Element or Accord...why should I be torn?

2225 Views 13 Replies 11 Participants Last post by JP, May 3, 2003

JP

Discussion Starter · Apr 27, 2003

Commencing therapeutic rant:

I have owned a Tahoe for some time now and enjoyed it. However, I am ready to move on due to its increasing miles. I know one thing...I want a Honda. I just don't want to worry so much about problems and Honda seems to have the market cornered in this area.

So I looked at honda.com and lo' and behold I saw the Element. I saw a few on the road before and could not believe how ugly they were. What shocked me even more was the fact they were made by Honda. Honda's reputation has always been to leave no stone unturned and I just couldn't believe they would make something so ugly.

So then I decided to go look at one up close. I was shocked. It was like they took my Tahoe and a Civic and smashed them together. The drive, the usable space, the attention to a "no mess" sort of car were all things that really impressed me. To top it all of the price is right.

So now I'm stuck and I just can't decide. There are so many things about the element that I like but the Accord just feels like a better made vehicle to me. The road noise is noticable but not terrible. What concerns me is 3 years down the line after a ton of vibrations. Will the road noise sound unbearable? Will the removable seats start to clank around? Will those plastic quarter-panels start to fade or discolor? My point is this: dollar for dollar the accord feels like a quality step up to me. You can get an LX Accord for about the same price as an EX Element. The Accord feels very solid to me while the Element feels a bit more like a Civic level of quality...not sure if that makes sense.

Anyway, did anyone else out there have a similar situation? I realize the Accord and Element are very different and I like them both for completely different reasons. Does anyone have any advice on how they decided?

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Doubro

· #11 · May 2, 2003

I was thinking that the rattle issues probably wont be that big overtime. It seems like Honda has put a whole lot of thought into this design, even if it was only 2 years in the making.

And the CRV being the basis of the Element means that Honda has had some experience with the guts of the truck at least. Engine and Suspension are proven I would imagine, the new thing is just the sheet metal and plastic, which I can't imagine would baffle Honda regarding how to secure them at this point.

My mom just bought a Nissan Altima, and I like the looks of it. Didn't like the looks of the Accord, thought it was trying to copy Nissan. Of course the Accord wins in relability and build quality, but even the Accords are built in the USA. So not a big difference between Element and Accord in that dept I'm thinking. You have to spend big $$$ to get a Japanese made Honda in the S2000 and such...

I'm leaning toward the Element because it's more fun , pure and simple.
I hope I get more use out of the space it provides... I'm sure the Accord is a great car, but it's a crappy SUV, and absolutely no one will be thinking how cool my Accord is, or asking me "Where'd ya git that thing?"

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