Double Bass Honda Element for large DB?

[Marcus Johnson]

The Fit is a great looking little car, but I have an aversion to driving anything that small on the off chance of dying in one.

Just think of it as a really safe motorcycle.

 

[Cosmos]

Honda Element's a great DB car. Todd Seeber has one - I think he can fit two basses in there... I seem to remember him fitting a bike and a bass in there at the same time.

 

[Basicbassist]

Very active DB friend of mine has been transporting his bass in an Element for several years now, He removed the passenger front seat and, with the rear-passenger seat swung aside, fit his bass cargo coffin front-to-rear in the car.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Regarding the Honda Element...
There are two things I've read/seen that are big detractors for me. First, the cargo weight it can handle is only 650 lbs. Second, it has the same engine and transmission as the Honda Fit! My ladyfriend just bought a Honda Fit and I'm honestly very impressed with it. I can fit my upright, electric, amp and 4x10 cabinet in there if I don't have any passengers in the car.
When I'm not hauling gear and just driving around town, the Fit gets far superior gas milage than the Element. I have no idea why Honda puts the same engine in the Element and the Fit, but something doesn't add up there. If I purchase a new car, it will be a Fit. She's had it for about 6 months now and it's the most practical car I've ever been in... and gas prices aren't going down any time soon.

Not sure where you read/saw that but unless the Fit now has a 2.4L you're way off.. AFAIK the Element engine was an Accord engine. It has very good pickup and the thing actually handles well IMO. I was surprised when I drove one. Great visibility, you sit up high.

I now have 104k uneventful miles on my first year Element EX-S. I have no intention of replacing it anytime soon, it's still running like new. The question as to whether a full sized upright would fit could just as easily be how many do you want to carry?


IMO it's one of the best gigmobiles ever made. Highly configurable, reliable, decent gas mileage. Mine is the top of the line model and it was still just under $20k loaded, new. The 7 speaker OEM stereo with sub and dash mounted aux input jack works great. Tough exterior and interior... mine still looks practically new.

You could fold the front passenger seat and the back seats flat, take out one or both of the rear seats, there are a few ways to carry oversized stuff.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Brad,
That's good info. Being a Honda, I expect long-term reliability but it's good to hear a personal endorsement. You do realize your E is worth a good chunk of the initial purchase price. The resale on them is very strong, so I'll buy new.
A guitar player friend bought one recently and really likes it but I wanted to ask you guys about its 'bassworthiness'. Bill's gear would fit in a VW trunk.

 

[Heifetzbass]

I have a 2004 CR-V that I can fit two double basses and stools in. And I am not talking about 1/2 size either. The CR-V and the Element have the same chasis, engine, and drive train. It is equipped with an Accura 2.4L 4 cylinder. I have 98K on the CR-V and plan on driving it until I have double that at least!

I would have gotten an Element, but my wife insisted that we not own a "bread-truck". I actually like the Element better, but you know how that goes...

BG

 

[Brad Johnson]

Brad,
That's good info. Being a Honda, I expect long-term reliability but it's good to hear a personal endorsement. You do realize your E is worth a good chunk of the initial purchase price. The resale on them is very strong, so I'll buy new.
A guitar player friend bought one recently and really likes it but I wanted to ask you guys about its 'bassworthiness'. Bill's gear would fit in a VW trunk.

For the first year our E was selling for more used than what we paid for it. I'm lucky in that it was my wife's idea to check them out, we needed at least one "hauler" to go with the small cars we have (02 Mini Cooper S, 99 Miata, 92 Civic Si, 77 Fiat Spider, 00 Z3 Coupe... my "budget collection" ) and after laughing at the prices of new minivans ($30k+) the E was a pleasant surprise all around. We usually buy used and stay away from first year vehicles but this is a Honda. After owning several and putting a ton of basically troublefree miles on them, there's a comfort level. Our 92 Civic Si has 215k miles on it and still runs great.

