Element's out of its element

With its biggest competitors poised to hit the market within the year, Honda’s Element seems to be stuck in first gear.

Granted with a vehicle like Element, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what its competitors are. A smaller crossover like the Kia Sportage? A six-person wagon like the Chevrolet Traverse? A funky entry-level vehicle aimed at the younger generation like the Scion xB?

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We’re tempted to go with the latter, and if something like the xB or Nissan Cube is what the Element is pitted against, it has its work cut out for it. Those other upstarts are better looking, more customizable and will be (presumably) cheaper.

Even though the Element has an obvious head start over those newbies (it enters its sixth year in Canada in 2009), it has only seen slight changes over the years and it’s for all intents and purposes the same thing it’s been for more than half a decade - a cargo hauler on wheels.

The Element always has - and still does - that quite well. The tall boxy shape is perfect for fitting, well, tall boxy objects, while the plastic floor is great for throwing stuff in, no matter its weight or degree of cleanliness. The two rear seats can be folded, removed and reconfigured numerous ways, and the vehicle even employs a small flip-down tailgate that can hold up to 200 kg.

Even though the boxy look is surely a love-it-or-hate it affair, Honda managed to make it a little easier to love with the release of the ‘SC’ (or ‘Sport Custom’) version in 2007, which it carries into the 2009 model year. With a stronger focus on styling and street cred, the Element SC adds standard 18-inch wheels, smoked headlamps, lower ride height, and carpeted floor under the first and second row seats.

The SC model’s suspension also gets tuned for a sportier feel, though don’t expect a souped-up engine to go with it, as it gets the same one found under the hood of the LX and EX models - a 2.4-litre four-cylinder that leaves something to be desired if you’re driving anywhere but along busy city streets. The 166 horses are sufficient for a quick burst past a slow moving bus, but the engine struggles on the highway. It’s actually surprisingly quiet for a four-cylinder, but that doesn’t make up for its lack of guts.

Also sadly and very noticeably lacking as options on the SC, are all-wheel drive and a manual transmission, the latter of which is completely deleted from the entire Element line-up for 2009. The five-speed auto is not a bad transmission, but considering the SC is supposed to have a little more street cred, it’s really not cool or exciting in any way.

Even the interior of the Element SC leans much farther toward the cargo side of things and less toward being hip and cool. The amount of cubbies and trays to place random stuff like MP3 players, cell phones, sunglasses (several pairs!) or loose change is astounding. But this also results in a very plasticky look that doesn’t live up to the quality interiors of other Honda vehicles.

Even things that are usually huge plusses in other cars manage to somehow go awry in the Element. For instance, giving each passenger in a vehicle his or her own bucket seat typically can only be viewed as a good thing - lots of room for everyone and no need to share. But in the Element, even this tends to be a problem. The rear seats sit high up for a stadium feel, but many passengers (large and tall) complained about feeling too high up. The seats have a lot of travel as well, but if a passenger wants to really stretch out his or her legs, they’ll be doing some serious reaching to close the rear door.

And those doors ... each side of the Element has a rear-swinging door, which is also usually a good thing in a lot of vehicles as it adds a little more leeway to get into the back than a two-door vehicle. Problem is, though the rear doors aren’t all that big in the Element, they swing out very wide and are difficult to open or close from the inside. The front doors are even worse for this, making the Element the bane of many a parked car’s existence. You have to take very special care every time you open the Element not to ding your car, another person’s, or both.

Simply put, if all you need in a vehicle is the ability to transport a lot of cargo, but want something shorter than a pickup, the Honda Element is a pretty safe bet. Like its little sibling the Fit, the Element is a Tetris player’s dream, as it allows for objects of all shapes and sizes to fit in, with little hassle.

Otherwise, though, the Element doesn’t make a particularly compelling purchase.