Versatity of seating, lots of interior space for large people,excellent stereo,easy to clean interior with kids,dogs,mountain bikes,fishing etc.I found the engine performs very well and got a lot better after it broke in - even with the automatic.The 4x4 works flawlessly in the snow.

The stock tires are very good on dry pavement but very poor on wet streets- especially on takeoff.

Probably the best car I,ve owned due to it's cost, gas mileage, performance,reliabity and most of all versatility. I,ve had a Suburban 4x4,Dodge Dakota,Bronco II 4x4,Dodge Caravan,Windstar,CRX Si and Accord. I'm so glad I went back to Honda-their quality is the best. I also have a Honda motorcycle and lawnmower that are great.

Pulls well, Love the backseat. I am 6'2 and I sit more comfortably in the back then in the front. Great for outdoor stuff. Decent gas mileage for an SUV. PERFECT IN SNOW AND RAIN.

The cigerette plugs are on the passenger side. Needs just about one more foot to hall bigger items. No side arm for passenger. Have to buy accessories that normally come standard on a vehicle. (cigerette lighter and Arm rest)

I love this car. I bought this car when it was first released. I have not had any problems with it. I have had it for over a year and a half and have put 60,000 miles on it. Not one problem with it so far

Haven't needed the AWD yet, but it's nice to know its there!! My cross country bike fits perfectly and my downhill bike fits great, but I have to compress the front shock to keep the handlebars from digging into the headliner. With both bikes on the left side of the vehicle (left passenger seat against the wall) I still can leave the right passenger rear seat in place. This rig is to cool!!

I thought with Honda NOT making an in-dash six-disc changer available for the Element was going to be a HUGE negative for me as other factory honda stereos wont work with the wiring harness of the Element. But come to find out the single disc stereo ALSO plays MP3 discs. I can cram 150-160 songs onto 1 MP3 disc versus with a six-disc changer you would only have about 75 songs available. So not really a weakness after all. The 270 Watt System sounds great!!

It's actually a 2005 Element. Absolutely love this vehicle. I did lots of research online at sites like this one, and the Element was the winner. I'm an avid mountain biker and wanted a vehicle I could put my bike inside of rather than on a roof rack. The Element fit the bill perfectly. I considered panel vans, but at 10-12 MPG and due to their much larger size, I viewed the Element as a superior alternative @ $2.00/gallon for gas. Typical Honda build quality = superior, and typical Honda fit-and-finish = superior. The engine is quite peppy for a vehicle that wieghs 700 pounds more than my 1997 Accord. With the Element's shorter body, I can load the vehicle in my garage and stay out of the rain!

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My first "SUV"

Pretty much what everyone else said, plus everything is light enough for a woman to handle (removing seats, etc.), so that's cool. Easier to get into than my RAV4 was, and more room for my tall men friends.

Here's why I decided to post. The Element was designed for men - Honda admits it and marketed it that way and I knew that going in. For the most part that's not a problem. But some things (like the cup holders) are all but inaccessible to (most) women when they have the seat in driving position. You have to reach back and under the armrest, or flip it up altogether to get to them. Not convenient. Obviously not a deal breaker, I just bought a cup holder to hang on my window like "back in the day". Same gripe about the location of the cruise button, same for the fog lights - way down there - inconvenient. If Honda wants the truck to be safe, they should put stuff you reach for when you're driving up where you don't have to look way down to get it.

Excellent versatile vehicle - all the stuff everyone else says - easy to clean, lots of interior configurations, etc.

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Toyoyta RAV 4

Very comfortable seating and ride. Spacious, easy to clean. Lots of storage with seats up. Versatile interior with many options. Plastic exterior parts durable and ding resistant.

Underpowered -- need to downshift into first gear to get up hills. Low clearance - pitiful bottoming out on simple dirt roads. Poor traction -- poor AWD system when compared to Subaru, with frequent initial slipping on wet hills and inclined twisties. Cannot climb up dirt hills without spinning out -- never happened on same hills with my old Subaru Outback. Seating -- limited to only 4 maximum.

