Made a trip to the grocery store on Sunday morning, and as I loaded my bags into the Suzuki Kizashi's trunk, I bumped my head twice on the edge of the raised trunk lid.
There were 10 bags, none of them very full, so it's not like I was reaching deep into the Kizashi's inner cavern. I was just basically standing at the bumper setting bags along the edge. (Carefully, since the Suzuki is sans cargo net).
After I whacked my crown the second time, I got a little annoyed.
Does the trunk lid stop at a weird angle, or at 5' 7" am I just the perfect height for a cargo-loading head injury?
Kelly Toepke, News Editor @ 8,363 miles
jstandefer says:
05:39 PM, 07/26/10
One of the few things that I liked about my recently traded-in '07 S60 was the trunk lid. The scissor hinges were designed to allow the trunk lid to open so far that it was parallel to and just inches away from the rear glass. There really was no way to hit your head on that! Come to think of it, everything opened wide on that car. The hood opened so wide that you could almost pull the engine without removing it. I'm pretty sure that'll come in handy for someone in the near future with that awful car.
gharry says:
06:47 PM, 07/26/10
My wife's '01 Hyundai Elantra does this to me every time (I'm 5'8"). It's quite annoying and seems to be avoidable. I don't have the problem in my '03 Mazda 6.
Do those trunk lid hinges get in the way?
toastblows says:
04:38 AM, 07/27/10
karma for using 10 plastic bags to load from cart to trunk and then trunk to house. I see you bag like the cashiers at walmart and target......1 deoderant...1 bag.....1 toothpaste...1 bag.....1 four pack of toilet paper.....1 bag.
Now if you used paper or your own larger bags you couldve just tossed it in the back seat like a normal person. then this article wouldnt exist and life could go on.
bodyblue says:
05:01 AM, 07/27/10
"Now if you used paper or your own larger bags you couldve just tossed it in the back seat like a normal person."
GAG...spare us your tree hugging BS please. I love how anything you dont do or agree with is not "normal"
toastblows says:
06:05 AM, 07/27/10
It gets tiring picking up plastic bags that blow into my yard and trees because someone cant carry a box of dog biscuits 20 ft from their car to house without a bag.
I dont consider using a resource for 90 seconds and having it last 200 years normal. I'm not a tree hugger, its common sense. At least use a paper bag, bigger volume, breaks down faster, comes from trees that I dont hug.
wcoy14 says:
06:08 AM, 07/27/10
I thought plastic bags were illegal in California now. Or maybe it's just San Fran or something like that. Regardless of toastblows yelling at bodyblue it doesn't hurt to bring your own bags.
bodyblue says:
07:04 AM, 07/27/10
Plastic bags are not illegal in Ca....just in SF. Of course it does not hurt to bring your own bags...I just hate being preached at...I use the plastic bags for many things at home for more than one use. My local Wal Mart makes you buy re usable bags and does not give out plastic....it just depends on the wall mart location. I live in a nice area so they are more eco friendly I guess. The wally world near where I work in a rotten part of town (South Sac) still gives plastic.
Oh and Kelly....the trunk lid does look really low in that pic. My car uses struts so it opens a lot wider. Also newer cars with deep lids are a pain like that.
seppoboy says:
07:31 AM, 07/27/10
One more advantage of the costlier engineering put into the A5 VW Jetta. Trunk lid uses struts, opens tall enough to clear the head for most people. Best of all, there is a very stout bag holder in the top of the trunk. Fold down its double hooks and hang a week's worth of grocery bags so they are suspended in the trunk instead of sliding around the floor. Those are both surprise and delight features that make the car seem a class above its competitors. Not to mention the over-engineered door keeps and hinges.
carlisimo says:
08:24 AM, 07/27/10
It should probably go farther back, towards the rear window, but this is a likely issue on any car with a trunk lid as deep as it is long.
chochmastergen says:
08:26 AM, 07/27/10
Well I'm 6'4" and regardless of how far back the trunk opens my head is always in the path of the lid. Yet I manage not to bang my head on trunk lids constantly. I think the car designers probably assume that if you bumped your head once you'd be careful and not repeat the same thing and do it again. I suppose that's unjustified though...
wrinklebump says:
10:08 AM, 07/27/10
This actually sounds like you're just kind of dumb
cammy2 says:
11:31 AM, 07/27/10
So blame the car for bumping ur head twice please nit picking here
ktoepke says:
12:49 PM, 07/27/10
Wow, you people are harsh. If I didn't always use the same recycled bags from the grocery store, and hadn't driven several hundred different cars without ever having knocked my head against the trunk lid once, I might be offended. :) Kelly
sdiehlman says:
01:25 PM, 07/27/10
Legitimate compliant, it looks like the trunk lid could have been engineered to open a bit more. As for the bags, I personally use plastic grocery bags again, including toting my lunch into work every day.
don_83 says:
01:33 PM, 07/27/10
attention to detail
misterfusion says:
03:00 PM, 07/27/10
If you bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store, you get the opposite problem: I give them 10 reusable bags, and they cram as much heavy stuff as possible into one. The result is one 47 lb bag, and nine empties.
I've given up on asking them to bag properly, and just redistribute the groceries myself when I get to the car.
sgude says:
03:03 PM, 07/27/10
I'm surprised to see a negative post on the Kisashi. It seems like the Edmunds staff has had a love-fest with this car since they've had it. I know you guys are shocked at its competence, but it took this long for a negative post?
BigFordFan150 says:
05:16 PM, 07/27/10
nice flex on the left
feloniousmonk says:
06:11 PM, 07/27/10
ktoepke says:
12:49 PM, 07/27/10
"Wow, you people are harsh. If I didn't always use the same recycled bags from the grocery store, and hadn't driven several hundred different cars without ever having knocked my head against the trunk lid once, I might be offended. :) Kelly"
You ought to be used to it by now. For most people the ol' social filter tends to get lost when communicating anonymously over teh internets.
On topic: I don't know what it is, whether it's part of some cosmic plan or God's little joke or a strange addendum to Murphy's Law, but we all have something like this in our lives. This girl I know once owned a 1998 Camry and every time I had to reach into the damn thing to get something I'd hit my head just aft of the A piller. Seriously. Forget my phone, lean into the car to retrieve it and crack my noggin on the way out. She asks me to grab a CD, crack my noggin. Lean in to pop the hood, crack me noggin. It was ridiculous!
toastblows says:
01:38 PM, 07/30/10
"wrinklebump says:
10:08 AM, 07/27/10
This actually sounds like you're just kind of dumb"
We can't all drive cars around all day and get paid to talk about them. It takes a Harvard degree I hear.....