Sacramento, California â€" When I test drove the 2003 Honda Element, I remember thinking: Where have you been all my life?
There I was well into middle age and thinking that NOW Honda comes up with a vehicle tailor-made for a beach party. Think of the fun I could have had in this boxy-looking, saloon door-equipped party wagon back in my teens and young 20s.
Of course, this assumes that I was a golden-haired Adonis regularly prowling the beaches of Southern California, looking for the latest party between surfboard sessions on giant waves … which I was not. I was back in Ohio trying to get up the courage to ask a girl out on a date.
I’ll spare you the details. They’re not p retty.
The Element, however, still is a looker. In fact, my 2010 two-wheel-drive Honda Element SC tester with a navigation system looked as sharp as any Element I’ve ever seen. (Keep in mind there are 10 trim levels of the 2010 model, with my tester the most expensive at a still-reasonable starting price of $26,020.)
The SC has a newly chiseled exterior appearance, with some sharper edges all around. The look is not as boxy as it used to be. But yeah, it’s still boxy.
Who cares? Take the Element and at least three passengers out onto the sand for a good time. The vehicle can take it, and the interior is simply styled. Your grubby buddies can’t do too much damage. Let them spill beer on the floor. It’s not like the thing is a Mercedes.
Oh, you can also take your dog to the beach in style.
For 2010, those clever Honda folks have introduced a “dog friendly†system for the back of the Element. It includes a soft-sided †œkennel†area in the cargo section, a cushioned bed, a 12-volt ventilation fan, second-row seat covers with a doggie pattern design matching that of the dog bed, an extendable ramp, all-season rubber floor mats with a toy bone pattern, a spill-resistant water bowl (emphasis on the word “resistantâ€) and dog-themed exterior emblems.
Amazing! I mean who thinks up this stuff? Can you imagine Honda designers huddled around a table in the dark of the night, pondering the latest boffo idea, and then someone jumps up and shouts: “I’ve got it. A dog-friendly Element option.â€
Great, Poindexter! Now we can head downtown for some drinks!
Seriously, I’m not sure I know of another auto company that would put this much dog-thought into a vehicle.
On the roll, the Element handles as well as any not-so-aerodynamic sport-utility vehicle with a 166-horseower, four-cylinder engine, which is to say that it does just fine until it has to climb a s teep hill. Likewise, you won’t want to test most vehicles for a tiny bit of road at the end of a freeway merge lane.
I have a few gripes. The Element’s bodywork remains the definition of tinny. You feel like you could puncture its skin with your fist. Or maybe a dog paw.
The set-up of the saloon-style doors takes some getting used to. And be forewarned: The first time you try to open the Element’s rear doors, do not try it in the dark. You’ll break the doors or your hand. Trust me.
Otherwise, grab your dog and party on.
There I was well into middle age and thinking that NOW Honda comes up with a vehicle tailor-made for a beach party. Think of the fun I could have had in this boxy-looking, saloon door-equipped party wagon back in my teens and young 20s.
Of course, this assumes that I was a golden-haired Adonis regularly prowling the beaches of Southern California, looking for the latest party between surfboard sessions on giant waves … which I was not. I was back in Ohio trying to get up the courage to ask a girl out on a date.
I’ll spare you the details. They’re not p retty.
The Element, however, still is a looker. In fact, my 2010 two-wheel-drive Honda Element SC tester with a navigation system looked as sharp as any Element I’ve ever seen. (Keep in mind there are 10 trim levels of the 2010 model, with my tester the most expensive at a still-reasonable starting price of $26,020.)
The SC has a newly chiseled exterior appearance, with some sharper edges all around. The look is not as boxy as it used to be. But yeah, it’s still boxy.
Who cares? Take the Element and at least three passengers out onto the sand for a good time. The vehicle can take it, and the interior is simply styled. Your grubby buddies can’t do too much damage. Let them spill beer on the floor. It’s not like the thing is a Mercedes.
Oh, you can also take your dog to the beach in style.
For 2010, those clever Honda folks have introduced a “dog friendly†system for the back of the Element. It includes a soft-sided †œkennel†area in the cargo section, a cushioned bed, a 12-volt ventilation fan, second-row seat covers with a doggie pattern design matching that of the dog bed, an extendable ramp, all-season rubber floor mats with a toy bone pattern, a spill-resistant water bowl (emphasis on the word “resistantâ€) and dog-themed exterior emblems.
Amazing! I mean who thinks up this stuff? Can you imagine Honda designers huddled around a table in the dark of the night, pondering the latest boffo idea, and then someone jumps up and shouts: “I’ve got it. A dog-friendly Element option.â€
Great, Poindexter! Now we can head downtown for some drinks!
Seriously, I’m not sure I know of another auto company that would put this much dog-thought into a vehicle.
On the roll, the Element handles as well as any not-so-aerodynamic sport-utility vehicle with a 166-horseower, four-cylinder engine, which is to say that it does just fine until it has to climb a s teep hill. Likewise, you won’t want to test most vehicles for a tiny bit of road at the end of a freeway merge lane.
I have a few gripes. The Element’s bodywork remains the definition of tinny. You feel like you could puncture its skin with your fist. Or maybe a dog paw.
The set-up of the saloon-style doors takes some getting used to. And be forewarned: The first time you try to open the Element’s rear doors, do not try it in the dark. You’ll break the doors or your hand. Trust me.
Otherwise, grab your dog and party on.