This review is in regards to the 2003 Honda Element EX, well I do not personally own this vehicle, it is owned by my father and I have driven it myself quit a few times and have been a passenger in the vehicle several times.

I am a pretty big Honda fan, I own a 1999 Honda Civic, and it's been a fairly reliable car (see my review) so in 2003 my father decided to purchase a Honda Element after being in a pretty bad accident with his former car (Chevy Lumina)

Appearance: I personally have always found the Element to be on the ugly side. The exterior features a 2 tone color, steel body with plastic fenders (changed for 2006, now there the same color) The body is essentially a no frills utilitarian design, the only thing setting the EX above the base is 16" rims instead of steel wheels and hubcaps.

Interior: Yet again unimpressive interior, especially when compared with a similar priced Accord. Fit and finish doesn't quit seem up to Honda standards, some of the plastics on delivery where scratched and kind of askew, not flush.

Comfort:
Front: From the looks of the vehicle, you would thing there would be an enormous amount of room on the inside, well there isn't. The front passenger compartment, is cramped with exception to headroom, there is a ton of headroom. In the front your leg is crammed up against the center console (which strangely also holds the OEM setereo's subwoofer) I find sitting in the Element for longer then a half hour to be very uncomfortable, there is to little back support and leg cramps from the tight seating arrangement.

Rear: I have had the sheer displeasure of sitting in the rear of this vehicle on several occasions, the enormous head room you find up front magically disappears as you move into the rear. Entering the rear of the vehicle is quit the challenge, Honda decided to go with suicide style rear door (meaning the door swings from front to rear instead of rear to front) If your sitting in the back you have to wait for the passenger in the front to open the door before you can open your door, also when you get in the back the passenger has to wait for you to shut the door before they can shut there door (the hinge is built into the door instead of the frame)

Honda also decided to use stadium style seating for the rear seats of the Element for some strange reason. The first time I road in the back I started feeling car sick (for the first time in my life). Once the queasiness subsided, I noticed I could barely see the outside world, being so high up you can not see through the front windshield.

Storage: This is where the Element comes through big time, there are numerous seating configurations, and once the seats are folded up it gives you about 74 cubic ft of space, with the seats in place, it shrinks to about 24 cubic ft.

Driveability: I haven't racked up allot of miles as it's not my vehicle, but I found the Element to have pretty good acceleration for a 4 cylinder engine. It gets up to highway speeds with ease, and has plenty of passing power to get around slower moving traffic. The 4 wheel disk brakes work really well and had a shorter stopping distance then I anticipated. Handling as I expected was a bit on the lackluster side, there is quit a bit of lean in cornering and turning.

Reliability: My father has only put 7,000 miles on this vehicle since buying it brand new in 2003. I went to run with him to the hardware store, the vehicle started up fine as usual, and ran fine. We get to a red-light a few minutes from the house, well sitting at the light it idled fine, we went to take off and the vehicle started bucking up and down and smoothed out. My dad was like that was strange, and we get to a second red light go to take off it started bucking again and the check engine light come on. So we did a u turn, and took the vehicle home, we didn't think it was going to make it, it was running so bad. We proceeded to call the local Honda dealer, they advised us that there can't be anything wrong with it, it don't need a tow, drive it into town (35-40 minutes north) so I followed my father and he had to pull off the road several times along the way as the vehicle lost all power but remained running. After it lost power it would come back and continue driving. Several times well I was following him I could see the vehicle bucking up and down.

Honda called us the following day and said that the VTEC pressure switch had malfunctioned, and since the vehicle was past 3 years old it's no longer covered under warranty(even though we have an extended warranty) but they spoke to a service manager who stated that the vehicle shouldn't the VTEC pressure switch should not fail at that kind of mileage and will comp the repair.

This break down has made me question the reliability of the VTEC motors, and will probably sway my decision when it comes time to replace my Civic.

Also to note, the Element isn't as tight structurally as allot of the Honda's I have driven. The tailgate rattles at speed, going over bumps and railroads there is quit a bit of body rattle.

Update: It's been a couple months since the VTEC repair, and in my honest opinion the Element doesn't run like it used to. It's going to have to go back to the shop. The engine is making a loud noise at idle, and the last time I drove it, there appears to be a misfire when the engine is under a load.
Amount Paid (US$): 20,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2003
Model and Options: EX