I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy the Rav4 but just wanna hear your thoughts about the trunk door opening sideways. That's the only thing stopping me from getting it right now. Is it a hassle compared to traditional trunk door?
Toyota Rav4 trunk door
- Thread starter DrunkWhenSober
- Start date
Yes, it's really annoying. It's heavy too, so if you are on an incline, that increases the problem. Plus you have to plan ahead to park to give yourself enough space to open that gate door. When you have had a hatchback, it's not even a thought, but a gate door definitely sticks in your mind.
The RAV4 is a great vehicle though. The trunk door shouldn't be a make or break decision to get one if you have a good deal.
Yes, it was pretty annoying.
You park downwards on a hill, it’s heavy to open and you have to struggle and maneuver to hold it open while loading the trunk.
You park upwards, it swings open and smacks anything in its wide opening path.
Parking in a cluttered garage, there isn’t enough room to fully open the door without needing to open the garage door.
in a parking lot, you have to be really careful of surrounding cars and cars zooming by, and backing into a parking lot against a wall is something you consciously have to remember not to do.
But, if it’s a kick-ass deal, I would get it again regardless. I like the Toyota look and ruggedness and trouble-free operation.
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Why not look at something like a 2014+ Ford Escape or Edge? both great vehicles, or even a Nissan Rogue?
All of the above issues are true, but it never bothered me too much once you get used to it. The reason for the swing door (and the reason it’s heavy) is because of the rear mounted full spare tire. I guess the engineers made this design decision to allow the rear seats to fold flat and give a ton of cargo space. I believe the Rav of that vintage is the class leader in cargo space. Over the years I have hauled so much stuff in the back of the RAV, including a stack of wooden shipping pallets. If the trade off is between space and having a spare eat up room in the vehicle, I’ll take the space.
Bought my 2012 RAV4 specifically because it had a full-size spare on the side swinging door... 4-wheel drive on demand, sport package with fairly stiff suspension, corners with little or no understeer, etc. Great acceleration, fun to drive. The location of spare also provides a bit of cushion if and when someone rear-ends the car. Granted it is a bit awkward at times due to sloping terrain but the detents hold it open at useful positions. Space, where spares are usually stowed, is incredibly large and useful. Buying used had 30,000 km indicated, started using synthetic oil immediately, goes 15K km between oil changes and the oil still looks like clear amber honey. Fairly heavy vehicle with rigid frame, mileage depends a lot on driving habits. Of several previous SUV's it is superior!
