How does the trunk work on the Model 3

[loletifie]

What's with the European obsession with hatchbacks? Genuinely curious.

We have a BMW 3 series and have never been like "wish we had a hatchback." IMO true hatchbacks look disgusting and there is no aesthetic appeal. I like the way the Model S doesn't look like a hatchback. I can see how the lift back style could be useful, but I'm shocked at how many people are basically saying that a trunk is useless.

Not only the European, it's a Canadian thing also.

I have a Jetta sportwagon and I so much enjoy the huge trunk and the huge trunk opening an hatchback offer! I'm carrying once a week three hockey bags and several times a week 1 or 2 hockey bag and a stack of hockey sticks, can't see at all how it can fit in a sedan...

Don't you ever buy large items? I have kids, I can't put larger items on the backseat, and it's surprising of often I buy items that would not fit in the trunk opening of a sedan (toys, holiday decorations, plastic box, car seat, patio chair...)

I really hope Tesla will change the trunk of the 3 because right now I see a huge future pita for my weekly grocerie at Costco, not only because of the opening dimensions but because stacking up the heavy load of food and liquid will be a strain... I really love having to simply drop things on top of one another and not have to ''crawl'' to drop it in place.

Also the hatchback door offer a great protection against rain when you're loading things.

I love the flexibility and the utility an hatchback offers. Back in the days, when we bought the jetta, yes I though the sedan was more ''sexy'' than the sportwagon, and a sport car would be vs a sedan, but I didn't though the sportwagon was disgusting at all. I still enjoy the aesthetic of certain wagon and I can't understand why OH WHY they don't bring here all the wonderfull wagon they have in Europe! A wagon is no much enjoyable than a minivan or even a SUV! You have the handling, the fuel economy and the cargo area to move furniture! I am totally sold on the wagon!

I have confortable slept in my wagon, I've change diapers in it, we have even picnicked in it!

 

[mikevbf]

I have a Toyota Corolla & 2 dogs.......the dogs go in the back seat....P.S. They love it

Have any kids still living with you?

 

[doublejj]

Some of you people are looking at the wrong car....you need a truck or a van

 

[doublejj]

Have any kids still living with you?

Nope, gave him my old Subaru & sent him off to college....

 

[loletifie]

Some of you people are looking at the wrong car....you need a truck or a van

No way! I enjoy driving! And I don't want to cry each time I have to full this huge monstruosity!

Have three kids and doing more than great with an hatchback!

 

[JoRey]

Like many other i do not like the design and this is a general condenses. As for head room is you are 6ft+, maybe you should'ent be riding in the back? Moreover how often do people have grown plus sized adults in the back. Top Gear, Top Gear, did a test and found out that a very small percentage of people have people in the back. How often does anybody go on a road trip with 5 adults? Most plus sized adults will never sit in the back and, if they do it will be for brief period of time. Why kill the hatchback design? Tall people will probably never sit in the back on a daily basis. The Model III is designed for families, kids will be the main individuals in the back. This design kills a means to transport the family dog and the the family in a daily basis. Seems to me that a minority of people, that will never be faced with sitting in the back are making a big deal. I have a volt and can never go back to a trunk. And if you are going to have tall passengers in the back. Maybe you should consider the Model x, the model y and even a Minivan as a familily car. Lets also not forget that the average height is around 6ft>. I'd rather be a three piece glass setup and have a full glass roof. Regardless, i am buying the Model III. But a lift-back will make it the perfect car.

 

[eloder]

sure, but the Model X costs almost three times as much...and it's too wide for many European roads and garages.

Model Y is the vehicle for you, not the Model 3.

Just not a place you want to put a dog.

A compact / mid-sized sedan is not a good vehicle for dogs, regardless of whether it has a big opening or not. Model 3 doesn't sound like the vehicle for you.

 

[MountainHigh]

Hatchbacks look disgusting? I once had a 1990 Acura Integra. If you aren't familiar those are hatchbacks. Moved all my belongings multiple times in that car. Even slept in the back of it with the rear seats down a couple times. Try doing that in a sedan! I think the 90 Integra looks good to this day and it made it really easy to be the only car I owned.

I loved my '90 Acura Integra for the same reasons. Did a cross country move in it. Had it over 10 years and 200k+ miles with no issues.

It's funny to me all those who refer to the model s as a 'sedan' when it's really a hatchback. IMHO, the design is great. Just wish it gave one more inch of headroom, especially in the back seats.

Personally, I take anything with regard to the model 3 with a big grain of salt until we get much closer to production. A lot can change over the next year or so.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

It's made because a lot of people actually prefer a trunk over a hatchback, and that's what sells in the US. I'm not one of those people, but it's a reality. Not sure why, maybe it's a privacy issue?

To be completely scientific about this I just looked out behind my house in the parking area that we share with our neighbors: three sedans with trunks, two SUVs and a minivan. No hatchback sedans (or liftbacks). So I looked outside on the street, 13 sedans with trunks, 4 SUVs, 1 pickup, 3 hatchback-style cars and 1 wagon.

As much as some people might be disappointed with the lack of a hatch, I don't think the trunk is going to hamper the Model 3's appeal. At least not in the US.

I've often wondered the same thing about the sedan vs. hatch dynamic in the United States.

Privacy was a concern, particularly in the 1980's when crime was still high in many urban areas. A trunk's contents are unknown, and when there are lots of closed trunks, there is no obvious target for a thief. A hatch, on the other hand, typically has a cargo area that can be visible from the outside. Crossovers have this problem too, which is why rear privacy glass is often standard on CUVs, and cargo covers are at least optional if not standard.

