Honda Element
Overall Rating: A-
Purchased: used in 2006, with 13K miles.
Miles driven so far: approx 40K
Trips taken: Colorado, STL, Kansas, Tulsa and thousands of miles on dirt roads
Pros:
- Plenty of space, both for people and cargo
- Comfy seats (to me, not an excess of cushioning, decent armrests, plenty of headroom and leg room)
- All wheel drive (AWD) works well
- Performs well on snow and ice
- Rear seat fold up quickly for max cargo space
- Made it over Cinnamon Pass (barely)
- Rear seats have a great view
- Ideal for camping, easy sleeping for two people
- Decent mileage even with AWD and a rather non-aerodynamic form factor
- Rear DC outlet
- Built in 1/8th stereo jack (so you can plug in iPod/mp3 player)
Cons:
- Unlocking the driver’s door with the key, does not unlock the other door locks
- Not much ground clearance
- Tends to accumulate sticks and branches in the undercarriage if you do a lot of real off road driving
- Very annoying seatbelt beeper noise (can be disabled if you are mechanically/electronically inclined)
- Default factory tires are noisy
- Some people hit their heads when getting in/out of the Element
- Dust can accumulate inside the cabin, seems to get in via the “suicide doors” opening
- “Defrost” setting and “cool” setting will turn on AC, even if you want vent
- Driver has to release seatbelt for passengers to get out from the backseat
That’s it for now :-).