2009 Honda Element User Reviews

Pros

Lots of cargo room, low maintenance, solid soundsystem, fuel efficient

Cons

Suicide doors are a pain in tight spots

Purchased As Used

I bought my element specifically for hauling my hockey gear and my dogs and it excels at both. Plenty of room in the back with the seats folded up. The interior isn't pretty, but considerring that you can literally hose the inside out when its dirty, its pretty aweseome stuff. Its dependable and efficient and does everything I need it to. It doesn't ride like a Cadillac, but then its not supposed to. The Suicide doors are great if you have room around the vehicle but its difficult to get someone in the back seat if you're in a tight parking space. Other than that, its the most usefull vehicle I've ever owned. The only people that seem to complain are the ones who don't need a vehicle like this in the first place....read morehide

Pros

Interior room, carrying capacity, versatile configuration of cargo area

Cons

It's a box! :-)

Purchased As New

Have owned my Element since 2005, brought it new. It is dependable, both exterior and interior have stood up to use well. Decent fuel mileage approximately 23 city and 27-28 highway. It drives easy but like all boxes it is susceptible to high winds pushing it some. I was a professional trucker and find that it is a great vehicle for the money and the maintenance cost is low. With regular maintenance and care the vehicle should last another four to five years before we buy a new one....read morehide

Cons

Windshield Noise; rough ride

Purchased As New

Strange "whistling" noise from windshield. Not yet diagnosed. Plan to take to dealer for repair; owner's manual does not provide mileage for maintenance; expects owner's reliance on dash reminders, probably an effort to void warranty liability; Rough ride.

Pros

interior space

Cons

only seats 4

Purchased As New

I love this car, the only reason why I am considering trading it is because now that I have a baby I need the extra seat.
I have owned my element since 2004 and it has been great, I havent had to do anything to it other than regular maintenance. I have gone on long trips with it and I find it very comfortable, and it drives really smoothly for being a SUV. The space inside is amazing, and its really easy to remove the seats for moving large objects, which has come really handy in many occasions. Plus, its really easy to clean. I don't think its a car for everyone, but for the last 4 years it has definitely been a great car for me....read morehide

Pros

good fuel economy and value

Cons

uncomfortable

Purchased As New

Bought the car for traveling (sales) and never had a problem in 3yrs and 75,000 miles. 24MPG average withe 4WD and 5 spd. It is uncomfortable and noisy inside. Handles and corners well (with Michelins)
A great value like all Hondas. I believe it is similar to the CRV without the amenities (like carpet!). Have only bought Honda Accords for 25 yrs and have never had any problems with total mileage per car 150-200K. Just do the maintenance....read morehide

Pros

Flexible interior design, clamshell tail gate, carrying capacity, looks

Cons

Ride is a bit rough, road noise, fuel economy

Purchased As Used

Mine is a 2003 SOP Element 2wd, 5sp MT. I purchased it on ebay with 19K miles. It now has 153K plus a few thousand more towed 4 down behind my motorhome. It hooks up and tows easily.

Over the time I've owned it, I've replaced tires, windshield wipers and a couple of pieces of windshield trim. Oh and I had to put a new battery in it about a year ago. (I recently read where it is tied for first place in the lowest cost of ownership - repairs and maintenence - over the first 5 years of ownership).

I have visited the factory in East Liberty, Ohio, USA, where the vehicle was built using 95% North American supplied parts. (It amazes me how many people don't know their car was built in the USA.)

Due to the lack of a "B" piller, extra steel is built into the doors, floor and roof making the vehicle heavy, weighing in at about 3,750 lbs. The ride is a bit stiff but it corners well. The road noise may be due in large part to the tires I'm using. The noise gets worse and worse as the tires wear and it becomes noticeably quieter when I put on new tires.

I hear complaints about poor mileage and due to the vehicle weight I agree its not outstanding. However I have recorded every tank of gas I've ever put in and my overall mileage is between 25 and 26 mpg. I drive mainly on the highway and generally at or below 65 mph. I am usually the only passenger.

