Hatches are getting smaller and smaller...WTF??

I'm a devout hatchback/wagon fanboi. Most of my DDs over the past 10 years have been one or the other. But it seems that while sedans, SUVs, etc... sold here get bigger and fatter, true hatchbacks and wagons get smaller and smaller. Today, a coworker brought in a bunch of old sports gear that her kids have outgrown. Lacrosse gear, hockey sticks, etc…the one “large” item was an old plastic BMX bike ramp that comes apart into 3 pieces. I had to do a bit of Tetris style packaging to get it in my FoST, even with the rear seats folded. Don’t get me wrong, it all fit with some room to spare, but it wasn’t as easy as you’d think. As soon as I finished packing it, I realized I wasn’t bringing my car home tonight…I’m taking a company car home because I have a trip tomorrow. The company car is a ’14 Camry. Damned if the Camry’s trunk didn’t swallow nearly everything that I had to use the entire hatch and fold the back seat of the Focus down. WTF??? Please, please bring a full size fun to drive wagon to the US market. For cryin’ out loud.

The Jetta/Golf wagons are still pretty good about cargo space. I've put a 90% height (but otherwise full size) refrigerator in one with the seats down. That wouldn't have fit in my Jeep

Keep in mind, the FoST isn't a wagon. It's a hatchback. Hatchbacks aren't necessarily big cars (although some have been, such as the hatchback Camaros).

Magnums are pretty spacious.

A couple weeks ago, I put two nightstands, two chests of drawers, a dresser, a mirror, and a palm tree, in mine.

My wife had a Versa like this.

I looked forward to the utility of a hatch. It turns out that the single largest opening was not the hatch but rather the opening of the rear door. If we had anything large to load, the easiest way was in the side, rear door, not the hatch.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

The owner of the Firestone we buy tires from has a Versa and he will drop tires off to us on his way home from work. He always unload them through the sides, not the hatch.

and then you have the Fit with its magical interior space, pure sorcery.

The Focus is not a very big car, inside. When I was shopping hatchbacks and wagons I was shocked to find the Focus offers 44 cu ft of space whereas the fit has 53 cf of space. And the fit feels like a much smaller car!

so you own a small car and are shocked that there isn't very much room inside?

My 03 focus fit more than the 14 hatch did. The older ones had a much bigger hatch opening as well. I blame it on everyone making the back swoop down for looks or maybe mpgs , but yeah they are defiantly not S roomy as the older boxer versions

novaderrik wrote: so you own a small car and are shocked that there isn't very much room inside?

No. As noted earlier, it's all about the packaging. The Fit is a tiny car but with the seat folded down is cavernous inside. I understand that the hatch area is fairly small in the Focus and expected that. But even with the seats folded down it's not as roomy as I had hoped.

This is where the Mazda 5 shines. I've had an outdoor table, four chairs, 15 bags of groceries and about 12 cases of canned soda in the back of it with all the back seats down. (at one time)

A bike with no wheels off, couple backpacks and groceries is no problem at a single time also.

The Fit is a marvel with how much space it has for the size it is.

I hate to say it but suv's are going to give you better space options. I'm going CX-5, HRV or maybe another Mazda 5 when this one dies.

The missus' Kia soul has the most useless hatch I know of. Too narrow for anything more than groceries. I had to pick someone up from the airport and it was a puzzle to get two carry on bags in there.

My 01 gti had almost 3 times the useable cargo space.

My wagon is small for its time and plenty of room.

Fit owners, does the front passenger seat fold over, flat, making a continuous 'bed' from hatch-to-dash, like the 3rd generation Civic wagon did?

I feel your pain. There is so much more usable space in my"03 Saturn LW200 wagon.

My wife has a '12 Focus hatchback and I've used that a couple of times for large loads. Don't forget that the bottom seat cushions of the Focus fold forward to allow the seat backs to lay flat(er). It does have a couple of drawbacks:

1. The seat backs still aren't flat with the trunk's load floor.
2. The headrests still have to come off and you have to put them somewhere
3. The front seats have to be slid forward some. Which is annoying for me since I'm most comfortable in her car with the seat all the way back.

http://automobiles.honda.com/images/2016/fit/features-interior/refresh-mode.jpg

Here is a picture of the Fit refresh mode. You take the headrest off the front seat and fold it back towards the back of the car.

I agree with the OP. The problem is that hatchbacks, SUVs, and CUVs have gotten to the point where the roof line behind the rear doors isn't offering practically any additional cargo space at all over a sedan. It's just become a styling exercise and more of a "fastback" roof then a true useable cargo space above the belt line. IMO why bother if you only have maybe 1/3 of the space behind the rear doors that you could actually stand something up in? Yes load in might be easier, but it's not really functional space anymore.

I spent quite a bit of time comparing my new Mazda6 vs. a more compact Mazda3 hatchback in the showroom and I honestly concluded that with the full length folding rear seat on my 6 I had more cargo room. Hell, I went on a camping trip once that had really heavy rain coming down and I chose not to sleep in my soggy tent so I folded the seat down and I could lay down in the back with my feet against the trunk and still have a few inches of space before my head hit the seat backs!

I would much prefer a true station wagon to most of the 4 door hatchbacks today because some of them like the Golf, Volvos, and Outbacks still have a more "square" usable cargo space but most hatchbacks these days don't.

After you put all the required safety stuff in a car there is not much too to spare and that stuff is basically the same for a small hatch or a mid size sedan.

The thing that annoys me is a small trunk opening size. I can't remember which car, but we were able to load a mini-fridge into the trunk through the rear seat where it fit with plenty of room, but it didn't fit through the trunk in any configuration.

I'm also constantly fighting that when I travel with multiple guitars. The guitars all fit in there, if you can get all of them in there. I could have fit 2 dreadnaughts in the miata if I had more room in the trunk opening (not complaining about the Miata trunk size on this one, just using it as an example--I was thrilled to get a full sized guitar in there)

Are we doing rants now? Better go write mine.

Klayfish wrote: I'm a devout hatchback/wagon fanboi. Most of my DDs over the past 10 years have been one or the other. But it seems that while sedans, SUVs, etc... sold here get bigger and fatter, true hatchbacks and wagons get smaller and smaller. Today, a coworker brought in a bunch of old sports gear that her kids have outgrown. Lacrosse gear, hockey sticks, etc…the one “large” item was an old plastic BMX bike ramp that comes apart into 3 pieces. I had to do a bit of Tetris style packaging to get it in my FoST, even with the rear seats folded. Don’t get me wrong, it all fit with some room to spare, but it wasn’t as easy as you’d think. As soon as I finished packing it, I realized I wasn’t bringing my car home tonight…I’m taking a company car home because I have a trip tomorrow. The company car is a ’14 Camry. Damned if the Camry’s trunk didn’t swallow nearly everything that I had to use the entire hatch and fold the back seat of the Focus down. WTF??? Please, please bring a full size fun to drive wagon to the US market. For cryin’ out loud.

The Camry is a full size car. The Focus is a compact. difference in sizes.

My Fiesta hatch has a tall trunk.

RealMiniParker wrote: Magnums are pretty spacious.

I’ll have to take your word on that…everyone I’ve tried to put on ripped apart on me.

This seemed appropriate to post here.