Given the E's profile I didn't expect much as far as handling and I was glad to be wrong. The fuel economy is decent (mid 20's), especially considering how I drive. I carry my electric bass rig (two cabs, two amps, Kart-a-bag cart, tools/parts bag, etc.) in the rear behind the back seats... with the retractable cover in place. Then I put two gigbags on the back seats with a bungie cord going from under the seat to the headrest to hold them firmly in place. Three long scale bass hardshell cases can fit in the floor in front of the back seats with the front seats all the way back. It's like this thing was custom designed for me and what I do.

 

[M Ramsey]

I'm thinking of a never car/SUV to replace my 2000 Cherokee Sport. My bass is a large 7/8 with a length of 74" and a lower bout just over 28". I would like to load it on its side, unsupported by the neck or scroll. The way the Cherokee's rear seat folds down (or doesn't) makes going between the seats problematic and it barely fits on the diagonal.
I'm hoping any Element owners can advise me if my bass would comfortably fit. I could just test drive one, but .

I've been driving a Honda Element since the fall of 2003 (when I can get it from my wife). I've carried 2 American Standard basses at one time in there.

I've also hauled a Gage flight trunk in there. Just ask old David Peeples on here, he's the guy who sold it to me and helped me load it.

Fold one seat to the side (preferably the right rear) load the bass in on its side with the bridge pointing toward the right rear and have room to haul yourself, 2 friends and still some more gear.

My son is dying to get himself an Element now. He's borrowed ours a few times when he needed to haul a bass back and forth to Nashville. He primarily plays mandolin, which takes up a good bit less space.

I'm trying to convince him to buy something that will get better mileage than the Element, since he spends a good bit of time driving with his job (playing music). He can still borow my Element if needed.

I wouldn't trade it for anything else to haul a bass.

BTW, the Element has a killer sound system as well.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I have a 2004 CR-V that I can fit two double basses and stools in. And I am not talking about 1/2 size either. The CR-V and the Element have the same chasis, engine, and drive train. It is equipped with an Accura 2.4L 4 cylinder. I have 98K on the CR-V and plan on driving it until I have double that at least!

I would have gotten an Element, but my wife insisted that we not own a "bread-truck". I actually like the Element better, but you know how that goes...

BG

CR-V's are cool, one of the things I preferred on the Element was the headroom. With the theater style seating in the rear, it's far from as closed in feeling for any passenger as most larger SUVs. The ride in the back can get a bit bouncy but so far no one's complained.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

BTW, the Element has a killer sound system as well.

That was the first thing my friend showed me when he walked me through his Element. Pretty impressive sound coming out of the standard system. I think it would be my first choice in a new bass hauler.

I have a new Honda CR-V that works well, although the configuration isn't ideal with the seats folded. The Subaru Forester that it replaced was better in that regard. Now that was a great car.

I wonder how the new, slightly larger Scion xB would work as a bass transport. The price is certainly attractive.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

OK. Thursday evening my wife and I test drove one and filled out a credit app. I worked until noon Friday and was on my way to Chicago to retrieve my son from college when she called me to tell me everything was in place and I should meet her at the dealership to pick up the new E. After a bit of arguing about the fact that I was already an hour into the trip, she convinced me it was worth it to have the new car for the trip and I'm very glad she did.
Marcus, the sound system kills. Just east of Davenport, IA I picked up a live show on XM radio with Jay Leonhart doing his comedy routine where he sings and plays DB. The sound system almost convinced me I was in the club. The stereo is a big plus.
The space and flexibility in the back of the E is impressive. It takes about 15 seconds to either remove or hang the rear seats along the sides.
I haven't tried my bass yet but it will, no doubt, slide right in with one of the rear seats hung from the wall.
I considered the Scion, but they look smaller to me and I like the more utilitarian non-carpeted Honda.
All for now.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Congratulations, Clink. Nothing like that new car smell.

