I'm looking at possibly replacing a 1992 Accord with a Fit. Although I've seen a few, most of my research so far has been online. I'm hoping to get out and drive one next week. But here's the potential problem for us that I just realized I haven't seen addressed. This would primarily be my wife's car. And she is very "petite" (hmm, she's not looking so I can say "short"), like about 4 ft 8 and I just realized that when we looked at one a few weeks ago I didn't think to have her check to see if see could reach the open hatch to close it.


So here's the question: When the rear hatch is open, what is the height off the ground of the lowest edge?


Thanks!

 

I'll measure when I get home.

 

Thanks I'm still waiting for one to come in my area ex-l..I claim to be 5 ft. Pt cruiser is tough for me...

Thanks

 

The handle on the hatch is right about 72.5" above the ground.

 

Thanks for the measurement. That helps!

 

To the handle on my 2007 Honda CRV its 72 1/2 inches. I suspect this is a standard for all.

 

The missus is 5 foot exact and she has no problems closing the hatch on our 2012 Subaru Forrester. I don't think your wife would have any problems considering the Forrester is taller than the Fit.

 

Thanks for the measurements. Last night I held a tape measure up against a door frame in the house and had my wife stand on her tiptoes and reach as high as she could. She got to about 67-68 inches.

I wonder if I could loop a strap around something on the inside of the door that would hang down 6 to 8 inches when the door was open but would not get caught in the door when closed?

I've just got to take the time to get out and look again to determine what options I might have. If I can't figure out a way to make this work I'll be back to looking at Civics and unfortunately I've gotten the "FIT BUG" over the last few weeks so I don't really like that solution.

Thanks for everybody's help!

 

May I propose that a maximization of your efforts devoted to whether the wife can comfortably access that rear hatch will be immediately solved once your local dealer has a '15 Fit for you to demo. All the guesswork and calculations will be addressed after a comprehensive Test Drive.

I'll wager that after that, you'll both be driving a Fit rather than a Civic.
Happy Shopping!!!

 

Anchor it 9+ inches up from the bottom of the door and it'll hang free when the door closes.

I have the opposite issue. At 6'2" (74 inches), my forehead makes contact with the raised tailgate. Ironically, the Fit's gate raises higher than the Odyssey's by a couple inches. I bash that one all the time!

 

I know, I know, you're right! Traditionally my preferred method of buying was to look at a few 1-3 year old models at other dealers or individuals and research online to decide exactly what I wanted. Then all of the negotiation was done by e-mail and phone. That worked great for my 2010 Tacoma, the first time I set foot on a Toyota dealer lot was to pick up the truck after the deal was made. But that approach is going to be impossible with the 2015 Fit. I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and visit the Honda dealer whether I like it or not! Of course since they are in limited supply it's not like I'm going to be able to negotiate a great deal right now anyway. I'll keep you posted what we wind up doing.

 

That's exactly what I have in mind. I just need to see if there's something there to tie it to. Hopefully this weekend I can to see one and check it out.

Thanks.

 

[QUOTE=PaleMelanesian;1243442]


Do you mind if I ask you a question? What is the significance of the name PaleMelanesian? It's an unusual name to me, so I'm just curious.

I use SiGuy cuz my first Honda was a 1986 Honda Civic Si hatchback.

Thanks!

 

Is it possible for her to go around to one side of the car and push down on the rear windshield from the side to lower the hatch? It should be less of a reach for her.

 

That makes two of us. Hate the run around at the dealerships. Making the deal via the internet/phone works more often than not. Unfortunately with the '15 Fit the gross is not in the thousands, therefore, with the limited incoming inventory for the first few months, dealers have no incentive to discount. They may appear to do so on the MSRP pricing but they will resort to all sorts of add-ons and dealer fees to make it up.

Looking forward to your posting impressions and final buying decision, post dealer visit. Hope the wife can reach that rear hatch or you find a suitable place for the pull-down strap (which is actually, not a bad idea!!!)

 

That's an interesting thought. I guess I just assumed that the bottom of the door would be the lowest spot, but if it's angled up . . . then that might work.


I'm back to the reality that I will just have to take her with me to the dealer to check for sure and let her drive it. Unfortunately she does not have a poker face at all, so if she's grinning the whole time she's driving it I've just lost any possible leverage to push them to at least throw in a cargo mat or rear cover or something. Oh well.

 

Confirmed last night. The Fit's tailgate hits me above the eyebrows. That's about right for being 2" shorter than I am. The Odyssey's hits me right in the middle of my nose.

Sure. My picture is also related. I grew up overseas, in the south Pacific. Among people of Melanesian descent (light brown skin, loose curly hair, language slightly related to Samoan and Hawaiian). But I'm of Irish ancestry, hence the Pale part. My growing up was like Sesame Street's "one of these things is not like the others".

 

Was able to take my wife to one of the local dealers today and test this. She can't reach the end of the hatch but she can reach the side. She loses some leverage but she was able to close the hatch and said she thought she could handle it. That's a good thing because I couldn't really see a good way to anchor a strap to the inside short of gluing something to the window as an anchor.

She wasn't willing to drive it on the street yet, so I drove it to a nearby church with a huge empty parking lot and let her drive it around for 10 minutes or so. It drives a lot different than our 22 year old Accord with a 5 speed, but she liked it! I believe we might be in business! Now I just need to find one in transit in the trim and color we want and buy it before the dealer adds all of their "special options".

Thanks for all of the input and suggestions. They helped.