![]() One reason for the lower-than-expected mileage is that the real-time all-wheel-drive hardware adds a couple hundred pounds. No word on the SC yet, but if Honda found a way to get 10 more horsepower out of a 4-cylinder that’s a little slow on the uptake–as well as on the incline and into the passing lane–it surely will be able to increase the mileage rating. And it will get a 5-speed automatic instead of the 4-speed. It still will have those fold-against-the-wall rear seats and suicide doors, however.Ī major and needed improvement is that the SC will offer a 166-horsepower version of the 2.4-liter that now achieves 156 h.p. Though the EX-P comes with anti-lock brakes as standard, have to feel the SC would be worth the wait because it will add stability control and side-curtain air bags as standard, items not even offered now. Honda suggests the SC will be almost sports-car like in its precision moves thanks to a sports-tuned suspension and those larger tires. They will not, however, be as big as the 21-inch radials on the prototype. While narrow 16-inch radials are standard now, the SC will feature larger tires designed for better handling. ![]() While the EX-P is certainly an upgrade from the regular Element, the SC is a step up from that, with a 3-inch lower suspension to sit closer to the pavement and 2-inch lower roof to make turns and corners less cumbersome. ![]() The suspension isn’t tuned for high-performance handling with pinpoint accuracy at the track, rather for the everyday drudgery of commuting to work and back. You swing wide into parking places rather than dart between the lines. You can hear the tires scrub against the pavement in sharp turns. You feel abrasions in the road, especially those in back, who sit almost directly over the rear wheels.Įlement is a tall box, and though you don’t feel top heavy, you suffer lean in corners and turns. They close in the opposite way: Rear door first then the front.Įlement ride isn’t typical Honda smooth. So you have to grab two handles to open them, a challenge particularly when your hands are full. You have to open the front doors to expose the handles on the rear doors in order to open them. Another novelty, but for everyday usage they simply add to load time. Too bad the SC doesn’t go with the more traditional flip and fold seats. When Element first came out, the second row seats lifted up against the side wall to increase rear cargo room.Īnd because they extend into the cargo hold, the folded seats make storing tall or wide items a chore. “The SC will be more upscale for broader appeal.”īut changes are needed beyond body-colored panels. “The SC won’t have the hose-down rubber mats,” said John Mendel, senior vice president of Honda. It offers those thick black rubberized floor mats so you can wash away the dirt, sand and water accumulated from a visit to the beach. “The current Element is a bit spartan, the new SC will be the style-conscious, upscale urban brother of Element.” “The SC injects a new dimension of sophistication into the lineup,” he said. ![]() “It’s what youth told us was missing,” noted Dick Colliver, executive vice president of Honda. The EX and SC will have body-colored panels–without black bumpers and rockers. Front and rear bumpers, however, are now black, along with the rocker panels and wide trim along both sides of the roof.īut the EX-P signaled a change was coming.Īt the New York Auto Show this month, Honda unveiled the Element SC prototype, a peek at the 2007 SC production model that replaces the EX-P this fall.įor 2007, only the base Element LX will retain the gray plastic. Honda considers it vital to get youth into its family, so for 2006 it added the Element EX-P, which gives those gunmetal panels a coat of body-color paint. But the average buyer is 41, meaning a number of 50- and 60-somethings have made it their vehicle of choice as well. Other novelties included swing-back, or suicide, rear doors, and rear seats that folded along the walls rather than folding flat or flipping forward for more cargo room.īecause youth tend to be more outdoorsy than the rest of the people on this planet, the interior was covered with washable rubber mats rather than carpeting.Īnd you got the choice of front- or all-wheel-drive.Įlement has sold well–a steady 50,000 to 60,000 units annually. It took a novel approach to design–look different than anything else on the road with front and rear bumpers, lower fenders and rocker panels consisting of gray plastic rather than body colored sheet-metal–to cater to youth. Honda learned a valuable lesson when it created the Element in 2003 to attract young buyers: You can ask, but you can’t tell, youth what it wants to buy.Įlement arrived as a compact sport-utility, though crossover seems more apropos for its SUV function in the look of a boxy wagon. ![]()
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