23 civic hatchback cargo area footprint?

kmanweiss · Nov 15, 2022

I'm really digging the 23 civic hatchback. It checks all my boxes and I think it will meet my needs, but I need to be sure about one thing. The cargo area. Volume is a pretty worthless measurement. What I really need is the footprint.

Basically, what is the width between the wheel wells, what is the width in the wider area behind the wheel wells, what is the total length of the cargo area, and what is the length of the cargo area behind the wheel wells at the narrowest point?

I have some cargo I carry on a regular basis that fits in almost any trunk but has trouble in hatchbacks due to the lack of space behind the wheel well. Just trying to find a decent idea of what the footprint of cargo area is.

If anyone could help me out with a couple quick measurements, I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

rosedraws · Nov 16, 2022

I had this problem renting a minivan to move some furniture. We needed dimensions to move some items, and could not find them anywhere! Just cubic feet!

kmanweiss · Nov 16, 2022

rosedraws said:
I had this problem renting a minivan to move some furniture. We needed dimensions to move some items, and could not find them anywhere! Just cubic feet!

It's annoying isn't. And when car shopping, cubic feet is pretty misleading. Especially hatchbacks, and SUVs.

robardin · Nov 18, 2022

Well, most descriptions for the "cargo space" in a hatchback will be given in cubic feet or liters, because it's assumed you're moving "stuff" (various cases, bags, etc.) of different sizes, not "what is the footprint of the single largest object you can fit in here", as that has much less of a standard answer ("You can carry a fully assembled IKEA Billy bookcase with the seats dropped down!*")

What is the "space behind the wheel well" you're looking for? The narrowest point in the cargo area (between the two wheels)? I think that's about 32 inches, based on some large picture frames I moved recently without dropping the rear seats.

...Or it could be 36 inches, I don't remember which orientation I put the 32x36 frame into the hatch, LOL. I'll check later with a measuring tape.

*An example standard only. I have not in fact tried to fit an IKEA Billy bookcase in my 2022 Civic HB.

kmanweiss · Nov 19, 2022

I'm looking for the perimeter measurements basically. The problem with hatchback cargo measurements being in volume is that they are basically BS. Due to the slope of the hatch, the fact that there is nothing above the seats to contain stuff, and there is no good way to secure stuff standing up, the actual usable volume of space is much less than the stated volume. Meanwhile, the measurements of trunk volume is using standardized cargo boxes to measure the space so the volume is often understated with a trunk. So a trunk with 12.7 cubic feet of space can often hold as much if not more than a hatchback with 14.7 cubic feet.

The footprint is a much more useful tool of measurement, especially if you include height to seat top.

robardin · Nov 19, 2022

At the widest point of the hatch, it is 44"

At the narrowest (raised from the floor), about 39.5"

At the narrowest (flat on the floor to the back of the seats), 34"

Not sure what you mean by height.

robardin · Nov 19, 2022

kmanweiss said:
I'm looking for the perimeter measurements basically. The problem with hatchback cargo measurements being in volume is that they are basically BS. Due to the slope of the hatch, the fact that there is nothing above the seats to contain stuff, and there is no good way to secure stuff standing up, the actual usable volume of space is much less than the stated volume. Meanwhile, the measurements of trunk volume is using standardized cargo boxes to measure the space so the volume is often understated with a trunk. So a trunk with 12.7 cubic feet of space can often hold as much if not more than a hatchback with 14.7 cubic feet.

The footprint is a much more useful tool of measurement, especially if you include height to seat top.

Not sure why you think that "things can't go higher than the seat top" means the HB has less usable space than a sedan's trunk, which would close much lower in height than the back of the seats?

Obvious first hand example with very similar cars, moving my son back from college this past May, I fit a dorm room mini fridge in my 2022 Civic HB that had had to go in the passenger seat of my Acura TSX sedan when moving him on campus. The fridge fit in the trunk, but it wouldn't shut, and I couldn't to do the "tie it down with a bungee" thing even if I wanted to, because we already had a bicycle rack set up behind the rear bumper.

That's why a hatch is more cargo versatile...

If you only care about stuff that lies flat and doesn't go above the trunk line, then yeah there's no advantage, I guess.

In any case, here are pics of the max height of something you could put in the hatch and still close it: about 22" near the pillars (min), a bit less if you want to pull the cargo cover across, and just under 30" at the center (max).

23 civic hatchback cargo area footprint?

kmanweiss

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robardin

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