I hope to purchase my first Element next week. Have taken it for a couple of test drives and love it.

I have two labrador retrievers - they go almost everywhere with me. So I have a few questions regarding transport in the summertime / warm months. My understanding is that the E has no rear heating / cooling. Do you find that your dogs get too warm during the hot weather? If so, do you blast the AC or open the windows?

Personally, I can't stand AC unless it is SUPER steaming and humid outside. I much prefer to have the windows open. In my old 2 door explorer I would use the cool air vent, but not the AC. I had a rear vent that I could leave wide open and that boys (dogs) would park themselves in front of that to keep cool. Since there is no such thing in the E I was thinking that I might need to get a 12v fan for the back. Seems as though leaving the moonroof completely off would be REALLY loud - do you guys drive with it totally off and if so does it drive you crazy with noise?

Sorry this is so long but I baby these two knuckleheads like there is no tomorrow and I want to be sure that they are going to be comfy in our new ride.

Thanks

You are a responsible dog person. ;-)

In the oppressively humid Washington, D.C. summer months, my Samoyed (Gidget), has done just fine in the E.

I rely on A/C to cool her, and me.

Gidget probably has more complaints in these winter months when I like the heater on higher than she does. I often crack the passenger window to give her a blast of cool air. And I try to keep the heat down by wearing a coat and cranking my seat warmer.

For dogs and peops, you can't go wrong with the E.

There are vents under the front seats than can blow cool or warm air if the floor setting is selected. This along with the flipout rear windows and the flipout/removeable sunroof (on the 4WD model) should help. My sister has 2 young Labs and another large something of "hound" descent that she carries in the back of hers with the rear seats removed. During the coldest times on a roadtrip she used a 12 volt powered heating blanket spread across the floor with a blanket over it. Just plug it into the rear power port and the dogs have their own warm bed without you having to keep fiddling with the climate controls.

During the sumer months I attend many dog shows with my Bull Terriers. The one thing that I never worried about was the ability of the AC system to keep the vehicle cool... and may I add it cools it down rather quickly.

Purchase with confidence!

HUTMO