I don't think you can go wrong buying a Honda... I've had a few over the years, and they've all performed flawlessly.... even my lawnmower!

 

[M Ramsey]

OK. Thursday evening my wife and I test drove one and filled out a credit app. I worked until noon Friday and was on my way to Chicago to retrieve my son from college when she called me to tell me everything was in place and I should meet her at the dealership to pick up the new E. After a bit of arguing about the fact that I was already an hour into the trip, she convinced me it was worth it to have the new car for the trip and I'm very glad she did.
Marcus, the sound system kills. Just east of Davenport, IA I picked up a live show on XM radio with Jay Leonhart doing his comedy routine where he sings and plays DB. The sound system almost convinced me I was in the club. The stereo is a big plus.
The space and flexibility in the back of the E is impressive. It takes about 15 seconds to either remove or hang the rear seats along the sides.
I haven't tried my bass yet but it will, no doubt, slide right in with one of the rear seats hung from the wall.
I considered the Scion, but they look smaller to me and I like the more utilitarian non-carpeted Honda.
All for now.

Welcome to the club. You'll become addictied to this vehicle and be trying to figure out how to get another one, so you don't have to share.

 

[Marc Piane]

We have always had Hondas (we had a Toyota too) ever since I was a kid. They are great cars and really hold their resale value. I just looked up the blue book value of my 2000 CRV with 100,000 miles on it. $10,000 in mint. That is about half of what I bought it for.

We sold a used Civic because we inherited an Audi for our second car. Drove the Audi for about a year. Sold it. Bought another CRV. I feel like a dork for having two almost identical looking cars but it is a great car and it carries a bass easily.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

We have always had Hondas (we had a Toyota too) ever since I was a kid. They are great cars and really hold their resale value. I just looked up the blue book value of my 2000 CRV with 100,000 miles on it. $10,000 in mint. That is about half of what I bought it for.

We sold a used Civic because we inherited an Audi for our second car. Drove the Audi for about a year. Sold it. Bought another CRV. I feel like a dork for having two almost identical looking cars but it is a great car and it carries a bass easily.

My wife drives a Volvo S70 which is a pretty nice car. She's already dropped a few hints about switching cars . Ain't gonna happen.

 

[MingusAmongUs]

I guess I'm a little late -- sorry I didn't see this earlier. But it looks like you went and got one and that's what I would have suggested.

I don't know what the overall length is, but I fit my NS Cleveland in my E the way you described no problem. And Mr. Ramsey says he fit 2 ASes in, so I would think that you'll be fine. I've also had 2 basses in there, in various layouts. One on its side on the floor, one on the seats, one on each seat, 2 side-by-side, etc. Amazing flexibility.

I'll also 2nd the sound system. I have the EX with the subwoofer and I never want for bass. I can't do the XM thing though because I live among the trees and get terrible reception most of the time. And even when the reception is good, the "digitalness" of the sound bugs me. It just has a thin sound that I can't get over. And the boxy body design and limited insulation means a lot of road noise, so you have to crank the radio when on the highway.

My gas mileage could be better but admittedly I drive aggressively, and I am always driving up and down hills, on bumpy roads, etc.

Overall it is the perfect gigmobile, as another poster said. Can't go wrong.

***
also: I found that the stock floor material is a bit slippery. my dog slid around on it like it was ice. and groceries, and everything slides around. i found this great diamond-plate rubber mat that covers it and solves that problem:

Link Removed

and another thing:
as has been cleared up, the elment does NOT have the same engine as the Fit. It is the same or similar to the CRV though, at least it has (my year anyway, an 05) the same chassis. It's a 2.4L 4-banger w/ 166hp and it has plenty of getup-and-go. Especially the manual tranny. Just watch out for the torque steer! And the weight limit is understated. A lot of cargo will slow it down but I put 800 sq ft of laminate flooring in it, weighing somewhere around 900 lbs if I'm not mistaken. Not a problem. I have read of people carrying (or towing) as much as 1600 lbs with no issues. I wouldn't recommend it but it can be done.