I purchased the cabana tent for it and occasionally use it for camping. By folding the rear seats up and moving the front seats forward, there is plenty of room for a twin sized air matress and sleeping bag that allows me to stretch out full length. (Note that folding the front and rear seats down to form a bed is not particularly comfortable.)

Occasionally when camping I will have neighbors who think the I need to share their love for country music and refuse to turn their stereo down. So I simply turn the car in the appropriate direction, open the doors and turn up the 280 watt stereo. It has never failed to deliver the message.

Personally I like the composite dark gray body panels. I have not seen another vehicle I like better so plan to purchase another Element after I wear this one out in another 100 - 150K miles....read morehide

Pros

space, utility, very comfortable on long trips, great radio, handling

Cons

high winds cause the vehicle to drift a little and could use a little more power

Purchased As New

With correctly adjusted mirrors there are no blind spots. Very comfortable on 10 hour trip to Atlanta. Handles very well. Braking is good but not BMW like. Has more room then a an X3 or X5. Interior cleans easily. Very, very reliable. Great vehicle for hauling my two dogs to to herding trials. And no I dont eat granola or go green.

A nice turbo diesel with 175hp and 240lb of torque would make this an ideal vehicle....read morehide

Pros

Unbelievably functional, easy to care for, fun.

Cons

Side doors can get cumbersome, gas mileage isn't ideal

Purchased As New

Wow. I really have to say that the Element is a great vehicle, especially for an urban/suburban family like ours. It's not a ginormous beast, but gives you every inch of interior room it can and lets you move the space about with ease. And if you have pets or kids, the interior is easy to manage/clean. We've done it all with this car--short runs, city parking, long road trips, camping, moving...and it never let us down. As for the styling, we know its for folks who like funky (we have a Boston Terrier, so we go for 'character' in all things). We tricked out our Element, and the fog lights, running board, leather steering wheel cover and AWD have all come in handy. The only complaints we have are that the swing side doors can get a bit awkward in tight parking sometimes, and we'd love better gas milage (but it stacks up against other vehicles in its class/capacity very well--its no guzzler). Overall, we love our Element. And its an '05, so now its all ours (paid it off this Feb)!...read morehide

Pros

Roomy inside

Cons

Slow, lousy gas mileage,chinzy interior

The more i drive this car the less i like it. It gets terrible mileage,18-19 in the city and 20-22 on the highway.It's under powered and makes a clunking noise when it goes over a bump.

Pros

Practical, no frills, good city driving

Cons

Bumpy ride, handles like it looks, utilitarian/sparse interior, not comfortable for long trips

I had a chance to test out my aunt and uncles Element. I have been interested in the Element for some time, and was thinking about trading in my Focus for one. I think I'll stick with my Focus for now! The Element is attractive and "hip". Yes, its quite popular with young urban professionals and granola eating types. But just because everyone has one doesn't mean it is the end all be all of all SUVs in its class. All Honda's in general lack in comfort. I don't find my parent's 07 CRV comfortable at all. The Element is ok, for short rides, but I can easily tell that rides lasting more than a couple of hours is going to do a number on my backside. The other thing is that it is very sparse. I mean, you basically have a radio and cd player, and an Mp3 jack, and that's it (unless you go for the navigation system). It's not meant to be pimped out inside, that's for sure.

One other problem/safety issue is that the driver has a horrible blind spot where driver's side window and the drivers side of the windshield are "bridged" by the plastic framing. If you navigate on roads with curves and turns, take special care in looking for cars/bikes/peds that may enter this blind spot and cause you to hit them.

I do like the fact that the inside is virtually waterproof. It makes sense if you plan to use your Element to carry recreational toys and/or dogs. I have two dogs, and I immediately thought of the fun trips we could go on together (like to the beach/park/mountains)--without worrying about them getting anything ruined. If there was one thing to convince me to forget all that other stuff that annoys me about this box (err...I mean, car), it would be because of its utility.

So, the decision is ultimately yours. There seems to be a following, much like the Scion XB/XD. You either love it, or absolutely hate it. I remain undecided for now....read morehide