Practical 4×4 Stickshift Honda Crossovers: 2007 Honda Element vs. 1999 Honda CR-V

Gooooood morning and welcome to Shitbox Showdown, baby! Today’s is brought to you not by Mark, but by me, Griffin. I’m taking the helm for the next couple of days, as Mark is unfortunately no longer with us (he’s on a much-deserved vacation).

I’ve been advised by the higher-ups that I shouldn’t just push Corvettes on y’all the way I want to (I daily-drive a C6), but no worries, we’ve got a decent crop ready to go anyway.

Yesterday, Mark handed y’all an ’88 Mustang LX juxtaposed with a ’93 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, both convertible and listed for $2,500. If you ask me, that Mustang was a clear winner with that red interior, and I’m not even mad at its tiny little 4-pot engine. The debrief on yesterday’s poll says I’m not far off:

That Oldsmobile isn’t exactly the most attractive machine, I have to say. That’s right, there’s a new sheriff in town and he’s choosing to take an anti-Oldsmobile stance for some reason even though the defunct company can’t even defend itself.

Anyway, let’s look at today’s options …

2007 Honda Element  – $10,975 

Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter dual overhead cam inline 4,
5-speed manual, AWD

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Odometer reading: 176,855

Operational status: “Runs and Drives Great”

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I used to think nothing of the old Honda Element. I remember logging onto Twitter during the pandemic and seeing this exact listing with a closing price of $36,000 and I thought it was untenable. Sure, it’s low-miles, clean, and on Bring a Trailer, but I still didn’t quite understand it until I did some research and learned the Element is actually a kind of rad car.

From Edmunds: “We’ve found that the Honda Element does offer reasonably peppy around-town response with enough smoothness to make everyday commuting a pleasant enough experience.” The EPA also rated the car for 18 miles per in the city, 23 highway for the manual transmission, which I’m not mad at for a larger ride like this clocking in at 3,500 lbs. Add to this a rather commodious interior behind its beautiful un-alive doors with those fold-up-and-out-of-the-way rear seats, and I kinda get excited, I can’t lie.

Aight but now you’re asking “Why else should I care, idiot? Big friggin dummy person, bring back Mark!.”

Well first off, ouch! Second: This listing refers to the Element’s “very rare ‘5-Speed AWD'” and moon roof offerings, the latter of which I know is pretty nice especially here in California.

It also comes with power windows and locks, which seems to be a rare combo as older manual-gearbox offerings are often stripped of nearly all creature comforts – presumably because an affinity for punching gears yourself must mean you like to do everything yourself.

Add to this cruise control, privacy glass, roof racks, and recently passed emissions, and I’d say you’ve got a pretty decent machine here. At some point, the “Premium Stereo CD System and Premium Sounds System” was a desirable, but lil’ 20-something me is stunningly light on CDs these days, so a trip to Amoeba Music might be in order to pad out the CD player.

Next contender:

1999 Honda CRV – $2,500

Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter dual overhead cam inline 4,
5-speed manual, 4WD

Location: Victorville, CA

Odometer reading: 190,000

Operational status: “Everything works”

I can hear y’all now: “Hey new guy, what the hell are you doing comparing an Element that costs 11 grand with a CRV that costs less than a quarter of its competition?” The answer is I don’t know. I don’t know what any of this shit is and I’m fuckin’ scared. But nevertheless, we persist! This ’99 green CRV is reported to run “good,” and has a clean title to boot. Sweetening the deal for you clutch-kicking freaks, it’s got a couple of new parts on it! The lister says it has a new clutch, throwout bearing, and pressure plate, meaning you likely have fewer repairs to concern yourself with in the immediate future.

Worried about getting this old thing through an inspection? Me too! Luckily its check engine light isn’t on. Excited yet? Don’t be! It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, because check this out: “Just tried to smog, needs a catalytic converter.” Maybe a little foreboding, buuutt get this: “I’ve reduced the price to cover it.” So maybe it’s still a good deal! It at least explains the low price tag, right?

Looking at the interior photos makes me feel like a kid with those old-school cloth seats, so this one has a couple nostalgia points for me there. Like the Element, it looks like it has power windows, but jury is out on the power locks (I’m fairly sure you could never only get power windows, right?). While there’s no straight-on photo to confirm, zooming in on the radio appears to reveal a new head unit has been installed, which could either be rad (includes boomin’ system, yes!) or sad (shoddy install of Walmart junk, oh no!). Flip a coin.

My verdict between the two? Well, as Mark reminded us on Monday, “‘None of the above’ is not an option here,” so with that in mind, I’d say that the Element is my choice here, though I’m not particularly inspired by either of them. I think you should just buy a C6 Corvette instead (shit, I recommended one again), but being able to impress Bring a Trailer junkies by pulling up in the Element is worth the extra eight stacks alone.

But eight stacks is a lot, so maybe I’m wrong. What do you think? CRV or Element? Weigh in and I’ll see y’all tomorrow.