I'm the admin and founder of Element Owners Club, so I suppose I'm a bit biased but yes... the Element is a good purchase. In fact, I may end up as yet another two-Element family because my wife and I like ours so much.

I don't think Daniel will mind me linking to my site: http://www.elementownersclub.com

Plenty of information there on the Element, wilsel. As was already noted though, it's not your "rugged" off-roader. It's tough and gets the job done, but if you want to do anything that requires a true 4x4, I don't recommend the Element. The reason I like mine, it's easy to clean, huge inside, easy to haul stuff, good mpg for a smaller SUV and it's just fun to drive.

Good luck.