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Comment by aabajian | Hacker News Reader

It has enormous cargo space for its size. It has more interior space than an FJ Cruiser, despite being 80% of the size. The stock rear seats of an Element fold flat across the windows: https://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/585272_81_61976_raLZL...

Also, there was factory-optioned camper model called the Honda Element ECamper.

Like the FJ, the Element has suicide doors allowing you to load things like wheelchairs and surfboards.

I think a big reason it has the false misconception of being washable is that there is no carpeting (except on the SC) models. It was also rated as the #1 dog-owner vehicle, which means it tends to get muddy. Honda even had a dog-utility ramp for it: https://www.hondapartsnow.com/genuine/honda~pet~ramp~kit~08l...

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I bought one new in 2003 and this is spot on. I sold it in 2018 and still miss it (but wanted to tow more than 1500 lbs).

The styling is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but if it's ugly at least it's cute ugly rather than the "I'm going to murder anyone who gets in my way"-ugly that seems to be trendy right now.

One of the things I miss the most was the lack of a giant center console/tunnel between the front seats, and the dash-mounted shifter. You could easily drive with e.g. a backpack/messenger bag/etc. between the seats, and the whole interior felt much less cramped (a huge contrast to my current Escape/Kuga). The rear seats had a great view over the heads of the front-seat passengers and tons of leg room and headroom.

Also the steep windshield and restrained amount of visual clutter on top of the dash was pretty great, especially in contrast to what's available nowadays, where you usually have a bunch of pointless shapes and textures constantly superimposed on your view of the world thanks to the reflection in the windshield.

Agreed with everything you said. It's a pity everything today has centre consoles splitting the car in 2. I like the idea of a 3 seat bench in the front but i think practicality is getting lost in the name of safety regs and excessive over styling, brand distinction and design detailing. The good news is electric cars can do away with tunnels and petrol tanks.

I had a new one in 2005 and I LOVED that thing. I sold it and bought a hybrid Camry in 2009 because of gas prices and while the Camry has been great I miss the Element all the time. It was such a practical vehicle, and it had actual personality. It was so easy to clean, the soft plastic panels on the edges meant parking dents were really rare, it was surprisingly small and easy to park (especially parallel park, it was short and narrow), being able to easily take the seats out meant you had a huge amount of room in the back, no center console cluttering up the space between the driver and passenger, just super nice all around.

Appreciate this response, thanks!

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