Honda Element Owners?

We love our civic but I've been debating getting an element. My friend has an all black one with all terrain bf Goodrich tires and loves it.
 
The Element is a great car/crossover/thingy, lol. I drive a Civic Si, but I'd gladly drive an Element if given the opportunity. The neoprene seats and rubber floor is cool, too.
 
We finally sold off the Element we bought in 2003. It had 168,000 thousand miles on it, and nothing major had ever let go. The rubber floor was all cracking up, and the neoprene upholstery was shot, but mechanically the thing was great.

But…we didn't replace it with a similar vehicle. After 10 years, we were w little tired of the harsh ride and noisy interior. Since the better half is now retired, we got a new Toyota Camry for the long road trips. Way more comfortable and quiet than the Honda. The honda was a grab vehicle, but it had it's drawbacks in creature comfort in long trips. About 12 hours behind the wheel was my limit. With the Camry I can do a 14 hour day and more miles. Anyone buying a Element has to be ware of the comfort factor. Versatile yes. long range comfort on trips, not so much. Cross winds pushed it about a bit too.

Gas milage at best was in the mid 20's range for mpg. With the Camry we get 28 in town and 36 on the road. The 6 speed auto Toyota puts in there seems to work well.

We loved our Elelment, but after 10 years the ol' lady and me both said we were tired of it. Great car, just wanted something more comfortable.
 
I bought a new car 6 months ago. First new car I've bought for myself since 1988 when I bought a small P/U. My 1998 commuter Civic I picked up used is getting long in the tooth so wanted a newer car. Looked at Elements because I wanted the cubic storage. Couldn't get over the suicide doors so ended up buying a new car instead of a used Element. 2014 KIA Soul. 62 cubic feet of cargo capacity. Already has 12K miles in it. Believe it'll be a reliable car. If so, I'll let you know in 15 years. For me, any car I buy any longer, new or used, will be Japanese or Korean. After giving away my Ford F150 300CID last summer, what's in the drive way is a '98 Honda Civic (mine), '99 Honda Civic (son's), '04 Honda Civic (daughter's), '06 Toyota 4Runner (wife's), and'14 Kia Soul (mine). Even the daughter out of the house drives a Toyota (on her second one - she replaced her '98 Rav4 with a '13 Rav4). I don't see me owning another American car in my lifetime. That's sad to say, but it's true.
 
My wife and I have had a 2007 Element since we bought it new. Everyone here has done a great job of pointing out both the best worst of the Element.

An important consideration is how good your local Honda dealerships service department is. Often this matters more than anything for you having a long and happy relationship with a car.

I love mine, with AWD it's a little mountain goat in the snow, is quiet now that I have put effort into sound deadening, and comfortable to drive. The gas mileage isn't great, the ride quality in the back is poor, and it's no luxury vehicle, but I plan to drive and enjoy it till the wheels fall off of it.

Having installed an amazing stereo really helps me enjoy it as well. I've got an active 3 way with center midbass reinforcement. This is the first car I loved enough to throw a big chunk of time into the stereo in over a decade. Also the first build I've ever done with over 1000 watts going to the front stage. It's epic. Now I just need to sell the 3500 Watt sub amp that I decided not to install because of the size of it plus the battery(and the fact that it would be insane overkill), and find a small class D at around 1000 watts and get my sub back in so I have some content below 40hz.
 
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