Topic: On some of the small SUV

[wing]

^ but then you can say right handed people carry heavy objects in their right hand and only have their left to open doors with

[ovr50]

My Toyota Highlander does.

Snowy, your Highlander has the full size spare inside the cargo cabin? Interesting, as on my '05 it's outside under the cargo area but covered in a plastic holder thing.

Also, the floor height is higher on the '05 HL than it was on the '04 RAV4. I don't know about the new RAV4 floor height, but the '04 RAV floor was definitely lower.

[Snowman]

Snowy, your Highlander has the full size spare inside the cargo cabin? Interesting, as on my '05 it's outside under the cargo area but covered in a plastic holder thing.

Also, the floor height is higher on the '05 HL than it was on the '04 RAV4. I don't know about the new RAV4 floor height, but the '04 RAV floor was definitely lower.

Yes it is. Perhaps the later models changed the design to accommodate the third row bench.

[random006]

I disagree wholeheartedly. I prefer it like it is because 99.99999999999999% of the time, it's the driver that opens the cargo door... and it would be a pain in the ass to always have to go to the other side of the door to open it when it works perfectly as it is. And besides, how often will you ned to load up large items while being parallel parked? Most of the time, it'll be small grocery bags or stuff like that, and the opening window is perfect for that.

Opening to the side is a nuisance regardless.  If you do get the door hinges flipped, all it would take is a situation in which you park on the other side of the street.  The prime example is any one-way street with houses on both sides.  Add to that parking restrictions which force the car owner to park on the other side on alternate days/nights and the problems of side hinged rear doors become obvious.

The only solution is to have the gate swing upwards:
----
--It is out of the way when accessing the cargo area
--It is not a danger to traffic (pedestrian or car)
--It acts as a shelter when the weather is lousy and you need to get at stuff in the back.
----

Place the full size spare under the back of the SUV (as it is in my Sorento) and you've got that stored too.

[Shnak]

like I said earlier, where I live, there's plenty of parking everywhere... I only need to parallel park when I go downtown Ottawa, and when I go there, it's never to shop for big items so I used the flip up window...

The ideal setup would be a liftgate but with a full-size spare tire under the cargo floor (inside the vehicle) while still keeping the cargo floor low... and since most of the time, it eats up too much room by raising the floor, I'd rather have a swing out door...

[Trainman]

My Cherokee had a lift-up rear hatch.  It worked great.  It gave a generous opening, was easy to open/close and provided some protection from the weather.

   Same with my Pathfinder.  And the window flips up as well.     That is the ideal to me.

Older Pathys have an outside spare tire that swung to the curb, then the hatch lifted up.  As did my company Bronco II.

[random006]

  Same with my Pathfinder.  And the window flips up as well.     That is the ideal to me.

Older Pathys have an outside spare tire that swung to the curb, then the hatch lifted up.  As did my company Bronco II.

Yeah, I forgot about the Pathfinder's dual swing approach:  tire horizontally, door vertically.  My brother had one.  However, it still sounds like more work that it should be and those older Pathys were not known for benefitting much in the cargo room department as a result.  In fact, I think I have more room in the back with my spare mounted underneath the bottom of the car than the Pathy did with its rear mounted spare.

The separate window is also a good idea and one I enjoy as well.

[neil]

  Same with my Pathfinder.  And the window flips up as well.     That is the ideal to me.

Older Pathys have an outside spare tire that swung to the curb, then the hatch lifted up.  As did my company Bronco II.

Santa Fe and Tucson both have lift gate with separate glass opening.  Santa Fe (current) has full size spare, but hangs under.  Tucson has compact spare inside.

[pappcam]

well... you have to walk to the other side, and clear the way for the door swinging out. Like I said, it's not a big deal, but I'd rather have it like it is, as long as there a window opening. It just makes sense to have it opening from the driver's side IMO. I'm used to opening things with my right hand, and it'd be weird having to open the door using my left arm. It's just a matter of preference, but I like it like it is. If you're not happy, get something that lifts up. 

It doesn't provide very good dirt/mud/slush protection when you have to crawl under the vehicle to get to the rusted spare tire though... 

Do you open the drivers door to your car with your right hand??

It seems you have no idea what you're talking about.

[sparky]

A couple of rather obvious points no one seems to have made:
How wide is a tailgate? ... Four feet tops. Why is it a pain to walk that distance from EITHER side?
There's no safety issue. You don't have to stand out in the traffic to open your tailgate, no matter which side the handle is on.
Putting the hinges on the right actually has an an advantage when you park on the side of a crowned road: gravity helps keep the gate open, so it won't slam on you if a gust of wind hits it. Left hinges would have the unfortunate opposite effect.
A gate-mounted spare is the easiest to access when you need it. You don't have to crawl in the mud and fight rust and grime, nor do you have to pull all your cargo out and lay it on the ground to access an under-the-floor spare. And of course, it saves cargo space.
For unloading, a liftgate can be a pain (Literally, if you're tall enough to bump your head on it, which I am.). It's the one thing I dislike most about my X-Trail. The worst is when you try to take an armload of stuff out of the back. If you have a swinging door tailgate, you just bump the door with your knee or butt, it closes and you're on your way. With a liftgate, you have to put the load down, reach up and slam the gate, and gather everything up again. It's a pain, and I curse the design every time I go to the supermarket or lumberyard.
If the X-Trail came with a swinging tailgate and outside spare, it would be damn near perfect as a mini SUV.

