Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/25 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/25 for details.
Options
What do you like about hatchbacks?
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
The back seat bothered me a bit, it is narrow with
not a lot of foot room, but worst of all, it seems
to be pretty much unconstructed and of cheap foam.
I can't see it enduring for long if anybody
actually used it. Also, although the back seat
folds down for trunk access, the seats fold several
inches higher than trunk level; nothing near flat.
Here is my main complaint though, and the ONLY
reason I will NOT buy one of these cars. WHERE'S
THE HATCHBACKS? I read on town hall that they are
offered in europe, why not here? A hatchback for
this car would be a no-brainer, in my book. The
"sedan styling" in this case is a joke anyway.
Bring back the hatchbacks, car companies, and we
will buy them!! We can't all afford SUV's!
5 door Focus, that would be the wagon w/4 doors and a Hatch right?
I do believe they are here in the US, was at the Dealer the other day.
So when it came time to be a car owner again I knew I wanted a hatch, but now that my income had increased, I wanted a car with a more sporting attitude and features, but still a hatch. Although I found what I was looking for in the GTI-GLX (so far a wonderful car with everything I could have wanted and more), I was disappointed at the lack of options. It was hard to find many cars that met three of my criteria: leather seats, moon roof, hatch back, or even two, moon roof and hatch. I couldn't believe Honda discontinued the SI series -- if they still had it I don't think I would have even looked at VW. While there are many coupes (I tested the Integra and found the drive hard and the car lacked head room -- I was touching the roof with my head, which never happened in my Civic) I don't consider those true hatchbacks like a Golf or a Civic because they simply aren't as practical, imho.
I suppose the lack of hatchback variety is one of those chicken/egg issues: do car manufacturers fail to make hatchbacks because there are no buyers or are buyers lacking because of the paucity of options in hatchbacks and the failure of automakers to promote them?
carlady/host
The vega was a fun to drive but junky traspo special - actually not that bad.
The GLH was a great car, I drove it very hard for 7 years with almost no problems. It was very solid, handled great (OK the ride was way too rough), and was very practical. Cool car, they don't make 'em like that any more, which is good and bad I guess.
I am saddened by the near demise of the hatchback. Car companines equip most small cars with tiny trunks, these cars would be much more useful with a hatch. I guess people equate hatches with poverty. A good example of a car that would be much better with a hatch is the Ford Escort ZX2.
My current car is a '99 contour, I would have gotten a hatch if it was offered!
Andrew
the only problem is that i have to get out turn off my car and then open it from the back -- i could really use a trunk opener button on my car dash!!!
-thedave2
carlady/host
Ben
This time around, my left leg is grateful that I went with an Automatic.
The manual is fun, but BLOWS in city driving.
This topic is for discussing hatchbacks in general, what we like about them and what we don't.
carlady/host
It's like a coupe and a mini wagon in one. For example, if you're going to take a set of dining room chairs, flip down the rear seat and it becomes a little wagon. The big hatch accommodates the awkward size of the chairs that a trunk would have trouble with. Afterwards, if you're taking a total of 4 people (driver included), "flip" and the seat is back up again. With the rear parcel shelf (when the seats are in the upright position included with most hatchbacks), the back storage works like a regular trunk and nobody can see what's back there.
I for one, love it!
I just bough my third Metro and with rising gas prices, I couldn't be happier.
Tom
carlady/host
ROAD HOGS!!!! TESTOSTERONE JUNKIES!!!!
GAS GUZZLING PIGS!!!!!
just kidding, sort of.
Remember: The Ford Expedition and the Honda Civic Hatchback both get you from point A to point B. Do you REALLY NEED all that muscle in a SUV?
This is also my first hatchback and I gotta say, I'm staying with hatchbacks from now on! I love the gas mileage (I get 30-35 mpg), I love the roomy trunk, as well as the fact that the rear seats fold forward (me and my girlfriend had a lot of fun in the rear with the seats down, of which I won't mention anything else about here). Plus, the hatchbacks are the coolest-looking of all the cars! I'm a hatchback fan, now and forever!
carlady/host
Are you thinking about buying a Ford Focus....have you seen the new Honda Insight? I am not quite sure if its available yet. If you like the Focus look, check out the new Honda.
That is the good news in Hatchbacks these days; we're getting more choices! And (back to our topic) that's just one more reason to love them!
carlady/host
the proper body material into the appropriate cloth
passenger seats of my new Civic. You see, I am a
self-made man. As a self-taught "systems-guru" for
a leading Fortune 500 company in this unparalleled
land of ours - I must report to you that not all
Civic owners have access to and/or the requisite
erudition of the multitude of supplementary
"cleaning materials" offered commercially. I extol
my fine friend Edmund for assembling this
dignified electronic lattice for automotive
doggerel; and I'm sure that countless others concur
that Edumund has done a first-class job.
