This is very strange......
Anything you assume from looking at the Element is wrong. The ride on the highway is quiet, the handling is very stable, and braking is incredible. Mine has real-time 4wd so traction is great. The interior room is enormous to say the least, and the gas mileage is 24mpg on the highway, 21 city.
This is how it happened, I needed something with more space, better mileage then my Cherokee sport. I really liked the Element but was turned off by the 4cly engine. I decided to take one for a test drive this past Saturday. I wanted a stick, just because that’s all Karen and I will drive. They had one and as soon as we pulled out of the dealer I punched the thing. I had Myself, Karen, and the 6'5" salesman in the back seat and this thing still moved out. I honestly couldn't believe how peppy it was. Later I looked on- line and saw that the 2wd does 0-60 in 8.1!!! which is great for a 4cly 3300lbs box. I figure the 4wd might bit a little slower, maybe closer to 9 seconds but that still not bad. The real test for me are the mountain roads near Sparta, and the Element does fine, it trucks along at 60mph in 5th up these big hills. Believe it or not but my jeep could barely do that, and my 4cyl Tacoma could not.
The handling is really good, and I think people don't realize the thing is so damn wide and the most of the weight is down low, that's why it's so stable.
With the back seats up, or removed the cargo floor is 67.8 inches long and completely flat, and that's with the tailgate up. Add another 2 feet on to that if you don't mind your cargo hanging out the back. There's 47 inches of height inside the cargo area (almost enough to stand plywood up sideways) The seats are extremely comfortable, IMO more so then the NSX (probably because of the high seating position, you can keep a bend in your knees) The rear seats have more legroom then a BMW 740IL, believe me, my boss has one and we checked!!
Like I said I will post pictures soon.
