As far as ease-of-use, the barn door is great. Very easy to open and easy to reach all the way into the back. It swings away, which means that I can open it inside my garage without smacking it on the roof of the garage.

My biggest complaint comes on Sundays between August and January. The barn door is not good for tailgaiting.


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The barn-door is squared away. It does open to the wrong side since the Japanese drive on the wrong side too. It would be nice to have the ability to open the door from the inside, especially during exigent circumstances. A sliding rear window would be awesome.

 

I think it's politically incorrect to say that Japanese drive on the wrong side. From their point of view we drive on the "wrong" side. :-)

 

I think they copied the Brit's when they had to figure out which side of the road to drive on. Other countries that also drive on the left are Australia (and I think S. Africa), other British commonwealth countries except Canada (can't remember about NZ), Thailand. Oh, BTW, a lot of Toyota's landcruiser market is Australia/S.Africa, so why not have the door open the way it does? Notice that for the vehicles that have rear tires (overseas Prado & LC 80/100, LC78, the tires are on the right side of the rear door so it doesn't interfere with one's rear view (assuming the car is right-hand drive).

I believe the LC/LX still has the clamshell door for tradition. They were designed (at least originally) for maximum reliability/simplicity, so they either have the clamshell door or double van doors. Note than none had (or currently have) an electric retracting rear window. The overseas LC's still are available stripped for maximum reliability since overseas buyers often buy one vehicle every 30 yrs (stripped means manual windows, manual transmission, simple radio, manual dials/switches for climate control). BTW, overseas LC200's still have the 4.7L V8 standard, no 5.7L yet.

 

Seems like a pretty large cheering section for the barn door. I feel like I need to add myself to the minority.

I hate it.

The biggest issue to me is that it seems like I am always on a slope of some kind and won't stay open unless I lock it. Then when I am ready to close it I need to unlock it. The lock is always dirty so my hands are also. My wife can't figure out the lock and would also prefer a hatch that was automatic.

 

gsobol,

I gave, and continue to give my life for this great nation so that when I return, I can exercise my constitutional right of free speech regardless of whose feelings I may hurt. I am not a polititian therefore I don't need to worry about being politically correct. The USA is the promise land and all residing Americans here drive on the right / correct side of the road.

 

the only time it bother me is when i tell someone to go get some in the back and they kept looking for the handle around the license plate area.

 

I don't mind the door, but get particularly angry whenever I am on a hill and forget to set the door to stay open. When that thing closes on you, it does NOT feel good.
Regardless of how many ways we might try to justify it, it probably would be better just to be like the rest of the vehicles out there. One upside though, at least it isn't a split barn door - creating a blind spot in the back.
If this is the worst thing I can complain about with this car, then I am very happy.

 

I agree, my previous vehicle was an LR3 which has the split hatch. I was difficult to grab something that was up against the rear seat even for someone with long arms. My wife who is 5'6 often had to climb into the cargo area to pull things out. Not fun when your in a suit or dress.

 

As with any options, opinions differ. I wish there was an option like on some European windows. You want to open the back like a barn door, flip a switch, open it like a hatch, flip the switch back. The only problem might be if you get the switch stuck in the middle (eject the back door ? ) ;-)

 

I wish the Rear Window could Roll down like on the 4Runner!