They get it right in the Civic and the CR-V, so there’s no excuse for this poor design. Who in their right mind would think this was a good idea?! Apart from having to take your eyes completely off the road to find the button, you might inadvertently hit the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) off button! Why Honda insists on using this type of option for the cruise control just boggles my mind. To turn the cruise control on, you have to press a button down by your left knee – and then use the other buttons on the steering wheel to set the speed etc. It seems as though the same mad-man who designed the interior of the Ridgeline, got to stamp a piece of insanity on the Element too. The tilt steering wheel incorporates audio controls, and some of the cruise control buttons. The headroom in the Element is sure to keep even the basketball players happy! The front window is way out in front, offering great visibility – something I didn’t expect, I was thinking it might be less of a greenhouse effect and more claustrophobic. The dashboard is very simple and easy to understand at a glance – so far so good. Honda offers a waterproof “Fabric for Extreme Conditions (FXCâ„¢) seat material” as an option. The fabric that Honda uses is very tough and looks like it will stand up to plenty of abuse. The seat is quite large – more in keeping with a full size pickup truck, but very comfortable none-the-less. The seat adjustments are manual, and include a dial for height adjustment, but no lumbar support adjustments or arm rests – which I feel it definitely needs. Time for a road test me thinks! Judging by the looks we got from other people during our test, the changes and updated looks have worked wonders in grabbing the attention of people in all age brackets.Ĭlimbing behind the wheel, I was shocked by how large the steering wheel is – it felt about twice the size of the Honda Civic I’d just climbed out of! The step up and seat height are a little bit higher than I anticipated – I was expecting to just slide in, much like you would getting into a car. It certainly looks better – it grabbed my attention when one showed up on a dealer’s lot. Gone are the plastic body panels and AWD, but added to the mix are very attractive 5-spoke 18” alloy wheels, lower body cladding, a carpeted interior and the entire vehicle is painted the same color. Ditto the rear split door.įor 2007 Honda has tarted up the Element, and the Element SC has been added to the family. It was shaped like a brick on wheels to maximize cargo capacity, and the clam-shell doors were employed to make it easier to load and unload your stuff. The interior was plastic and rubber so that you could hose it out after a muddy trip to the back-woods. It was a great idea, but the vehicle tended to look silly in any color other than black or charcoal grey. They were designed so that you could lean a bike against it without worrying about scratching/denting the vehicle. Instead, the Grandparents bought it! A lot of people didn’t “get” the plastic covered fenders and rear quarter panels. What happened in reality was those very people couldn’t really afford it, or wouldn’t part with their money for it. When Honda launched the Element a couple of years ago it was aimed at the young – snow boarders, mountain bike enthusiasts, college attendees, and the like.
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