However, when a gracious individual like Eli lets
go [thus forcing me to beseech Edmund for aid],
isn't it Edumund's responsibility to attend to this
state of affairs - above and beyond the cosmetic
impetus? Shan't Edmund assist me, lest he confuse
this horrible incident further? Please be
responsive to the natural order. Can't we mend the
crisis to start with, prior to heaving me off into
an alternative thread, and possibly an alternative
board?
What do I use to REALLY clean a cloth car seat in
a Civic?
It's now coming time to buy a new car....and I can't say that a sedan is in the running.:)
carlady/host
Will it be sold in US?
My first car was a 1976 AMC Pacer. The car was a piece of cheese - it was even yellow! But the design was way cool - wide and short. We once drove 10,000 miles in three weeks in it, visiting all the western states, and living out of the back. We had a cooler and gas stove and used the hatch area as a kitchen.
I moved from Chicago to NY state in the Pacer. We hauled a lot of stuff in that hatch. On the last trip we had two cats and their litter box back there. You've never lived till you've been in a closed car with a cat pooping late at night on a twisty mountain road.
My current car is an Escort GT. We recently remodeled our kitchen, and I was able to haul the materials, including the counter tops, in the car - with the hatch closed. There is still a bit of a ding in the dash where one of the tops rubbed.
And now I have a Focus ZX3 on order. I'm sure there will be a lot more stories in the future.
Please email at emperor@amabilis.net
It was nice. Can't do that in a sedan!
I like my Saturn but I sure do miss the hatch. The seats fold flat in the Saturn but the trunk just doesn't open wide the way a hatch does.
Now that it's time to start thinking of another car, I'm pondering the few hatches that are out there.
I certainly do not want some huge SUV!
kauffman@hslc.org
Plus I think hatchbacks are cool looking, different then the zillions of vanilla sedans.
Also, a friend of mine who installs car stereos said the sloped glass of the hatch is ideal for reflecting sound toward the front of the car.
the only real difference is the hatch and the great space that provides.
Manual door locks in my opinion are more romanic, as in you can unlock and open the door for your girl
I love my hatchback because it's so practical -- I can carry an astonishing amount of "stuff" when I need to -- just pop the hatch, drop the rear seats and GO. You might have a similar amount of space in a sedan - but try getting the stuff *IN* the car! I also love it because as it's more than a slow econobox, I get the joy of keeping self-important morons in expensive yuppiemobiles and SUVs from gutterballing me at stop lights.
Oh, and by the way -- the Integra hatchback (or "Sport Coupe" as they call it) isn't going away; in fact, they dropped the *sedan* version of the car. I've also seen articles saying various manufacturers are bringing us new hatchbacks, so we may well be seeing something of a renaissance in this area.
carlady/host
My first car was a 1989 Geo Spectrum hatchback (an Isuzu I-Mark with a different nameplate). I beat the [non-permissible content removed] out of that car. I did the basic maintenance and nothing more. I had 5 accidents in it and it remained pretty solid after 4 years & 81,000 miles. I allowed Sears to do the brakes, back when they were caught screwing over customers, and had problems with the brakes after that. The only other part of the car that broke down was the suspension (struts & shocks went bad @ 75,000 miles)
Between these 2 cars I have driven a 1993 Pontiac Grand Am...what a piece of trash, a 1996 Pontiac Sunfire...very reliable (I should still have it, but I got "bored" and traded it), and a 1999 Ford Ranger...another piece of trash.
The current car I have is the 1999 Daewoo Lanos Hatchback. Like I stated, a good car overall. I put a pretty thorough review about it in topic 123, message 140, along with a few updates in the same topic.
I feel they are very practical and useful. I have already done 1 move from Tennessee to Maryland with it & I'm getting ready to go back to Tennessee with it. I keep my "personal stuff" with me when I move (clothes, personal records, tools, computer & peripherals, TV, VCR, etc.) while a moving company takes everything else.
The only thing I wish that I had in the Lanos was more room. It was filled to the capacity on the first trip and will be on this next one. I guess that's where creative packing comes into play.
carlady
Host
News & Views and Hatchbacks Message Boards
Even those that are for sale are not willing to offer speed control or engine upgrade (its not the money, we are more than willing to pay for this American need). Good for Ford that is breaking this sacred ground, but what about other manufacturers... what are they waiting for - except their desire to keep pushing us into the sedan/SUV lure!!!
Watch out, I may go to Australia and bring a Mirage hatchback with me!!