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2003 Honda Element
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A Vehicle Honda DOESN'T want Women to Buy!
Steering is a rack and pinion system that translates to quick responses and makes an extremely tight turning radius of 34 feet. The power steering box adds internal dampening valves designed to reduce steering kickback when crossing potholes and pavement bumps.
Brakes show a disc at every wheel, vented in front and solid in back. The top trim adds an anti-lock brake system (ABS) with electronic brake force distribution (EBD).
For locomotion, Element carries the CR-V engine, a twin-cam 2.4-liter in-line-four with aluminum block and heads and Honda's new i-VTEC variable timing valvetrain. It delivers a robust 160-hp at 5500 rpm with 161 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm.
It works with either the standard manual five-speed or optional automatic four-speed transaxle for the front-wheel-drive (FWD) version or one with Honda's intelligent four-wheel-drive (4WD) device permanently engaged to direct the engine's muscle to all wheels.
As a bonus added to the 4WD Element, a large skylight in the cargo bay tilts up or pops out entirely.
Two levels of trim work on Element -- DX and EX.
Element DX contains significant equipment including power controls for windows and door locks but EX models get more gear including air conditioning, cruise control and a high-powered stereo sound kit with auxiliary jack for connecting external audio components like a digital MP3 player.
