2011 Honda Element Review and Prices

By Chuck Giametta
2011 Honda Element Review and Pricing
2010 Honda Element Review and Prices
2009 Honda Element Quote

2011 HONDA ELEMENT BUYING ADVICE

• The 2011 Honda Element is the best car for you if – and when -- Honda redesigns the original quirky cube.

• An all-new 2011 Honda Element would kick off the second generation of this shipping-container-shaped compact crossover SUV. The first-generation Honda Element was introduced for model-year 2003 and blazed the trail for a boxy brotherhood that now includes the Scion XB, Nissan Cube, Kia Soul, and, with some stretching, the Ford Flex.

• Should you buy a 2010 Honda Element or wait for the 2011 Honda Element? Although the Element was cosmetically freshened for model-year 2009, it’s overdue for ground-up redesign. Given shifting priorities, however, Honda could delay further or cancel altogether plans for a next-generation Element. Today’s model appeals to a shrinking number of buyers. If you’re not among them, wait until the future comes into focus. There’s likely to be a window during which you can decide whether the 2011 Element is what you want -- while 2010 Elements are still on dealer lots.

2011 HONDA ELEMENT CHANGES

• Styling: Element broke from the gate like a champ in 2003, recording 67,500 sales in its first model year. Demand declined steady each year since, and Element sales were on a 13,000-unit pace for calendar 2009. Partly, it’s because this is an aging novelty act. And rivals have fielded some tough competitors that pick up on Element’s cubist vibe without its problematical design touches, such as the French side doors. If a next-generation Element bows for model-year 2011, will it have that distinctive side-door design? And would it be an Element without it? It’s significant that Honda may be preparing a new compact crossover with rounded, aerodynamic styling. It would be an offshoot of the redesigned 2011 Civic and could be described as the Civic “Crosstour.” If the Civic Crosstour isn’t an Element replacement, it leaves the door open for the Element to return with a boxy shape. In any event, a clue to Element’s future may be how the first-generation model evolved during its lifecycle: it gradually shed a loaner’s-cabin motif for an urban-hipster sensibility.

• Mechanical: Don’t expect the next-generation Element to begin offering a V-6 engine. But a four-cylinder with more horsepower than today’s barely adequate 166 would be welcome, as long as it didn’t negatively impact fuel economy. Fuel economy could also play a role in Honda considering a diesel-powered Element or one with a gas-electric hybrid powertrain sometime during the second-generation. Element after all appeals to an alternative lifestyle, so alternative power would seem a natural fit. A choice of front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive (AWD) would return, though Element would not be recast as an SUV geared toward serious off-roading. That’s not Honda’s bag. Element would likely stay with a choice of manual and automatic transmission, though adding a gear ratio to each would create six-speed units that would be more fuel-efficient than today’s five-speeds.  

• Features: No doubt Honda’s product planners spent weeks debating just how many off-kilter features a next-generation Element ought to retain. They probably agreed it should keep the Swiss-army-knife versatility of seats that fold, stow, or remove to create everything from a double-bed mini-camper to a two-seat delivery van. But should it expand to hold more than just four passengers? Should it retain washable, water-resistant upholstery and flooring? Of course it’ll again offer USB iPod connectivity, a navigation system, and woofer-thumping audio. Bluetooth connectivity is overdue, however. And how can it continue without a sunroof? The elephant in the room is side-door design. Element has always teamed long front doors with narrow rear doors. Hinged at opposite ends, they open like a refrigerator-freezer, creating huge portals on both sides of the body. It’s great for clam digs, but a headache in everyday use because the rear doors don’t work independently of the fronts. You can’t load or unload a rear passenger without opening first and closing last a front door. Even then, passage to the rear seat is pretty tight. Side-door design is second only to exterior styling as the biggest question facing a next-generation Element.   

2011 HONDA ELEMENT PRICES

• This funky crate appeals to youth and budget-tending buyers who expect value and versatility. That’ll hold 2011 Honda Element prices to near-2010 levels. Expect the 2011 Honda Element model lineup to mimic today’s base LX, midline EX, and street-custom SC roster.

• The 2011 Honda Element LX would likely be priced to start around $21,000 with front-wheel drive, $22,500 with AWD. (Estimated prices listed in this report include Honda’s mandatory destination charge, which was $710 for 2009.)

• The 2011 Honda Element EX would probably range from around $23,500 for the front-drive model with automatic transmission to $26,500 for an AWD version with navigation. Tricked out with a lower-to-the-pavement look, darkened exterior trim, big rims, and pub-crawl interior details, the 2011 Honda Element SC would likely start around $24,500 and continue as a front-drive-model only.

2011 HONDA ELEMENT FUEL ECONOMY

• Element’s square shape has always been an aerodynamic albatross. And at more than 3,500 pounds, it’s kind of porky for a compact crossover. There’s only so much aerodynamicists could do to smooth a boxy shape. But trimming some pounds from the 2011 Element would help save fuel and allow it to continue with a modest-horsepower engine, which would have the added benefit of keeping prices down.

• The 2011 Honda Element would hope to improve the first-generation’s fuel-economy ratings by a couple of miles per gallon. That would mean beating 18/23 mpg (city/highway) for the front-wheel-drive Element with manual transmission and 20/25 with automatic. And Honda engineers would like to get AWD Elements to exceed 18/23 with manual, 19/24 with automatic.

2011 HONDA ELEMENT RELEASE DATE

• Look for the 2011 Honda Element in showrooms by late summer 2010.  

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE HONDA ELEMENT

• Honda may feel pressured to keep the Element around so as not to appear pushed out of a segment it invented. That means carrying forward a square-cut design that might have been easier to abandon if not for the need to compete with the Soul, Cube, xB, and other carton-shaped crossovers.

• If Honda is fearless enough to substitute a rounded Civic Crosstour for the Element in its lineup, it may be first into yet another new market segment. If it decides to sustain Element as a box on wheels, the presence of the relatively mainstream Civic Crosstour could liberate Honda to get even wilder with the future Element’s design.

• In any event, pricing remains a sensitive matter. That may rule out a diesel engine option but it might not preclude a gas-electric hybrid version using Honda’s low-cost Integrated Motor Assist technology.

2011 HONDA ELEMENT COMPETITION

• Scion xB: The market for jiggy little crossovers is a fickle one. Buyers tend to flit to the newest entry. That’s one reason the Kia Soul bounced past the xB in sales. But thoughtful shoppers realize this five-seat wagon from Toyota’s youth-oriented Scion division is the best-driving vehicle of the bunch. And it’s neck-and-neck with the Fit for packaging efficiency. Base prices start around $16,500. The xB won’t change drastically before model-year 2013.  

• Kia Soul: This five-passenger four-door hatch is frankly not as dorky-looking as the others in this group. But it’s also the least fun to drive and the one that cuts the most corners in materials quality. However, style and attitude rule in this class and Soul’s keen pricing and an equipment list tailored to entertainment and communications features young buyers value make it a strong entry in the segment. Soul won’t be redesigned before 2014.

• Nissan Cube: Like the xB, Soul, and every other competitor except the Element, Cube comes only with front-wheel drive. That doesn’t seem to matter to the cost- and fashion-conscious shoppers in this class. But Cube’s asymmetrical window arrangement and bulldog-in-sunglasses front end may take it too far into the avant-garde. Those brave enough to buy one will be rewarded with a roomy, fun-to-drive little wagon. No big changes to the Cube before model-year 2013 or so.