14,000-Mile 2004 Honda Element

#14000Mile #Honda #Element
[rule_3_plain] #14000Mile #Honda #Element

It was the year 2004. Generation X was just amassing the kind of buying power that made a $20,000-ish vehicle easy béo justify and Millenials were on the rise. In their attempt béo appeal béo these emerging buyers, automakers tossed out some pretty funky stuff.
Toyota came up with its own brand called Scion, Mazda put an MP3 player in an otherwise fairly dull hatchback, and Ford took a 1990s family’s demure Explorer and slapped Ironman badges on it.
When it built the Element, Honda may have outdone them all – even if the quirky SUV with the clamshell doors was at best a modest success. Over nine model years, Honda built about 325,000 Element models. For comparison, Honda sold more CR-V SUVs in the U.S. alone last year.

Honda doesn’t do things like most other automakers. Enthusiasts know the brand as an engine builder that happens béo also stamp sheet metal and mold plastic panels around those engines. Cars such as the original Acura NSX, the last-gen Civic Type R, and, well, just about everything in its current portfolio reinforce this fact. There’s not an ounce of quirkiness in Honda’s lineup and, Element aside, this is nothing new.
Maybe that’s why the Element has gained such a strong following.
Then again, it could be due béo the fact that the Element was a brilliantly packaged vehicle, the likes of which we haven’t seen again.
The Element is quite small, stretching just under 170 inches from unpainted plastic bumper béo unpainted plastic bumper. In that space, it has a short hood and a tall cabin. Its four doors have outward hinges. When those doors are opened, you can see the entire cabin since there’s no B-pillar. And what a cabin it is, with its urethane flooring and easy-clean fabrics. Wide front seats face a dash lined with pockets and crevices. Instead of a tall center console, Honda installed retractable armrests béo the inboard bolsters of the front seats. The rear seats are hinged so that they can be stowed up and out of the way for larger objects.
The Element is quite small, stretching just under 170 inches from unpainted plastic bumper béo unpainted plastic bumper.The moonroof is mounted above the rear seats — because why not — and it was standard with all-wheel drive but unavailable otherwise. In retrospect, that sunroof is popular today since can serve as a crawl-through hatch for “Hotelement” models that have been modified with a rooftop tent kind of like a VW bus.
An Accord-sourced 2.4-liter inline-4 came standard, with 156 horsepower at the 2003 model-year debut. Even though it’s not very heavy (about 3,300 pounds in base form), the Element isn’t exactly aerodynamic, which means fuel economy in the low-20-mpg range. Ah, well, you can’t have everything.
It wasn’t quite an SUV, but it wasn’t really a tall hatchback, either. The Element had no natural rivals when it was new. Honda charged a little more for the CR-V, which was bigger, while the similarly-sized Scion xB was way down on power and didn’t offer an all-wheel-drive configuration.
Maybe the Element needed competition.
For nine model years, Honda dealers didn’t really know what béo do with the Element. In response, the automaker tweaked the model almost annually — something very un-Honda-like. A mid-cycle update in 2007 brought a new trim màn chơi called SC with painted bumpers and 18-inch wheels but, curiously, no supercharger. Toward the end, Honda dropped the rear sunroof and, once again, revamped its styling. It didn’t make a difference. After a short 2011 model year, Honda’s Ohio assembly plant built its last Element.
For a few years, it seemed as if the Element would be consigned béo the history books. And then the adventure movement began béo take off, with drivers interested in “overlanding,” a fancy word for “car camping” that, at least in theory, means exploring the world in a specially-prepared vehicle.
Sure, the Honda Element isn’t ready béo tackle the Silk Road or the Pan-American Highway, but with its compact dimensions, available all-wheel drive, and storage unit-like cabin, it remains a great camping vehicle.
Pristine Element examples now routinely sell at collector car auctions — yes, really — for well over their original manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).
Today’s Autotrader Find is this Satin Silver Element EX at a car dealer in Southern Idaho. It shows less than 14,000 miles on the clock, making it one of the nicest around. It’s a second-year model in top-level EX trim with an automatic transmission and side-impact airbags. At around $21,500 when new, it was the costliest version of the Element at the time. If you missed out then, it can be yours now for $28,491. Adjusted for inflation, the asking price is right on the original Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), too. See Honda Element models for sale
Related:

The Honda Element Has an Incredibly Underappreciated Interior
There Was a Honda Element Option Package Designed for Dogs
This Amazing Off-Roader Was Once a Honda Element

