We just bought our Element in July so these are still early returns.

I was attracted to it because it's short enough to fit comfortably into our garage and long enough to carry our tandem on the inside of the car. I was concerned that the interior would seem a little too Spartan and that the seats and the ride would be too firm for my taste.

We took it to Wisconsin last week, an 1100 mile round trip. Seats and ride quality (and air conditioner)were great. The interior is nice without being fancy. The interior is also rooooomy! The back wheel of the tandem rolls up between the front seats, but doesn't prevent the cofortable use of the arm rests. Gas mileage on the highway is around the mid 20's.