Well the time has come to throw a new (reliable) car in the lineup, and this "SUV" seems to fit the bill. Now, at the moment it's the Element vs the Commander (Jeep,) which I understand is in a different class, but nonetheless in the running for become the next new car. So, give me your experience, enjoyment, dissatisfaction, etc with the Element.

**Also open to other vehicle suggestions. TIA!

 

I have had my Element for almost 3 years now and I average 28mpg, ALL the timenot to mention the fact that I love useing it for camping trips, my surf trips, and just overall good times tailgating anywhere. gripes, in the first model year they had a bit of rear door noise going over WAY undulated surfaces, that was taken care of and isnt a problem anymore. I have used it on the beaches and mild offroadingand she has never left me stranded. It obviously doesnt have the grunt that the jeep does but the jeep isnt as cool IMO. I would buy one again, only in black next time. good luck and hopefully I'll be waving at you when we cross paths on the roads in the future! (E owners usually wave at eachother and make instant friends at events like Nascar races, parking lot tailgating, and beach days) the handy dandy "bed" option that all E's have is also useful when you meet that damn good looking female E owner and you just need to get it on in lets say the parking lot of the 7Eleven.... probably isnt going to happen with the jeep.

 

Hmmm...so there's a cult-like connection amongst Element drivers, eh?


I'm liking the 28mpg, but that's gotta be 100% highway, no?

 

well I do a lot of highway and when I do make it totally highway its actually around 29.5 plus. no lie, but I work in Orlando which is pretty much all traffic between the hours of 7am and 1 am. and yes kinda like a cult, somilar to VW classic beetle types.

 

cheep

I say that after my family, friends and co workers having them and always feeling disapointed by some new issue

 

Cheap?? I don't think so. I rarely ever have a problem come in for an Element or a CR-V. What are these dissapointments you speak of?
give us some facts man.

 

When the Element first came out the windshield had a tendancy to break because of the lower driverside mounting location. That was always replaced under warranty and they did fix the problem halfway through the first model year. then there was the problem of the suicide doors clicking over very undulating road surfaces, also a fix after the first half of the first year of production. these are the only 2 issues that I have ever heard of.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MooGoCow3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What are these dissapointments you speak of?
give us some facts</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

right. and they were all fixed.

 

two things: i have an 03 and i love it my gas mileage is about 23 but im planning on a k&n filter and i sit on the 405 in LA everyday so thats not helping but i love the functionality of it. everytime i use one of its features like the side folding rear seats and the washable interior i feel sooooo good about my decision to go with the element.

ok the second thing since i read about the 03 problems you guys are mentioning i have some testimony to that. when i got the car the windshield was cracked in the pass. lower corner but dealer fixed it. and i do get a horrible rattle in the suicide doors and now that i know its a common prob im going to take it to honda and see what they can do, but i dont have any hatch noise just the door noise but even if i had to deal with that for the life of my car i would still love the E to death.

hope you choose the E cuz i dont think you would stick with the jeep. and what other manufactuer has such a supportive community like honda. thanks to honda-tech.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MooGoCow3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Cheap?? I don't think so. I rarely ever have a problem come in for an Element or a CR-V. What are these dissapointments you speak of?
give us some facts man.</TD></TR></TABLE>

are you kidding me ? cheep - jeep

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by : alexander : &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

are you kidding me ? cheep - jeep </TD></TR></TABLE>

Care to elaborate?

 

I've had my element since August of 04 and have 40,000 miles on it. Majority has been city driving with exceptions of driving to Dallas, texas and once to New Jersey. I love my Element, it fits all my detailing equipment in the back and I can still have passengers. I help my friends move all the time. The rear gate can surprisingly hold the weight of a 240sx motor. I also sit on the back gate at tailgate parties.

I usually get 22mpg in the city and more when on highway. I drive 60miles round trip to go to college in downtown Houston. I've been a little neglectful on oil changes but it's a honda and the motors are pretty solid. I might be going forced induction in the near future with the help of st00pid.

I &lt;3 my E.

P.S. I am very jealous of the new paint matched plastic and I am pissed off at the 2007 Honda Element SC. Brake Upgrade, Suspension, Rims, New design on front fascia, different interior. crazyness.

