I traded my Element late last week. I bought the car because it was billed as the perfect multisport vehicle. And it probably is. I drove it for just over two years and put over 55,000 miles on it. Two things about it, though, that irritated me: I wasn’t enamored with the gas mileage (the engine tachs too high and that cuts into the mileage) and, to put it plainly, it’s ugly. I thought I would get used to it after I bought it. I didn’t. It was ugly the day I got it, and it was ugly the day I got rid of it. It never grew on me. I enjoyed the convenience of being able to roll my bike into the back, and being able to lock it up safely inside. But in the end, it was just too ugly for me.
So I did what all self-respecting conservative southern males do at one time or another: I bought a pickup. I bought a nice low mileage used Chevy S-10 extended cab pickup. With the exception of my Element, I have pretty much driven pickups for the last 15 years (though I did drive a Jeep and a Bronco for a few months), except for the Element experiment.
Now that I have my new pickup, I feel much more virile. I always felt kind of like a wuss in the Element.
Thanks for the update. I am a big fan of the Element and it’s on my list of “next vehicles” to consider. Thye ugly/odd-looking factor does not bother me, but your negative experience with the gas mileage does. I to suspected that it was not as good on the gas mileage as it possibly could be.
We looked at the Element as a shop car but weren’t 100% on it yet.
Instead of it, we went with the Honda Ridgeline Truck. Sweet truck! Has a trunk in the bed, room in the cab(back seats) for 2-3 bikes or people. Ours is the basic package and that has enough bells and whistles on it for what we were looking for. Price is higher then the Element but worth every penny.
Mileage was pretty good. 7+hours on one tank. ~$65(cdn) to fill.
Actually, thinking that driving one automobile as opposed to another will make you more “virile” pretty much guarantees you’re a wuss regardless of what you drive.
I’m pretty sure a Chevy S-10 extended cab p/u is going to get worse mileage than your Element did. I’d also wager that it will have, on average, worse reliability, and a lower resale value.
I have both a Honda Element AND a Toyota Tundra. I rarely bother with the pick-up truck, its too big and its actually easier to put the bike in the Element. The Element is just easier to deal with on a daily basis. And I don’t find it ugly at all, it has a functional look like any good machine. My only gripe is the Element is pretty noisy.
I don’t know. I haven’t filled up the truck yet, so I can’t really compare. Once I fill up, I’ll chime back in and let you know. As far as resale value goes, a used Element doesn’t exactly fetch a primo price, not like an Accord. Around here, I’d get much more for a used pickup than I would for a used Element. In a more urban setting, that may not be the case. But down here in the sticks, trucks are king.
Reliability – yeah, I thought about that. But I know people with some Chevy trucks that have a ton of miles on them and still run great.
I would have gotten a full size Chevy Silverado, but I didn’t want to pay the gas bill. My wife drives a GMC Yukon, and it stays thirsty. I really liked the Silverado, but I went for the better gas mileage with the S-10. When I hit the lottery, I’ll get the tricked out 4WD. Until then, I’ll drive more fuel efficient vehicles.
