Rear hip room in '04 Accord

I'm looking at the '04 Accord for my next car and would like to know
how "rear hip room" is calculated. I'd like to fit two pet carriers
(which are basically rectangular boxes) in the back and would need a
total of 52" lengthwise in the back seat. Rear hip room for the Accord
is 53.5" but I am wondering if arm rests or anything else protrude
into the space and are not accounted for in the stated measurement.

The obvious solution would be to take the carriers to the dealership
and see if they fit, but I don't want to sit thru the sales pitch
again ;-)

TIA for any responses ...
Sara

 

What about the height of your crates?

 

I just measured the back seat in our '03 Accord, which should be
exactly the same as the '04. It is 52-7/16" from the narrowest point
between the armrests. However, the seats curve forward at each end
which means the crates could not sit back against the seatback. If
you measure the straight portion of the seatback, before it starts to
curve, it's only 40" If the carriers are not too tall, you might be
able to get them in side-by-side by putting the seatback down and
letting them extend into the trunk.

Dick

 

I would find a more comfortable dealership to work with.

John

 

If it's important to you, I sure wouldn't buy a car without actually trying it.

How do you know the doors open enough to fit the carriers in?

JM

 

Thanks! That's valuable information. I really appreciate your taking
the time to measure the seat for me.

Sara

 

Thanks to all who responded and the good points you all made.
Sara

 

I would be concerned about getting them in the doors. I just put a
fairly large box (shopvac) into my back seat. I just barely was able
to get it through the door. The height was an issue, but also the
length. Since the doors don't open to a full 90 degrees, the box or
carriers have to go in angled a bit towards the front. If they are too
long, it might be hard to get them through.

The design of the back of the car makes the trunk lid and resulting
openning quite short. I couldn't get my box through the trunk
openning.

You might have to bite the bullet and try putting one of your carriers
into the actual car. It would be hard to come up with the right
measurements to ensure that these would go in and fit.