Elementary

Somebody asked me if I had it to do over again, would I buy another Element.

Heck yeah.

It's fun to drive. Six speakers and a subwoofer. A jack so I can plug the iPod straight into the dash and use the E's sound system. You can also plug in a laptop and listen to the audio with that same sound system. Tres fun!

Capacity, unbelievable. Head room, leg room, and the most dog friendly vehicle you can imagine. First week I had it, I loaded up Jake the Yellow Lab and took him to the dog park.

If I'd been thinking, I would have thought, "Um, it's been raining. Um, it will be muddy. Um, I have a new vehicle."

Not thinking, I dashed into the dog park and Jake proceeded to have fun in the mud and I proceeded to have fun watching him, and when the few other people were using towels and blankets to wipe their dogs down, I just opened the door and let Jake leap in. Mud all over the floor.

But, of course, no problem. No carpet! So the floor got muddy, I took Jake home, took a shower myself, later on went and wiped the floor with a wet rag, end of problem.

Was it something I'd have done on purpose? Probably not. But as it turned out, it was just one more reason to love my E.

The back seats are higher than the front seats -- stadium seating! Great views for everybody. The back seats and front seats all flatten so you can sleep in it should you want to, or so I'm told. I haven't tried and don't anticipate trying to. But it's a cool option.

So, what are the down sides?

It only seats four. If that's a problem for you, well, yeah, that's a problem.

Mileage isn't great. I don't know how it compares to other SUVs. It's definitely not designed to be aerodynamic, but I knew that when I bought it. On the road, the best I've gotten is 24 mpg. In town in the heat of the summer with air conditioning blowing full blast, it's gotten as bad as 18.5.

The "suicide doors" (not really -- they are totally safe, unlike the old suicide doors from whence the term comes) make it like a two door for people in the back seat. They can't open their door unless you open the front door first. In parking lots, getting in and out of the back seat can sometimes be a bit challenging if the parking spaces are tight. You get used to it, but it's different.

On the other hand, it makes it very easy to get things in and out of the E, especially large or awkward packages.

I would buy another E in a heartbeat.

And it's orange!