The center console flips up and out of the way, making space between the front seats for a tote bag or purse that would otherwise flop around in the passenger's footwell. On the floor is a single cupholder that works well for cans and water bottles; just aft of this on the floor are slots for CDs angled forward for easy access. Flipping the center console back into place provides an armrest and a small amount of storage, though the storage cubby is located far enough rearward as to be awkward to access. A pair of cupholders can be popped out of the end of the console, but they're flimsy and obstruct the floor-mounted handbrake lever; we avoided using them, preferring the floor-mounted cupholder. Your passenger will just have to hold his or her drink. The door pockets are narrow, though there are map pockets on the sides of the center tunnel. There's room for a cell phone on each side of the gear lever, which is surrounded by a grippy rubber pad.
The optional Pioneer sound system is deep and rich, something we discovered while listening to XM Satellite Radio's Cinemagic station, which features movie soundtracks.
The rear seat slides forward or back eight inches, a nice feature. Sliding it forward adds five cubic feet of cargo space. Sliding it back offers rear passengers more legroom. The rear seat is split 60/40 for cargo versatility, and the seatbacks recline, so passengers back there can really lie back.
The front passenger seat folds flat, turning it into a tray or work space or for allowing the loading of long items, like a surfboard, to stretch from the tailgate to dashboard. It's a nice setup, but you have to get out of the car and walk around to flip the front-passenger seat back into position because the release lever is only on the right side; it'd be much more convenient if a redundant lever was on the left side so the driver could reach it. If you really need cargo space, the passenger and/or rear seats can be deleted for commercial and fleet applications.
We found the cargo bay quite generous and it easily handled a big box we put back there. A clever polycarbonate tray is available that pulls out of the floor and can be slotted into one of three height levels, so it can be used for different things, including concealment. It allows two levels of grocery boxes or bags, for example. It's an interesting feature, though we've wondered how many people use shelving systems on other vehicles. The tailgate lifts high enough that all but the tallest owners can stand fully upright beneath it. Next Page