 

I drive a 2003 SOP 4WD Element EX. It's a great vehicle that gets me around pretty well. I love the room and the storage space is great. Passengers love it too since there's an insan amount of leg room. Although I enjoy the car thoroughly, I do want to give you my honest opinion. My windishield cracked not too long ago as I was sitting at the post office. I was just reading a letter and CRACK! With 54,000 miles on the car, it is not under warranty anymore. Secondly, my gas mileage isn't too great. I read a lot of people stating 28+ MPG. I'm not sure if they are driving the 2WD or the 4WD version, but I am getting around 23 MPG. I drive only highways about 100 miles a day all by myself with nothing more but my laptop bag and I'm getting about 23-25 MPG. It's definitely not because I'm aggressive either. I'm a hit-the-speed-limit-and-hit-cruise-control type of guy. The roads are flat so that doesn't account for it and because of the amount of driving I do, I get oil changes and alignments (free for 3 years from Tires Plus) every 1.5 to 2 weeks. It's a great car but it's a little guzzler. Also, there isn't a ton of ground clearance so I've gotten stuck over a few snow banks (I live in rural Minnesota).

 

You consider an SUV that gets 23-25mpg a guzzler? Not to sound like an ***, but that's amazing mpg for the class of vehicle, no? That's pretty weird about the windshield, but hmm....

Thanks for all the input guys, keep it coming!

 

It's all relative. You're using the SUV class as a reference and I'm using my wallet as mine. If I had my way, all cars would use the same amount of gas as an Insight but have the power of an F1.

 

lol...ok

 

2005 EX AWD Ralleye Red Automatic- wife's car, she works 2 miles away, and we get 21mpg no matter what. Never tried a full tank on the highway, but I really do not think it is possible to get 28mpg as some seem to get.

Only have had is 15 months and 10K miles, but no problems and would buy another in a heartbeat.

I dislike the commanders- they are too pretentious and "yuppie"- and remind me of the whole problem with fuel in this coutry right now- poor fuel economy and why do you need to drive around something so big?

 

Yah the Commander is pretty much out of the question.

HOWEVER!!!!

I went with the girlfriend to test drive one today and to my dismay (perhaps ignorantly) discovered these only are 4-seaters. I think we can work around it, but have any of you had any issues with this?

 

What are you looking to spend? and what r u going to use it for? Personally, I owned a Chezy blazer, lifted and all that red neck stuff (my bad in highschool). It was great for hauling, off roading, and just road trips.

Also Commander's suck, there's something about them, that make them look cheap, I went to a car show and got into it with some jeep guy cause the car's over priced, shitty milage, and it looks like crap.

My aunt has an E, and she loves it, and my uncle (her husband) is going to trade his 04 or 05 escape for one. They're a great car, and if i didn't have a hard on for my car I would consider getting one.

 

Well, like I said this price range fits the bill. I could be very liberal with the amount I could spend, but why? So that's why I'm hangin around the 20-25k (at most) range.

Pilots kind of caught my attention too...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Cornershop &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
P.S. I am very jealous of the new paint matched plastic and I am pissed off at the 2007 Honda Element SC. Brake Upgrade, Suspension, Rims, New design on front fascia, different interior. crazyness.</TD></TR></TABLE>

ME TOO!

I have had mine for about 14 months and have only had one problem. The Passenger Position Sensor went out on me so I had an airbag lightfor a while. Took it to the dealer under warenty and no problems since.

Just changed the oil and rotated the tires and everything on this E still looks brand new. I love it.

 

Well, unless something comes up I think I'm going with a Tango Red Pearl 4WD EX-P.

I just need to sell my EK hatch first! HELP!!!!

 

going from a 03 civic SI to the e, i would have to say the element is the best invesment i have ever owned. Gas milage is about the same ( just cause im not in the gas all the time LOL ) and the element has the space, comfort and that honda QUALITY that i love so much.
HONDA
american gas bunner

 

Alright ya'll...I picked up a new 2006 Nighthawk Black 4WD EX-P. Couldn't be happier with my purchase!
Thanks for all the input!