We used a press fleet loaner from Honda as the support vehicle for the recent Ultimate Track Car Challenge. After a long, hard weekend, we were very impressed with its utility. Whether we were driving in downtown Los Angeles or in the high desert of California's inland empire, the Element was a capable and even moderately enjoyable method of hauling people and things.
The Element felt very much like a big brother to the Honda Fit that we tested recently. It used a similar method of seat flexibility to maximize the usable interior space, only this time there was more space to use. We would have liked a little better fuel economy, but there isn't much room to complain: While driving the hammer with a full load between LAX and Buttonwillow Raceway, we were pretty close to EPA estimates.