Long-Term Road Test
Honda introduced its Element sport-ute in December 2002 thinking it would appeal to males under 25 with "active" lifestyles. To attract these fickle guys, Honda made the Element 12.1 inches shorter and 4.2 inches higher than the CR-V-on which the Element is based-resulting in a jerrycan on four wheels. Much to Honda's surprise, sales of this curious-looking vehicle in 2003 revealed that it had attracted a much older crowd-indeed, 67 percent of buyers were over 35, 38 percent were women, and the median age was 42.
Intriguing stuff. After all, Honda's marketing gurus were confident they'd done their homework. They'd spent time at universities around the country, conducting workshops and asking lots of college dudes what the heck they wanted in a vehicle. The answers they got became the features incorporated into the Element: go-anywhere capability; a rugged, versatile interior with loads of cargo-carrying potential; peppy performance combined with good fuel economy; standout styling; and a price that wouldn't double the monthly rent check. How could Honda foresee that what the kids wanted was also what many of their parents sought?
We wanted to get in our two cents' worth. Our staff comprises almost every demographic group on the planet, from 21-year-old college males to 50-year-old married moms to 65-year-old bachelors. What better test gang than ours? Perhaps 40,000 miles in our hands would reveal the vast appeal of the eye-catching Element and whether Honda's renowned reputation for durability, reliability, and frugality was at work here, too.
In late February 2003, our front-wheel-drive Element EX landed in our Ann Arbor parking lot. Dressed in Galapagos Green paint, it came with a 160-hp i-VTEC four-cylinder engine, a five-speed manual transmission, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, A/C, a 270-watt stereo with a CD player, a urethane-coated flat floor, waterproof seats, composite body panels, and 16-inch alloy wheels. With no options on the Monroney, price as tested came to $19,110. We didn't opt for the four-wheel-drive, five-speed-manual version because we'd have had to wait for several months, and we're an impatient bunch.
The Element's initial romp at the test track produced impressive numbers: 0 to 60 in 8.4 seconds, the quarter-mile in 16.6, 70-to-0 braking in 193 feet, and 0.76 g on the skidpad. Neither of our two previous long-term SUVs-a 200-hp Mazda Tribute ES V-6 4WD (November 2002) and a 270-hp Chevy TrailBlazer EXT LT (December 2003)-could beat those figures. In fact, the only number to match the Element's was the Mazda's 0-to-60 time.
The power and fuel economy put forth by Honda's bitchin' box took all of us by surprise. Myriad logbook entries reveled in the 2.4-liter's prowess: "Happy power on the country two-lanes." "The engine is smooth, lively, and quiet, even while turning 4000 rpm on the highway." One editor raved that the 2.4 had "enough power for passing in top gear." Perhaps more impressive: All that grunt still netted 25 mpg over 40,000 miles.
Additional praise was heaped on the slick five-speed manual, especially its center-dash-mounted gearshift that most found "very easy to adapt to."
As a highway cruiser and road-trip car, the Element shined. It exhibited little wind noise at speed-despite its resemblance to a mail truck-and its thumping stereo, comfortable seats, and gobs of room made long excursions a breeze. Attesting to its popularity with the staff, it accrued 40,000 miles in just 10 months of duty, much of it run up on long hauls-to Arizona, California, Florida, New York, even Alaska. That trip to the Last Frontier-conducted by our good friend Russ Ferguson (auto shop instructor at nearby Washtenaw Community College) and his brothers, David and Peter-ran up 10,250 miles, spanned just 18 days, and tested the Element's long-haul capabilities. Averaging more than 570 miles a day, the Fergusons found much to extol:
"We really liked the Element for this type of trip. It held all our stuff, including a large travel refrigerator. We had no second thoughts while packing-we took everything! Still had room to use the right-side front and rear seats as a bed. This proved to be very comfortable for catnaps. We would drive 12 to 15 hours a day and felt good to go every morning. Lots of legroom, front and back. Good cruise control. Nice bins on the dash, and we really liked the cubby on the ceiling. All the controls work well and make sense. The radio was super, and the 'Aux' plug allowed us to use a tape player for our books on tape. At the end of this trip, all three of us agreed that this is one fine road-trip vehicle. Drive it all day, every day for a week, and you will fall for this car. It is that good."