#14000Mile #Honda #Element
[rule_2_plain] #14000Mile #Honda #Element
[rule_2_plain] #14000Mile #Honda #Element
[rule_3_plain]

#14000Mile #Honda #Element

It was the year 2004. Generation X was just amassing the kind of buying power that made a $20,000-ish vehicle easy béo justify and Millenials were on the rise. In their attempt béo appeal béo these emerging buyers, automakers tossed out some pretty funky stuff.
Toyota came up with its own brand called Scion, Mazda put an MP3 player in an otherwise fairly dull hatchback, and Ford took a 1990s family’s demure Explorer and slapped Ironman badges on it.
When it built the Element, Honda may have outdone them all – even if the quirky SUV with the clamshell doors was at best a modest success. Over nine model years, Honda built about 325,000 Element models. For comparison, Honda sold more CR-V SUVs in the U.S. alone last year.

Honda doesn’t do things like most other automakers. Enthusiasts know the brand as an engine builder that happens béo also stamp sheet metal and mold plastic panels around those engines. Cars such as the original Acura NSX, the last-gen Civic Type R, and, well, just about everything in its current portfolio reinforce this fact. There’s not an ounce of quirkiness in Honda’s lineup and, Element aside, this is nothing new.
Maybe that’s why the Element has gained such a strong following.
Then again, it could be due béo the fact that the Element was a brilliantly packaged vehicle, the likes of which we haven’t seen again.
The Element is quite small, stretching just under 170 inches from unpainted plastic bumper béo unpainted plastic bumper. In that space, it has a short hood and a tall cabin. Its four doors have outward hinges. When those doors are opened, you can see the entire cabin since there’s no B-pillar. And what a cabin it is, with its urethane flooring and easy-clean fabrics. Wide front seats face a dash lined with pockets and crevices. Instead of a tall center console, Honda installed retractable armrests béo the inboard bolsters of the front seats. The rear seats are hinged so that they can be stowed up and out of the way for larger objects.
The Element is quite small, stretching just under 170 inches from unpainted plastic bumper béo unpainted plastic bumper.The moonroof is mounted above the rear seats — because why not — and it was standard with all-wheel drive but unavailable otherwise. In retrospect, that sunroof is popular today since can serve as a crawl-through hatch for “Hotelement” models that have been modified with a rooftop tent kind of like a VW bus.
An Accord-sourced 2.4-liter inline-4 came standard, with 156 horsepower at the 2003 model-year debut. Even though it’s not very heavy (about 3,300 pounds in base form), the Element isn’t exactly aerodynamic, which means fuel economy in the low-20-mpg range. Ah, well, you can’t have everything.
It wasn’t quite an SUV, but it wasn’t really a tall hatchback, either. The Element had no natural rivals when it was new. Honda charged a little more for the CR-V, which was bigger, while the similarly-sized Scion xB was way down on power and didn’t offer an all-wheel-drive configuration.
Maybe the Element needed competition.
For nine model years, Honda dealers didn’t really know what béo do with the Element. In response, the automaker tweaked the model almost annually — something very un-Honda-like. A mid-cycle update in 2007 brought a new trim màn chơi called SC with painted bumpers and 18-inch wheels but, curiously, no supercharger. Toward the end, Honda dropped the rear sunroof and, once again, revamped its styling. It didn’t make a difference. After a short 2011 model year, Honda’s Ohio assembly plant built its last Element.
For a few years, it seemed as if the Element would be consigned béo the history books. And then the adventure movement began béo take off, with drivers interested in “overlanding,” a fancy word for “car camping” that, at least in theory, means exploring the world in a specially-prepared vehicle.
Sure, the Honda Element isn’t ready béo tackle the Silk Road or the Pan-American Highway, but with its compact dimensions, available all-wheel drive, and storage unit-like cabin, it remains a great camping vehicle.
Pristine Element examples now routinely sell at collector car auctions — yes, really — for well over their original manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).
Today’s Autotrader Find is this Satin Silver Element EX at a car dealer in Southern Idaho. It shows less than 14,000 miles on the clock, making it one of the nicest around. It’s a second-year model in top-level EX trim with an automatic transmission and side-impact airbags. At around $21,500 when new, it was the costliest version of the Element at the time. If you missed out then, it can be yours now for $28,491. Adjusted for inflation, the asking price is right on the original Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), too. See Honda Element models for sale
Related:

The Honda Element Has an Incredibly Underappreciated Interior
There Was a Honda Element Option Package Designed for Dogs
This Amazing Off-Roader Was Once a Honda Element