All New Honda Element for 2021
By: John Magilke
Tags: Element, Honda Element, Automotive, Vehicles

Gotcha! There is no new Honda Element.

photo courtesy of Jimmy Conover

There are thousands of loyal Honda Element owners out there hoping for the return of the “Toaster” as they are lovingly called; But there is no new Element.

All of the hype out there about the new Honda Element is just that.

Hype!

It is all created by online bloggers & Vloggers trying to garner customers. So it’s click-bait, folks.

Pure & simple!

It’s Unique

The Honda Element has quite a loyal following.

Why is that?

For starters; it’s the styling.

It is a unique looking vehicle. Looks rugged. First thing you notice are the plastic fenders front & back; so no rust to worry about.

The unique styling lends itself to lots & lots of head room for someone in the 6 foot or taller range.

I talked to one man in his 80’s that was attracted to the Element because it was a no frills rig that was easy to get into with all-wheel-drive & got in excess of 20 mpg.

It was that simple for him. He didn’t care what it looked like.

Cab Comforts

The interior is simple.

No carpet! Only floor mats on the floor. Actually there is one Urethane-Coated Utility Floor.

The whole floor is one utility mat; making it super easy to clean up spills, mud, or whatever else has been dragged inside the vehicle.

There is an audio auxiliary port on the passenger side along with a 12V port for charging or operating 12V tools, phones, and what-not.

The cup holder thing between the seats is nothing to write home about. But it works.

Overhead storage consists of a small, built-into-the-headliner box that has a screen bottom so you can easily see the contents.

There are two bucket style seats in the front and two in the back. Each of these seats folds down flat and are highly adjustable in the ways of most other vehicles.

Back Seat with a Twist

The back seats not only fold flat but after being laid out flat they are easily folded up against the outside wall of the vehicle creating a cargo area that is quite large.

You Can Haul It!

With the seats removed the cargo area is 40” wide at the top; 44.5” wide at the bottom. It will accommodate something 40” tall and 67” long. This is with the seats removed.

If you leave the tailgate open it will haul sheets of plywood even.

There are various tie downs inside the Honda Element for tying things down. This vehicle was designed to haul things; there is no doubt.

Around back the tailgate opens in two pieces the top flips up and the bottom drops down like a pickup tailgate. This too, is covered in plastic for easy cleaning.

Bullet Proof Honda Drive Line

The engine in these little work horses is the venerable 16 valve DOHC i-VTEC 2.4 liter inline 4 cylinder.

Transmission is either the 4 spd. Automatic or the 5 spd. Manual. They come in either the two wheel drive or all -wheel-drive models.

A unique feature of the AWD model is the large, removable sun-roof over the cargo area. (Yeah, go figure!) The two wheel drive model does not have this feature.

Honda Element VS Toyota Rav4

The weight is in the neighborhood of 3500 lbs. making it comparable to its sibling the Honda CR-V weighing in at roughly 3400 lbs. In comparison the Toyota Rav4 weighs in at 2900 pounds.

Handling is good for what it is. I’ve driven both, a Toyota RAV4 & The Honda Element. Very comparable vehicles. The Honda handles much better on tight curves that the Toyota, in my opinion.

The Honda E Has more power than a Toyota Rave4 of the same year too.

If we are going to compare the two; the Honda E gets better mileage than the Toyota Rav4 too.

Best I’ve gotten with the Rav4 is 23mpg. I’ve logged 26mpg with the Element.

What Happened To The “E”?

With all the distinct advantages of the Honda Element; why did they quit making them you ask?

During the last year of production, 2011, the Honda Element sold dismally. The final tally of sales came in at roughly 11,00 in the US. Not big enough numbers to consider production moving forward.

Sadly, 2011 was the last year of production. Honda scrapped the Element for the more popular CR-V.