Honda Element

After several years on the market, the Honda Element sport-utility remains one of the most distinctive and useful shapes on the road. It's relatively short -- 7 inches shorter than Honda's smallest sedan -- and surprisingly tall. But behind that cubist philosophy is a level of versatility that bests that of many other small wagons or compact SUVs.

As opposed to a conventional four-door setup, the Honda Element's "clamshell" rear doors pivot backward a full 90 degrees. Without a B-pillar to intrude, opening both side doors creates an extra-large portal through which to easily load passengers or bulky cargo. In back, the tailgate lowers like a pickup's and is split from the upper glass. The theater-style rear seats provide plenty of visibility and legroom, and can be configured in multiple ways. And with the rear seats removed, you've got a larger SUV's 75 cubic feet of cargo space to play with.

According to Honda, the Element leverages its versatility and optional all-wheel drive into the ultimate niche vehicle for active young adventure-seekers and their toys. The Element, being a Honda, fulfills that role well. But we know that plenty other buyers also find it useful for routine errands and adventures of their own. Our editors believe its primary weakness is a lack of family friendliness -- there is seating for four people only and the backward-pivoting rear doors can be problematic when frequently transporting children.

Still, as a small, spunky SUV with a spacious, thoughtfully designed interior wrapped in a distinctive shell, the Honda Element easily accommodates the lifestyles of all kinds of people on road and off with smooth, efficient four-cylinder power, crisp and balanced handling, and optional all-wheel-drive traction for beach or snow. We like it just fine for the light-duty utility it delivers for its size, but if you regularly fill the seats or need serious off-road/towing capability, you'd do better to check out other larger, more worthy domestic and overseas competitors.