Warning--Rear Hatch Opens Very High

Comparing The Prius hatch to the Honda Fit hatch I would say part of the problem comes from design. With a body design formed from wind tunnel tests and catering to creating a low drag coefficent you get a very large and horizontal area that becomes the hatch itself. Therefore to open it enough to make the hatch area useable or easily loaded, you have to have it swing pretty high and given it's size it's just going to go from being horizontally large to vertically tall.

The positive side of this is that the load area for the Prius once the hatch is open is also humongous. Also, you are driving a vehicle with class leading aerodynamics.

I'd be interested if someone does install shorter struts, just to see how it works out. But keep in mind short struts will obviously keep your hatch from swinging as vertically high, but it also will limit the openess of the hatch area.

Seems to me Toyota should think about making the struts adjustable, so they have adjustable points of opening. That way, people could keep them set at comfortable and protective levels that match the configurations of their garage, but also have the option of adjusting them to full open, when you are in the clear and perhaps want to load big items.