Interesting care, very comfortable and practical. I live in the US Virgin Islands where we have steep hills, dirt roads, winding roads on incline, and pavement that gets very slippery when wet. In summary, an ideal environment for a 4WD SUV test. See below for strentgths and weaknesses. Conclusion: Very poor vehicle for intended use -- not enough power to go up steep hills, LOW clearance, 4WD not up to snuff when compared to Subaru, Suzuki, etc.

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Ford Escape - better value and performance. Subaru Outback - better in every category. Jeep Liberty - much better 4WD, power and clearance. Safer in variable road terrain.

Some people knock on the rubber coated floors but when your into Mountain Biking and Snowboarding you tend to bring your gear back wet and muddy. These floors make it a breeze clean up after yourself. The fold up seats are great and make it easy to loadup bikes and doubles as a changing room on the mountain when your up snowboarding. Just fold down the driver's and the rear seat flat like a bed, foldup the passenger rear seat and push the passenger front seat up a blam, on bench and changing area for you and a bud! No more having to walk it over to the lodge change and then walk back to the car or buy a locker for the day! The four wheel drive works great and not having to push buttons or switch it is nice. Having a wider wheel base and lower stance lets the truck ride smoother and less tipsy so you don't have to worry so much about flipping it! The seats being crud resistant is a big plus when you have dirty wet people who want to sit down. The sucide doors are awesome for passengers and the staggered seats are great for passengers who are sitting in the back. The rear clamshell design is a great gear loader and doubles nicely as a seat and awning when it's snowing. Plus the audio system in the EX is great for just chilling out and hanging out with your friends after a long day of riding and your waiting on traffic to die down. Body is built very well and those palstic fenders and bumper guards make it more armored for going off road, less scratches, dings and dents. What can you say about Honda engineering the engine seems like it is designed to run forever without fail as long as your matinence is done. Makes me feel better when I'm a couple hundred miles from home and this is the only way back!

Stock all terrian tires make this truck noisy and it does not instill confidence in really bad weather. Thanks to Honda's great four wheel drive it makes it passable. Some of the add on's from hond should be standard for a truck that is sold in this market for traveling and hauling your gear. Like roof racks, driverside armrest consolde and step rails to be able to put thisngs on those roof rails. As for the attacments for the roofrails get em aftermarket they are just built by Thule anyway and just overpriced by Honda! Slightly a little low for clearence but a larger set of tires will help that department and shouldn't upset the center of gravity or gas milage too badly. Tow hitch assembly is garbage go get an aftermarket one. Finally the driver and passenger side windows make the truck too drafty while open and the vent shades should be standard equipment. The tilt out Van style rear windows make for allot of complaits form passenges on hot days when they can't roll down the windows for a little breeze.

Well lets just say that this was not my first choice but it definately was my last choice. If I was buying this truck for looks I would have went elsewhere,but when you Mountain Bike both Downhill and X Country and you Snowboard, cargo space and the ability to get around is a must. So buying a vehicle that lacks in any of those departments is a bad idea. That said this is really an awesome little truck it gets great gas milage and has plenty of storage compacity. Plus it really is able to get you there and back for a four cylinder truck.I went to this truck after I was driving a tricked out 98 Mustang GT so I know a looker and power when I see it. This was a tough transition but I survived!

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None really this is my first truck I have owned but I have been in most of my firnds trucks and I like this on better.

