Here is my father's new Element...a 2010 Silver Element EX 2wd without NAVI. He just bought a Garmin NUVI 255WT for the Element...mounts perfectly on the dash. He also bought two 3" convex mirrors to mount to the outside mirrors to help with lane changes. Both of my parents love it! My father feels that it is the perfect miniSUV for him and his needs (Home Depot runs and gardening stuff). My parents actually find the ride to be quite good. I must say that it is one of the best vehicle that i have seen in terms of practicality and value!! :) Personally, i may get one for myself in the near future....

Anyway, enough talk...here are the pics:

Welcome to the group
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Here is my quick review of it:

- Noise: not much windnoise (surprisingly!), but significant road noise, esp. over coarse pavement.

- Ride/Handling: as expected...the ride is pretty good for a short-wheelbase vehicle. I did not test the handling much at all. Acceleration is decent for what it is.

- Stereo: pretty good from all seating positions. The rear seat is so high up that the sound is at your knee level, but overall, I like it. Bass is enough for my ears.

- Seats: OK. The only negative so far from my quick drive...the front seatbelts are annoying. It cuts into your neck and there is not much adjustment that you can do for it. The active headrest seems a bit hard. My wife's Acura TSX headrest (active also) is very soft in the middle where you head rests...the one on the Element is hard as a rock!

Otherwise, it is a wonderful vehicle IMHO.

The active headrest seems a bit hard. My wife's Acura TSX headrest (active also) is very soft in the middle where you head rests...the one on the Element is hard as a rock!

One thing I had question with when I purchased my 09 is does 09+ E has active headset or not?
I really could not find any documentation from Honda mention about active headset specific for E. I know there has been some preview from 3rd party website mention about active headset, & maybe pre-release media statement from Honda, but I could not find any post released documentation indicated active headset, like one in CR-V here (http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-v/features.aspx?Feature=headrestraints), actually exist in 09+ E.

Here is 09 seat part diagram, could not find anything resemble active headset device?
http://www.hondapartsnow.com/online/part-images/Illustration/465235.png

Welcome... I just bought mine on Oct. 23 and I really love this thing... For me the interior space is the top feature.


Hope your dad will enjoy his ride for years to come.

:-P

What do these "active headrests" do exactly? Remind you to eat your vegetables?

One thing I had question with when I purchased my 09 is does 09+ E has active headset or not?
I really could not find any documentation from Honda mention about active headset specific for E. I know there has been some preview from 3rd party website mention about active headset, & maybe pre-release media statement from Honda, but I could not find any post released documentation indicated active headset, like one in CR-V here (http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-v/features.aspx?Feature=headrestraints), actually exist in 09+ E.

Here ya go: http://hondanews.com/categories/945/releases/5221

Scroll down to near the end of the article...and read:
"Standard safety equipment includes: Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®), commonly referred to as electronic stability control; a pedestrian safety design in the front of the vehicle; dual-stage, multiple-threshold front airbags; side-curtain airbags with a rollover sensor; front side airbags with a passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS); active front seat head restraints; an anti-lock braking system (ABS) with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist; and a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and active front seat head restraints."

It is so important that Honda listed it twice! :D You're right...you won't find this mentioned anywhere in the brochure nor the website...and Honda is big into these safety features! Weird! It is probably an "ooops" by the marketing folks.

The active headrest is based on a lever-action mechanism built into a seat. No electronics involved. As your back pushes against the seatback in a rear-end collision, the headrest moves forward to catch your head and thus prevent or decrease chance of whiplash injury. Here is a good link on it: http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/TECHNOLOGY/INTRODUCTION/DETAILS/ACTIVE-HEADREST/

Here is another info link: http://ask.cars.com/2008/06/active-head-res.html

For me, it is a must-have on all new cars IMHO. As for the Element, it has done well on rearend crashes since 2007...see: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraints/headrestraints.aspx?honda

FYI...here are the other safety ratings on the Element: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=319

Welcome & congrats, your dad has good taste.

Congratulations to your Dad. I will be joining him tomorrow as I pick up my new E. :D

welcome,nice E, sorry about the color..... just kidden ,the cargo kaki is nolonger avalable so everybody has to suffer, but dont fret they all look nice,even the non CK versions.

Gratz on your dad getting the best vehicle in the world! :razz:

One comment, the road noise is most likely caused by the gawd-awful OEM tires, not really the vehicle itself. I would start pushing on him now to get some good tires on it...:rolleyes:

Gratz on your dad getting the best vehicle in the world! :razz:

One comment, the road noise is most likely caused by the gawd-awful OEM tires, not really the vehicle itself. I would start pushing on him now to get some good tires on it...:rolleyes:

What is a good ultra-quiet tire for highway??

What is a good ultra-quiet tire for highway??

Well the Nokian WR-SUV's that I run are very quiet, but they're a northern tire that's more than a bit overkill for Texas. Just search/ask around on the tires & wheels forum on here, I'm sure there's a few opinions on the matter to be had ;-)

welcome to da cult..:D

You Dad is a smart man and he will enjoy and find the Element very useful!