[random006]

For unloading, a liftgate can be a pain (Literally, if you're tall enough to bump your head on it, which I am.). It's the one thing I dislike most about my X-Trail. The worst is when you try to take an armload of stuff out of the back. If you have a swinging door tailgate, you just bump the door with your knee or butt, it closes and you're on your way. With a liftgate, you have to put the load down, reach up and slam the gate, and gather everything up again. It's a pain, and I curse the design every time I go to the supermarket or lumberyard.

You bump your head?  So you are, what, about 7-8 feet tall?     My liftgate opens up above the roof line, eliminating that problem.  I would imagine most do the same.  The separate window opening function allows an even simpler solution for anything within reach.  Yes it's a high liftover but for anything else, there is the liftgate.

Think it's easier to close?  Try doing that in a tight parking spot.  You could find yourself going around one or more parked cars until you find a space wide enough for both you and all that stuff that you won't put down on the ground.

The only point I'll give you is the changing of the spare.  Even then you need to get at your jack/air pump/whatever and related tools to do the deed.  Where are they?  IN THE BACK, UNDER ALL THE CRAP YOU SAID YOU DON'T WANT ALL OVER THE GROUND.

[Shnak]

Do you open the drivers door to your car with your right hand??

It seems you have no idea what you're talking about.

Like everyone, I open the driver's door with my left hand because 1) my right hand has the key in it, and 2) it's natural that was as the door swings up towards my left hand. And also like everyone, I open the passenger's door with my right hand because it's natural that way.

So since I'm right-handed, I'd rather have a tailgate that swings open towards my right hand.

But like I said, I'd get used to it either way, but I like it like it is.

[Shnak]

A couple of rather obvious points no one seems to have made:
How wide is a tailgate? ... Four feet tops. Why is it a pain to walk that distance from EITHER side?
There's no safety issue. You don't have to stand out in the traffic to open your tailgate, no matter which side the handle is on.
Putting the hinges on the right actually has an an advantage when you park on the side of a crowned road: gravity helps keep the gate open, so it won't slam on you if a gust of wind hits it. Left hinges would have the unfortunate opposite effect.
A gate-mounted spare is the easiest to access when you need it. You don't have to crawl in the mud and fight rust and grime, nor do you have to pull all your cargo out and lay it on the ground to access an under-the-floor spare. And of course, it saves cargo space.
For unloading, a liftgate can be a pain (Literally, if you're tall enough to bump your head on it, which I am.). It's the one thing I dislike most about my X-Trail. The worst is when you try to take an armload of stuff out of the back. If you have a swinging door tailgate, you just bump the door with your knee or butt, it closes and you're on your way. With a liftgate, you have to put the load down, reach up and slam the gate, and gather everything up again. It's a pain, and I curse the design every time I go to the supermarket or lumberyard.
If the X-Trail came with a swinging tailgate and outside spare, it would be damn near perfect as a mini SUV.

Great post, and I agree with most of it.

You bump your head? So you are, what, about 7-8 feet tall? My liftgate opens up above the roof line, eliminating that problem. I would imagine most do the same.

You'd be surprised... most don't clear my head, and I'm only 6'3.

The only point I'll give you is the changing of the spare. Even then you need to get at your jack/air pump/whatever and related tools to do the deed. Where are they? IN THE BACK, UNDER ALL THE CRAP YOU SAID YOU DON'T WANT ALL OVER THE GROUND.

I don't know about your Sorento, but in my old CR-V, the jack was in one of the side pockets, hidden away. That's about the perfect setup IMO. Full-size spare on the rear door, low cargo floor, jack on the side, and flip-up window. Hard to beat that setup... as long as you don't parallel park to do your groceries... 

[G0dspd]

You bump your head? So you are, what, about 7-8 feet tall? My liftgate opens up above the roof line, eliminating that problem. I would imagine most do the same.

Most cute-utes are under 6 feet tall ... from what I can remember.  It's very rare that I can't see the top of a vehicle when I'm standing right beside it (being 6'2) ... full-size pick-ups and their derivatives come to mind.  Even if the liftgate opens over the roof line ... it's still "hazardous" for tall people.

[sparky]

The only point I'll give you is the changing of the spare.  Even then you need to get at your jack/air pump/whatever and related tools to do the deed.  Where are they?  IN THE BACK, UNDER ALL THE CRAP YOU SAID YOU DON'T WANT ALL OVER THE GROUND.

Actually, the jack and wheel wrench in my old Sidekick were kept in a rack under the passenger's seat. No digging or cargo removal required.
Another nice thing about the tailgate-mounted spare is that you always remember to check the air pressure, so there are no unhappy surprises if you ever need it.
And a point I forgot all about, it being winter and all ... If you carry a boat, canoe or kayak on your roof rack, the side-hinged rear door operates perfectly with your boat in place. A liftgate will only open halfway, so you're doing the limbo if you need to access your gear. The more I think about it, the more I miss that Sidekick. It was a very practical little ride.