 

[Marc Piane]

Honda's tend to be a little underpowered in general IMHO. Great for gas mileage when the car is empty but load it up with gear and the mileage goes down. I can get almost 30 highway mpg in my CRV empty. Closer to 26 with loaded with gear. The mileage also goes down if I go much faster than 70mph which you almost have to do in order to survive on Chicago expressways.

I know we are talking about the Element here but I have had 2 Civics, 2 CRVs, and an Accord and that has been my only caveat about all of them.

 

[Brad Johnson]

My wife drives a Volvo S70 which is a pretty nice car. She's already dropped a few hints about switching cars . Ain't gonna happen.

Hang tough on that one... and good luck.


My gas mileage on my last cycle was a little over 24 mpg. Beltway and city driving and I'll just say I probably average in excess of the posted speed limit on the Beltway.

The sound system: I arrived early at my second gig yesterday and there was a new song I wanted to run over (this was an electric bass gig). I plugged my Korg PX4B into the Aux port on the dash and ran my bass and my ipod through that. Granted I could've used the headphones but where's the fun in that? I sat in the parking lot jamming to songs on the ipod and with the built-in percussion tracks for about half an hour. With this setup you can add a guitar or keyboard, throw in a live sax, swing open the doors and put on a show. Or go overboard like I did once and run a small AC powered mixer (using one of those small AC/DC converter plugs in the dash mounted power jack) and really get silly. Sweet.

We bought the heavy duty OEM mats online shortly after we bought the E and they've been excellent. While they werne't cheap IIRC, after 104k miles they still look like new. Money well spent.

Someone broke into mine while I was on a gig and stole some new Nikes a drummer friend had just given me, out of the back. The annoying thing is that I only accepted them to be nice... I didn't want them. I had taken the retractable cover out and hadn't put it back. They probably saw the shoe boxes then rifled through the center console and glovebox but didn't touch the overhead storage... where I had my ipod and two GPS.

I picked up a couple of Shroeder cabs on Friday to check out this week. I put a 2-10/1-12 cab (21012L) AND a 1-12/1-10 (1210L), along with a Markbass LMII and another bag in the rear... under the retractable cover. It's like this vehicle is custom made for what I do.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Honda's tend to be a little underpowered in general IMHO. Great for gas mileage when the car is empty but load it up with gear and the mileage goes down. I can get almost 30 highway mpg in my CRV empty. Closer to 26 with loaded with gear. The mileage also goes down if I go much faster than 70mph which you almost have to do in order to survive on Chicago expressways.

I know we are talking about the Element here but I have had 2 Civics, 2 CRVs, and an Accord and that has been my only caveat about all of them.

Fair enough... but that is true of most smaller engined cars. And in your case you still have an SUV getting in excess of 25 MPG. I used mine mainly for electric bass gigs/home yard work hauling and I carry two cabs, two amps, about 40 lb. of extras and two basses (or over a dozen large bags of mulch) and I averaged around 24. In most other vehicles I either wouldn't have gotten anywhere near that mileage or would've had the gear much closer around me than I did

I get up to Beltway speeds in no time and with no drama, day in and day out. I mainly drive sportscars so would I like for it to go even faster? Sure... but there's no free lunch.

My Element gets better gas mileage than either our 99 Miata or 00 Z3 Coupe, all of which I tend to drive "aggressively". I won't go into how agressively in print. Our Mini Cooper S gets mid-30s.

 

[Marc Piane]

I get up to Beltway speeds in no time and with no drama, day in and day out. I mainly drive sportscars so would I like for it to go even faster? Sure... but there's no free lunch.

They do have great acceleration. Merging or lane changing is never a problem.

Trust me, we are talking about a small complaint. I don't foresee owning anything other than Hondas in my future. Awesome cars.