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Spotted a Chrysler Voyager with what appeared to be electrically operated rear sliding doors the other day. The thing is they seemed to be so slow in operation that I can't really see what benefit they offer over the traditional manual sliding doors which aren't exactly hard to open/close. Do such doors have a manual override or are the occupants of such vehicles at the mercy of yet more complex and dare I say, unnecessary electronics just waiting to fail after 3 years and 1 month?
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Some of the higher spec'ed Citroen C8 / Peugeot 807 / Fiat Ulysee's have these electric sliding doors.
LiKe you say Vman the standard sliding door was hardly difficult to operate.
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Big heavy doors my be a doddle for you burly chaps but some frailer types may struggle and appreciate the extra assistance and safety (crush/pressure switches) offered by the electric variety.
Once again, just because you don't like/want it doesn't mean it shouldn't exist.
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Sliding doors should be easy to open and shut by anyone, after all they are an entry/exit point.
Even 15 year Transit sliding doors still slide easily, certainly don't require any appreciable effort.
If the basic design is faulty, alter the design so anyone can open it, sticking an electric motor on it doesn't solve the problem it just masks it.
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I do hope none of you have got an electric drivers door window in your car.
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But the sliding door in an old Transit van is 2 bits of metal welded together, unless you've got the "deluxe" version where there's a scabby bit of plywood nailed to it.
We demand lots of things in new cars, like windows that demist so there are often plastic ducts inside the doors to direct air around. Anyone who doesn't have electric windows is to be ridiculed as a poor person - the motors, mechanism and anti-trap sensors etc all add weight. Naturally we can't be troubled by things like actually locking the doors if we want to open them so we'll have a central locking solenoid in there too please. A curvy plastic cover for the whole thing, with ashtrays, fabric inserts, perhaps a speaker (or 2) for the 8 way stereo system, switches for the window which illuminate when the lights are on, a nice contoured handle to open the door, a secure lock mechanism so that the door can't blow open in a hard crash and of course we might need door bars in there too.
Electric motor? I think the engineers do quite well to not have a huge hydraulic ram bolted to it!
Gareth
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Do try not to be too harsh Mods. :) I didn't say I didn't like these doors just that they didn't seem to be any better than the manual ones - in fact a hell of a lot slower with the possible downside of yet more electrics to go wrong. Electric windows are at least faster to open than manual ones as are sunroofs. ND's point about the frail is valid but since these doors appear to be only available on large MPV's I don't know how many old/frail people would benefit from them. I don't know if the Chrysler doors are particularly slow but they seemed to take an age (relative of course) to close and given how cross people get when their PC's go blank for even a nanosecond I could see having to wait for these doors to open/close becoming a real pain after the novelty's worn off.
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Even 15 year Transit sliding doors still slide easily, certainly don't require any appreciable effort.
Cobblers. I've driven literally hundreds of different Transits, Trafics and the like and most of them require a hefty tug at least.
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Whether it regards a tug or not, what on earth has that got to do with it ?
Why is an electric door any different to an electric window ? For goodness sakes man, can't you wind up a window on your own ? It doesn't take that much strength.
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Have you seen those ridiculous electric gates that people have at the end of their drives. Surely it doesn't take much to get out of the car and open it - even in the wet.
And apparently some people even have cars. Can't they walk?
:)
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I thought the idea of gadgets was to make life easier. In the case of door openers etc. they do - especially when it's raining. I have a very nice electric garage door opener just waiting to be installed for this very reason. The point I was trying to make (perhaps not very clearly) was that these particular doors just seemed to be more trouble than they're worth because they're so slow and people tend to get very fed up with slow things these days. I wouldn't fancy standing in the pouring rain waiting for the doors of my car to open/close at a snail's pace. That's why I asked if they can be manually operated also.
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>>I wouldn't fancy standing in the pouring rain waiting for the doors of my car to open/close at a snail's pace. That's why I asked if they can be manually operated also.
I feel the same way about my parents' electric garage door. I do see the point you make, but I feel the same way about electric windows in a car (although the passenger & rear ones are brilliant if it is hot).
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I feel the same way about my parents' electric garage door. I do see the point you make, but I feel the same way about electric windows in a car (although the passenger & rear ones are brilliant if it is hot).
Electrically operated windows are essential. Press the button, and while the window is moving you can be doing something else with your right hand. There enough things in a car to occupy your hands with, without having to use one to wind windows up and down with.
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I've driven literally dozens of them, and am inclined (if I remember) to take a can of spray grease with me these days when I go to hire them. Makes a huge difference - but still not necessarily that easy. Failing that, some olive oil out of the kitchen essentials box (when moving house) seems to do the trick...
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>> most of them require a hefty tug at least.
Srewth! Have to park near the docks, then.....
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Some friends of mine have a Chrysler Voyager. They also have a very steep drive. Opening or closing the sliding doors can require some strength, depending on whether it's parked forwards or backwards.
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When I was over in France a few weeks back I saw a guy at a hotel loading up a (UK reg) Chrysler Voyager. He jumped in and drove off with the back hatch slowly closing as he pulled out into the road. Great pose factor...
The problem comes when the motor or gear linkage packs up - I bet they cost a lot more than a window motor and you can't sellotape a sheet of polythene across the back with the hatch sticking up in the air....LOL!
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My Accord Tourer has an electric powered tailgate. Brilliant for when you have an armful of bits and pieces and a dog on the lead.
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As far as I'm concerned, the less I have to do manually in a car the better.
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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The new Peugeot 1007 has twin electric sliding doors, You can open them with the remote key as you walk upto it, very flash.
They showed it on Top Gear the other week.
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Oh to be a Peugeot dealer when these arrive. If they make them more reliable then the 206 cc's roof, then they will not be able to keep up with demand.
I would expect that a number of other manufacturers have got their eyes on this - a new trend like the original Scenic perhaps?
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People who buy these big people carriers usually have plenty of kids, its a lot easier to have a electric door the mum/dad can open and let all the kids clamber in than having to go over and open it when you trying to load the weeks shopping in/or park outside the school and let them out, means the mum can carry on with what shes doing without having to get out of the car to let the kids out, the sliding doors can be heavy for a little kid and in my opinion the electric door thingy is probably a good idea. Sliding doors in general are a good idea as they can't be flung open into the car next to you. The doors probaby go slowly to avoid small fingers getting caught.
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