all-wheel drive quality and dealer service handling interior comfort great mileage

slippery floor cheap OEM all weather tires excessive front tire wear

The Element is a good no frills all-wheel drive vehicle. We purchased ours for $2,800 below sticker and have all the options availible except the side curtain air bags. The 4 Cyl. engine has enough power to handle the mountains and only roars during down shifts and freeway merges. I avg. about 27 mpg. It lacks certain ammenities that I have in my Subaru Outback but none that seem worth the $6,000 price difference. Its profile does make it sensitive to wind gusts but I don't think it's worse than my Toyota 4-Runner. The "suicide doors" are easy to get used to, and the rear passengers appreciate the higher rear seating that lets thm see out the front window. The OEM Wrangler tires are nothing to rave about and the tire rotation every 10K miles is a must because the front tires wear much quicker than the rear. The increased weight over the front tires does create a moderate degree of oversteer. It handles well in most situations; much much better than you think it would looking at the vehicles profile. Heater, A/C, sound system all work well. The plastic interior grows on you however the plastic floor matts are as slippery as teflon and everything in the rear will wind up in the front if not secured. This is not a junior tricked out Cadilac Escalade but for under $19,000 it had all that I desired: all-wheel drive and Honda quality

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Subaru Legacy Outback Toyota 4-Runner

Where do I begin ! First of all the interior is entirely washable. Industrial rubber track flooring, raincoat like seats,,, spill a drink ,, hose it out , let it dry in the sun . Honda motors are famous for lasting way longer than the body of the car. This Honda has rubermaid-like plastic where all other Hondas rust to death. I recently crushed my back bumber and it cost $38 to replace. Yes , in other words it is possible that this car can last forever. I have been getting between 20 to 22 miles per gallon of gas.

The factory tires leave much to be desierd. I quickly replaced them with more agressive Toyo tires.

I plan to purchase several of these !

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2001 Subaru Forester

Value for the money, handling, utility, fuel economy (24 mpg for a SUV ain't bad), stereo, ridiculously immense space for four people. For the money, very, very, very hard to fault in any way.

Bizarro sense of style. Let's just say I definitely didn't buy this car because it was a looker. The hard plastic on the outside is split up in weird places, and the panel gaps are rather wide. The rear bumper looks like it's falling off. The chunky five-spoke wheels don't help, either. The most successful part of the car is the front end, which I think is very strong and muscular, and it does happen to look a lot better on the road than it does up close.

I shocked myself by buying a car that, just months before, I had thought was the ugliest thing on four wheels and an insult to its target audience. After being persuaded to test-drive it, my tune changed instantly. My choice was solidified when I was offered their special 0.9% financing for 4 years, even though I'm only 21 and it was on a joint loan with my dad, together with a price of $18,315 including destination.. not that far below invoice, but below invoice nonetheless. Engine - Quiet at idle, revs smoother than any 2.4 has a right to, has good midrange punch. The initial tip-in is just a touch soggy, and it doesn't have a whole lot of top-end power, but the tuning is right for a little truck. The sound of it is just as nice as it is in the Accord, and the feeling underfoot is exciting. Transmission - The four speeds are spaced well. The Accord's 5-speed auto would be better so that the engine could turn slower on the freeway, for the sake of economy, but the four gears it does have work exceptionally well together. Shifts are smooth, and it knows when to do them. Grade Logic really works, too. It's always in the right gear on the long grinders. Only complaint is that the selector stick feels too heavy. Handling - Excellent. This is what changed my mind about the car in the first place. The anti-roll bars keep the body flat and the rubber is big enough to provide good performance. The steering feel is superb, and the car feels lively. It feels a bit like a Civic Si on stilts, in fact, but on the other hand, there are limits. I've had the rear end snap loose when I entered a corner too fast, and I've heard tire squeal at what seemed like fairly conservative speeds. The center of gravity is, after all, rather high. Since C/D reported tire wear is a problem, too, I would advise sane driving. Also, my Element started wandering on the freeway after 1,000 miles. Too-low tire pressures turned out to be the culprit. Braking - I think the pedal is a little bit soft, and the brakes don't feel powerful, although in reality the four discs perform very well. The ABS is a must - I've already had to use it 3 times in deer-related scenarios. Lights - The low-beams are good, issuing a perfectly rectangular and uniform pattern, but the high-beams are a bit uneven and washed out. This is an issue of prime importance to me due to the proliferation of deer in my area, as I hinted above. It's not dangerous, but it is an area that could be improved. The style of the lights, both front and rear, is distinctive and catches the eye, always a good thing to alert other drivers to your presence when the bright orange panels can't do it for you. Dash - The layout of the controls is generally good, and the instruments are very easy to read at a glance. They do not get hidden when I adjust the wheel and seat to my 6'1" frame. The one iffy component is the cruise-control button hidden WAY under the left side of the dash, where it's impossible to see and also difficult to reach/feel. I really enjoy the nice, grippy steering wheel, although I wish the plastic "flash" had been trimmed better. The feel of the material is so good that it's a shame for this minor flaw to remind me that it is, after all, just plastic. I'm afraid to trim it myself and mar the surface. The materials that you generally do not touch do not look or feel that great, but it's typical Honda prioritization that dictates that what you can feel is what makes you feel rich, and it works. Audio - This was another major selling point. It seemed like a miracle - the quality of the Beethoven that I listened to was so good, so full and free of distortion and vibrations, that it almost sold the car all by itself. Utility - I put two full-size road bikes in the back, without taking the wheels off, after flipping up just one of the seats in 15 seconds, and there were plenty of hooks to bungee them down. Another time I fit $500 worth of groceries from Costco after flipping them both up - my old Celica could do that, too, after I folded down the back seat, but it had to be stuffed clear to the roof. I could still see out the back of my E after putting an even bigger load in it. The load floor is noisy, though, and anything that can roll around on it will make quite a racket. The floor-mats that were included with my E made the four under-foot places quite a lot more livable and listenable. The overhead storage bin is nice for CDs, but they make a lot of racket up there. I don't have a suitable place for my garage-door opener, either, and HomeLink was not an option. Comfort - The driver's seat isn't exactly luxurious. It's too low and too thinly padded, and I find myself sitting forward rather than back into the chair. On the positive side, the material is grippy and the side bolsters keep my butt planted during tight U-turns (which are very tight thanks to an excellent turning radius). Lots of space, too; everything else feels small now!

