The 2010 Toyota RAV4, 2009 Suzuki Grand Vitara and 2010 Nissan Cube all use swing-gates that open to the side. There are a few design characteristics that, in our opinion, make a swing-gate less desirable than the liftgate alternative, which opens upward.
A swing-gate opens to the side, which takes up a lot of room behind the vehicle. If parked in close quarters, you may find the swing-gate doesn’t have enough room to fully open. Another problem is the way the door is hinged. If parked on a curb, a swing-gate that’s hinged on the passenger side, which includes the RAV4, Cube and Grand Vitara, will open toward the curb. This means unloading has to happen from the SUV’s street side.
Many other small SUVs like the 2010 Honda CR-V, 2010 Subaru Forester and 2010 Chevrolet Equinox use a liftgate-style rear door that opens upward. A liftgate may be unfriendly to some shorter owners because once the gate is opened the handle to close may be out of reach. In that case, the 2010 Equinox and 2010 Nissan Murano have an available power liftgate to solve that problem.
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1. By having the swing gate open toward the street would mean that the lone driver has to walk further around the vehicle to open it. It is handier this way.
2. Rarely have I had to open the swing gate fully.
3. The swing gate is not perfect when parallel parking due to the curb or to get swung open with a vehicle behind. But when was the last time you parallel parked?
4. To open a lift gate with a car parallel parked behind isn't always easy either. Somtimes you can't get enough access at all or have to do a limbo move to allow it to swing up.
5. A wet, muddy, or snowy liftgate can drip on you. (or fall on you)
6. You can hit your head on a liftgate.
7. You don't have to worry about clearance in a low ceiling parking garage or your own garage door with a swing gate.
8. Long pieces of lumber can't hang out of a swing gate the way they can with a liftgate.
Until you have lived with a swing gate for a while it is easy to think that it would be less convenient. After you have had one, the other way seems dumb.
I have a medium sized SUV (Toyota FJ Cruiser) which has a swing gate hinged on the driver's side... and I parallel park at least once or twice a day. Here in LA parking is crazy... but I have never had a problem with getting the gate open. Sometimes I'll need to pull up very close to the car in front of me... and then there is room... of course I'll pull back after I'm done loading so I can eventually get out of the space. The driver's side hinge is far more convenient, as I don't need to load or unload while directly exposed to the street. The FJ also has a locking feature on the stabilizer bar that really helps if parked on a sideways slope, which is usually the case while parallel parked due to the crown of the street. I actually hate lift gates... not only are they a messy, dirty experience in rain, snow or mud (yes, we get snow here, in our local mountains... lots of it), but they tend to be unwieldy.
don't hate the player,hate the game
Being a dog owner an a lift door is very dangerous, not being able to see a tail, nose or leg in the way when the door comes down. I will not purchase a lift door for that reason alone.
I have rheumatoid arthritis and had to trade in a beloved Jeep because the console gear shift was impossible to squeeze and the tailgate was hard to close. The 2003 Honda CRV was the zippy, comfortable answer for me, especially because of the side-open tailgate. It seems I will have to drive it until I kick, since so few newer models have this great feature.
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The Cube's rear door opens away from the curb:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ykzcq56