What the Honda Element lacked in the looks department, it more than made up for with its versatility. The car was made for 20-something year olds with active lifestyles and it's obvious in the design, especially in the interior of the car.

 

The floor is made of a waterproof textured urethane, and thus is extremely easy to clean. The seats fold in a number of directions and even flat to become beds. The doors open in opposite directions with no stationary B-Pillar in between, creating a large opening into the car, excellent when it comes to dealing with large amounts of stuff to carry around.

 

Despite the innovative features in a car of this size, the Element never met sales targets. It looks as though the Element will only make 20% of its sales target for this year, being on track to sell a little more than 15,000 units.

 

The Element was never really a looker either. When it was first introduced, the body had large panels that were a heavy duty plastic rather than metal. Its boxy styling also created a love/hate relationship with consumers. This led it to compete well against the cheaper but much less powerful Scion xB.

 

Over its 7 year life, the Element has received a number of facelifts. The first one got rid of much of the body plastic. This made the car look better for many, but I believe that it lost an important bit of its identity with the removal of the dark gray pieces. Other facelifts included a new front end shape, new headlights, and new wheel arches that became square instead of round.

 

Honda's Executive Vice President, John Mendel, believes that by adding new features, such as the dog friendly package that has been introduced recently,the Element may reach new, niche markets. Whatever they decide to do with the next version of the Honda Element, by making it look better and more modern than it currently is, Honda will surely attract more customers.