Even after street crime plummeted in the 1990's and further in the 2000's, sedans continued to persist as more popular than hatches. I suspect 2 reasons: First, people bought what they were used to, which was sedans. Second, the rise of crossovers from the late 90's onward meant that anyone who needed cargo capacity was buying a crossover, not a sedan. The higher ride height of crossovers made them increasingly popular, and wagons and hatches based on sedans became a minority. Remember that the Honda Accord and Mazda6 once had wagon versions. The Honda Civic was also once available as a 3-door or 5-door. Those quickly became extinct once crossovers like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 hit the market.

Hatches are making something of a comeback in recent years in the US.

Ford Focus, Subaru Impreza, and Mazda3 have all been available as 5-door cars. The Honda Fit proved unexpectedly popular. Honda is also bringing back the Civic hatchback later this year.

I understand why some people are disappointed that the first Model 3 prototypes were not hatchbacks, but again, I want to emphasize that the Model 3 sedan is only one of the form factors that will be available on the platform. J.B. Straubel was pretty clear that a crossover was being co-developed along with the sedan. If Model X is any indication, a crossover built on a Tesla BEV platform will handle about as well as its sedan counterpart.

If you want a hatch in the back rather than a trunk, it will be available eventually.

 

[shade_tree]

Tend to agree, once you go hatch you won't go back. I had 3 sedans as my first cars and since then I've had 5 wagons/hatchs (and that was before kids)

 

[EVnut]

But what would be the point? Every design is about compromises and balances.

My only point (now several pages back) in ignoring the cost consideration, was to ask why people were defending a trunk for *other* reasons. Basically saying that's how a sedan should be. That's how everything in the segment is. That's what we should expect. Buy a pickup if you want to haul more than groceries.

I understand the cost/safety and other practical considerations and compromises. My post was asking why some people seem to WANT less utility in their vehicles because... sedan.

 

[EVnut]

I'm shocked at how many people are basically saying that a trunk is useless.

Trunks aren't useless so much as hatches are so much more useful. Trunks are great if the main purpose of your car is to haul able-bodied people around. But some of us like to do a lot more with our cars than just carpool on the freeway with some briefcases. We all have different "needs" for our cars. I "need" my car to be as flexible as possible, and a trunk does not allow that.

 

[Az_Rael]

understand the cost/safety and other practical considerations and compromises. My post was asking why some people seem to WANT less utility in their vehicles because... sedan.

I think some of the trade offs with a hatchback are more noise from the rear wheels (sedans can have more insulation because of the trunk). I know I can hear a lot more road noise from the rear of my Volt than all my prior sedans..

Another factor is body stiffness. A sedan allows several solid cross members across the rear of the vehicle stiffening up the body and providing better handling. My VW and Lexus sedans even had non-folding rear seats to further increase the rigidity of the frame for improved cornering.

So you give up the utility, but gain performance and ride comfort. And I think the security of a trunk factors in as well.

Oh, I forgot one disadvantage of a hatch: the climate system. A hatchback has much more interior space to cool and heat vs a sedan. Which will be a big benefit with an EV considering how much the AC and heater drain battery range.

 

[EVnut]

Some of you people are looking at the wrong car....you need a truck or a van

It isn't the wrong car. Just the wrong type of cargo opening. Why do so many people keep saying "get a truck or van" when simply having a hatch would allow a smaller car to be so useful that a second, less efficient car wouldn't be needed? Seems so odd. In what universe is owning a second, big car a better alternative than making a smaller car more practical? Currently my Prius can do everything I need for the whole family and dog. The Model S can do it even better. The 3... sadly not so much.

 

[EVnut]

A compact / mid-sized sedan is not a good vehicle for dogs, regardless of whether it has a big opening or not.

This is probably true. Except for the part where it is totally wrong. A hatch like the Prius is freaking ideal for dogs - at least up to about 50 pounds.

This isn't only about the size of the opening. It is the configuration of the cargo area. You can't put dogs in the trunk. But you CAN put them in the cargo area of a hatch.

 

[EVnut]

but gain performance and ride comfort.

I find the Model S to be enough performance and ride comfort for me.

 

[Az_Rael]

I find the Model S to be enough performance and ride comfort for me.

That's great, and I am glad the S works for you. It's too big of a car for me.

I am looking forward to having a nimble little sports sedan that is a blast to push down canyon roads like our Audi S4. One that I can still comfortably weave around the tiny things they call parking lots in LA. I hope the 3 delivers on that.

 

[1208]

Even with a liftback would the volume space be that much greater? The 3's back is shorter. If you want the large cargo space with the 2nd row seats folded, then those 2nd row seats aren't in use so dump the groceries on them.

 

[Zoltrix77]

I think everyone here needs to calm down a little. The model 3 will not be released until the end of 2017, I truly believe it will be available if not immediately in a hatch version. I think rightly so, Tesla is trying to appeal to buyers in its biggest market, the USA. The most important detail is that this car succeeds.

I personally would prefer a hatch, or even better, a wagon, but again, I'm from Australia, so most people prefer hatches. Wagons tend not to be that popular here any more since CUVs have taken off, so I would also settle for a CUV if that was available.

I've reserved, (Doing my bit for the electric future!) and am happy to see what happens, it'll be late 2018 before I get my RHD version! In which time the supercharger network will be greatly improved in this country.

Adam.

 

[jkk_]

Trunk looks like plenty big to me......
View attachment 170328

That looks great, I'm not worried anymore at all based on this picture, where did you find it? Or did you take it yourself?