CD Article: 2007 Honda Element SC

[CD_Editor]

Today's Test Drive:

With its unique "urban" styling, the Element SC is "less ugly than usual", says Contributing Editor, Chris Chase.   But while roomy and comfortable, the SC's stiff ride and awkward clamshell doors "bugged me", he says.  
   
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Read the article | View the photos | All The Test Drives

[Winklovic]

This is the box the jellybeans came in.   

I like Elements, especially now that the black fenders are gone.

[2hondas]

Another article? Wasn't there one recently?

But whatever, nice write up. 

[Not Buying Yet]

I do a lot of outdoors activity, and I like the fact that an E would accomodate my bikes standing up in the back. That's easier than a rooftop rack, and the bikes are less likely to be stolen or vandalized.

Also, at the trailhead I would be able to slide the front seats forward and the back seats back, then enter the back and have a huge area to suit up in on those cold mornings when out XC skiing or doing early or late-season hikes.

I want one, but I'm waiting for the 2009 redesign. Here are my reasons:

-- it's underpowered. It would probably do better with a small diesel.

-- no door bumper strips. I had a car without once, and the doors were a mess of dings. I know strips can be bought aftermarket, but for $30K I want a finished vehicle. (It's a small point, but I don't like getting my chain jerked by a car company that couldn't be bothered to dot I's and cross T's. I felt the same way about the seatbelt snafu.)

-- I suspect Honda will upgrade it drastically. Remember the first Odyssey? It only lasted some 18 months, and then was replaced by the current size. If that happens to the E no one will want the old one, and I don't want to be a bag-holder. Suppose, for instance, that Honda puts a sliding, van-type doors on both sides on the back, adds a fifth seat and puts in the right motor.

I don't need the fifth seat myself, but with the right motor and doors (and a bumper strip!) I'll buy one.

That still wouldn't make it perfect. I don't keep up, but as far as I know Honda intends to stick with an AWD system that's 100% FWD until the back wheels slip. Someone once called that approach "Too-Late-AWD", and I agree. There should be an option to lock it in, or some sort of front-back split. I can live with that even though I consider it a flaw, and feel like Honda should have admitted its mistake years ago and changed this.

All in all, I feel like the version we have now is half-baked and I won't fork out good money for one until Honda gets it right.

[2hondas]

I do a lot of outdoors activity, and I like the fact that an E would accomodate my bikes standing up in the back. That's easier than a rooftop rack, and the bikes are less likely to be stolen or vandalized.

Also, at the trailhead I would be able to slide the front seats forward and the back seats back, then enter the back and have a huge area to suit up in on those cold mornings when out XC skiing or doing early or late-season hikes.

I want one, but I'm waiting for the 2009 redesign. Here are my reasons:

-- it's underpowered. It would probably do better with a small diesel.

-- no door bumper strips. I had a car without once, and the doors were a mess of dings. I know strips can be bought aftermarket, but for $30K I want a finished vehicle. (It's a small point, but I don't like getting my chain jerked by a car company that couldn't be bothered to dot I's and cross T's. I felt the same way about the seatbelt snafu.)

-- I suspect Honda will upgrade it drastically. Remember the first Odyssey? It only lasted some 18 months, and then was replaced by the current size. If that happens to the E no one will want the old one, and I don't want to be a bag-holder. Suppose, for instance, that Honda puts a sliding, van-type doors on both sides on the back, adds a fifth seat and puts in the right motor.

I don't need the fifth seat myself, but with the right motor and doors (and a bumper strip!) I'll buy one.

That still wouldn't make it perfect. I don't keep up, but as far as I know Honda intends to stick with an AWD system that's 100% FWD until the back wheels slip. Someone once called that approach "Too-Late-AWD", and I agree. There should be an option to lock it in, or some sort of front-back split. I can live with that even though I consider it a flaw, and feel like Honda should have admitted its mistake years ago and changed this.

All in all, I feel like the version we have now is half-baked and I won't fork out good money for one until Honda gets it right.

I doubt any Honda vehicle will have "AWD" like Subaru's or Audi's. It would be nice though.

[Scaerio]

The 12 year old juvenile potty-humour side of me cracked up at the first line of Chris's review.

Now that that's out of the way, I love he look of this element, and think they should have used the styling for the whole line.
 

[stickshift]

Oh good, because my juvenile potty-humour side hoped someone would get a snicker out of it.