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'02 Chrysler PT Cruiser

Great design with the double-side doors, flat floor, reclining back seats, big dashboard, and plastic-covered interior. I'm getting about 24 US MPG which is 28 Canadian (yes, US gallons are smaller than the rest of the world's). People who complain about the low power of the car should stop whining and buy the 5-speed. I did and I can pass anything on the road.

People have already commented that the Element is too low to the ground, stops too slowly, and is unsteady in wind, so I won't belabor those points. I should note, however, that it's no worse in wind than a van or a car with a canoe on top. The biggest flaw I found with the car is how easily the plastic interior is damaged. It's absolutely astonishing!! You can easily scratch the stuff with your fingernail!! I'm NOT KIDDING. Try it at the dealer before you buy the car. I had scratches on my car by the time I had driven it 8 minutes from the dealer to my house. The scratches were on the back gate and were caused by a soft plastic toolbox that had slid back and forth a few times during cornering. The soft plastic is a really, really serious problem and I wouldn't be surprised at all to soon see one of those "hidden warranties" issued to cover the damage. In just two weeks, of NORMAL HOUSEHOLD USE, the floor is gouged and the insides are scratched all over. I've already decided that I've got to get the floor mats, cargo tray, etc., just to protect the car from bags of groceries that may contain canned goods, fer chrissake! Other than that... it's a pretty good car.

It's a good vehicle but quaint, and it does have some glaring flaws: 1. The soft plastic in the interior will become scratched and gouged in a just a short time. 2. Why don't the rear seats slide back and forth, so that you can make the cargo area larger? 3. The sub-woofer should be optional. I'm into hi-fi stereos and do not appreciate booming with my music. I'd rather have the storage space than the sub-woofer. 4. The road noise is mostly from the engine, which should be controllable with better sound insulation.

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I looked very hard at the Subaru Forester and I still LOVE those cars. My decision for the Element was based on lifestyle -- with all the crap I carry these days, I'd ruin the interior of a Subaru in no time. That's why I'm so disappointed with the soft plastic in the Honda. I thought it would be much tougher.