ricability logo

 

The ins and outs of choosing a car (view report contents)

Loading and stowing

Look for: flat sills Glasses symbol

This means no ledge to lift things over. Usually found on estate cars and MPVs. MPVs have seats which can be moved, taken out or folded, depending on the model. This, and their size, makes loading bulky items easier.

Features found on some cars:

  • Several vehicles have a ‘ski flap’ in the back seat so you can carry long narrow items without folding the seat.


  • Split rear seats let you juggle passenger and storage space. Some rear seats slide back and forth to give more space, and can also be removed.

    photo of Toyota tailgate


    • The Toyota Corolla with seats fully folded flat

  • With some tailgates you can open the whole hatch or just open the top half. The Chrysler Grand Voyager and Peugeot 805 can have powered sliding doors which are operated using a key fob.

     

    • Citroen with separately opening boot
    You can open the top half of this Citroën hatch separately

  • On some cars the tailgate is split so that each half opens independently - the bottom half folds down and the top half folds up.


  • On a few cars the boot floor can be pulled out like a drawer, which may make getting things in and out easier.

    photo of Volvo rear with fold down sill

      This Volvo has a sill that drops down to make loading easier

  • Levers on each side of some Mazdas fold the rear seats flat.

    • A Mazda lever
    The Mazda lever; you have to pull the seat back up by hand

  • If you have central locking you can lock and unlock the boot from inside the car. Some cars without central locking have levers which will unlatch the boot from inside.

 

Back to top

Report contents

Introduction
Car design
Choosing a car
What to look for -

Checklist
Techniques
Who can drive?
Getting insurance
Finance
Helpful organisations
Mobility Centres
Useful publications
Addresses