Hatchback Owners Close Their Boots 'Wrong' And It Drives Me Mad
As someone who’s deeply pedantic, I’m easily annoyed by many things that people do wrong. And when it comes to cars, one of my most significant annoyances stems from how people close their boot. Or ‘trunk’, if you’re of a more ‘Murican persuasion.
Specifically, I’m talking about hatchback-style tailgates. Everyone I’ve ever seen, and most people I’ve asked in the CT office - many of whom were happy to answer after saying things like “what a preposterously boring question” - simply push down on the outside of the boot until it’s closed. Which would be fine, if there wasn’t a better way that the entire world seems to - infuriatingly - be ignoring.
Pop the boot of your average hatchback, and you should be presented with one or more grab handles. All you have to do is hook your hand inside, pull the boot down and then let go - the weight of the boot will do the rest.
Et voila - you’ve now closed your boot without getting your smudgy fingerprints all over the bodywork. Even better, you’ve not made the layer of dust/muck on the outside of your car look more obvious, nor have you got a load of dirt on your fingers.
Admittedly, some are a little ergonomically challenged, and there are tailgates (the one on ‘our’ Hyundai i30 N springs to mind) that need such a slam to shut, that pawing the outside is unavoidable. But still, the boot grab handle is a simple and effective piece of design, yet it goes unloved.
Do people not know what they’re for? Are most folk just too lazy to bother using them? Am I a sad man who should worry about more important things? Wait, don’t answer that…
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
you are a sad man who should worry about more important things
It’s for closing from the inside… Why would I risk getting my fingers jammed or my head slammed for this.
You got problems if you manage to jam your fingers doing this, even more so if you slam your head
Civic VI Hatchback does not have such “handles”.
For instance, sedan E46 does and it grinds my gears when I see someone shut it with hand on the boot itself :D
There’s something about closing it shut the way you hate that is really satisfying.
^This haha
My ‘14 WRX hatch is among those that don’t close properly using the handle sadly.
It’s never even crossed my mind to push down the outside of a hatch. I’ve never even seen someone try and close a hatch by grabbing the outside of it. The handles are so obviously positioned it’s quite clear what they are meant for.
The most recent focus hatchback actually has reenforcement around the rear wiper, so you can close it with that instead of the paint
It’s even more painful to see people at the supermarket pushing down on their electrically-operated tailgates…
you can hear the unhappy electric motor whizz and the tailgate doesn’t even close properly when they push for the first time and they have to force close it twice
I thought you did not like those fancy cadgets that modern cars have