome for passengers and the staggered seats are great for passengers who are sitting in the back. The rear clamshell design is a great gear loader and doubles nicely as a seat and awning when it's snowing. Plus the audio system in the EX is great for just chilling out and hanging out with your friends after a long day of riding and your waiting on traffic to die down. Body is built very well and those palstic fenders and bumper guards make it more armored for going off road, less scratches, dings and dents. What can you say about Honda engineering the engine seems like it is designed to run forever without fail as long as your matinence is done. Makes me feel better when I'm a couple hundred miles from home and this is the only way back!

Stock all terrian tires make this truck noisy and it does not instill confidence in really bad weather. Thanks to Honda's great four wheel drive it makes it passable. Some of the add on's from hond should be standard for a truck that is sold in this market for traveling and hauling your gear. Like roof racks, driverside armrest consolde and step rails to be able to put thisngs on those roof rails. As for the attacments for the roofrails get em aftermarket they are just built by Thule anyway and just overpriced by Honda! Slightly a little low for clearence but a larger set of tires will help that department and shouldn't upset the center of gravity or gas milage too badly. Tow hitch assembly is garbage go get an aftermarket one. Finally the driver and passenger side windows make the truck too drafty while open and the vent shades should be standard equipment. The tilt out Van style rear windows make for allot of complaits form passenges on hot days when they can't roll down the windows for a little breeze.

Well lets just say that this was not my first choice but it definately was my last choice. If I was buying this truck for looks I would have went elsewhere,but when you Mountain Bike both Downhill and X Country and you Snowboard, cargo space and the ability to get around is a must. So buying a vehicle that lacks in any of those departments is a bad idea. That said this is really an awesome little truck it gets great gas milage and has plenty of storage compacity. Plus it really is able to get you there and back for a four cylinder truck.I went to this truck after I was driving a tricked out 98 Mustang GT so I know a looker and power when I see it. This was a tough transition but I survived!

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None really this is my first truck I have owned but I have been in most of my firnds trucks and I like this on better.

all-wheel drive quality and dealer service handling interior comfort great mileage

slippery floor cheap OEM all weather tires excessive front tire wear

The Element is a good no frills all-wheel drive vehicle. We purchased ours for $2,800 below sticker and have all the options availible except the side curtain air bags. The 4 Cyl. engine has enough power to handle the mountains and only roars during down shifts and freeway merges. I avg. about 27 mpg. It lacks certain ammenities that I have in my Subaru Outback but none that seem worth the $6,000 price difference. Its profile does make it sensitive to wind gusts but I don't think it's worse than my Toyota 4-Runner. The "suicide doors" are easy to get used to, and the rear passengers appreciate the higher rear seating that lets thm see out the front window. The OEM Wrangler tires are nothing to rave about and the tire rotation every 10K miles is a must because the front tires wear much quicker than the rear. The increased weight over the front tires does create a moderate degree of oversteer. It handles well in most situations; much much better than you think it would looking at the vehicles profile. Heater, A/C, sound system all work well. The plastic interior grows on you however the plastic floor matts are as slippery as teflon and everything in the rear will wind up in the front if not secured. This is not a junior tricked out Cadilac Escalade but for under $19,000 it had all that I desired: all-wheel drive and Honda quality

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Where do I begin ! First of all the interior is entirely washable. Industrial rubber track flooring, raincoat like seats,,, spill a drink ,, hose it out , let it dry in the sun . Honda motors are famous for lasting way longer than the body of the car. This Honda has rubermaid-like plastic where all other Hondas rust to death. I recently crushed my back bumber and it cost $38 to replace. Yes , in other words it is possible that this car can last forever. I have been getting between 20 to 22 miles per gallon of gas.

The factory tires leave much to be desierd. I quickly replaced them with more agressive Toyo tires.

I plan to purchase several of these !

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