I had a Honda Element back when it first came out, and what an interesting vehicle it was. It seems mostly remembered for its boxy shape—noted in the second sentence of the linked article—but it was quite a bit more than that. For one, its opposing “suicide” doors opened wide, revealing a flat platform with affordances to secure bikes and other gear. Its interior was pretty waterproof and designed to be hosed out after camping; it even had drains in the floors. It also had a wide array of accessories, including an ahead-of-its-time first-party tent designed to hang off the back so you could camp out of the Element directly.
Its weakness, from my perspective, was its engine: It had a four-cylinder engine that was barely adequate when the Element was empty, and loading it up for camping overwhelmed it. It never got great gas mileage, but it absolutely had terrible range fully loaded. It really needed the V6 from the CR-V. Alas, Honda never made a follow-up that could learn from the first generation’s flaws.
Well, maybe it’s too early to say that, because they’re apparently considering bringing it back with a hybrid powertrain. That could be great! I hope they do take a swing at the Element concept again.
Is the Honda Element Really Returning in 2029 With Hybrid Power?
A report claims the quirky Honda Element could return as a hybrid Ford Bronco Sport competitor.