Is the door handle the most-operated mechanism of a car? The steering wheel and accelerator pedal are the most used from a total-time-in-use standpoint, but in individual and complete use-cycles, the door handle has gotta be up there, right? You’re grabbing it every time you get inside the car, after all. (The least-used mechanism, hopefully, is the trunk release – as in, the one that’s inside the trunk.)
With all that handle-grabbing going on, chances are you’ve developed some preferences over the years. I’m old, so I’m still quite partial to the classic thumb-button variety as seen in the top graphic. This design just makes sense. You wrap your fingers over the handle from the top, which is instinctive, and your thumb naturally falls over the thumb button (as long as you’re grabbing the driver-side door handle with your left hand, and the passenger-side with your right, that is). You can press the button and open the door, or not press it and yank on the handle to confirm the door is well shut.
I’m also fond of another, far more modern thumbable design, the Tesla Model 3’s flush-fit, pop-out solution:
Now, it is slightly suboptimal that the thumby bit isn’t under the main pull-y part, which would allow for more natural operation, but having the handle turn down instead of up wouldn’t be nearly as pleasing to look at. I get it.
I’m much less fond of Tesla’s other pop-out handles, these mofos right here:
Trick, yes, but needlessly complex, and they are inoperable if the car is 100% dead (including the 12v battery), and they can freeze over etc. So, no thank you. Moving on …
At this point, you’re probably imagining three or four door-handle types, which feels like all of them. Hardly! Feast your eyes on the cornucopia of handle styles capably curated by one Jason Torchinsky, whom you may know:
And here’s more hot Torch action, as JT presents some choice spottings from the The Amelia Concours d`Elegance in 2023:
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See? The world of door handles is vast and full of bangers, so naming the Greatest Of All Time will be no easy task. But we believe in you! So tell us:
What Is The GOAT Door Handle Design?
Top graphic image: depositphotos.com
I’m not a fan of the Tesla Model Y’s ones, they require too much effort compared to a regular class 11. I get why they have them for aerodynamics though.
I do miss the old Class 7, my first car has those and my mum’s car (’99 Camry) still does! They did tend to feel a bit flimsy compared to the now-ubiquitous class 11 though, I can see why that design has taken over.
Props to modern(ish) Toyota for integrating the lock trigger as a touch sensitive section into the top part of the door handle near the pivot – it’s so satisfying to lock the car with just a quick touch that I rarely use the remote buttons these days.
It’s got to be the Morris Marina flap, because it was fitted to so many other vehicles, for years after the death of the Marina, such as the Lotus Esprit, Triumph TR7, the 4-door versions of the original Range Rover. See https://www.aronline.co.uk/opinion/morris-marina-doorhandles/ for a full list.
Seems there is no class for the weird: Subaru XT (Alcyone) has a pretty interesting one. Part of Class 7 I guess 🙂
Also, what about TVR’s mirror trick? Class TVR!
The Class 11 as used on many old Mercedes. They feel like they would never, ever break. No muss, no fuss, just simple and works.
My GF repeatedly broke so many of those Class 11s on her old Sienna.
Toyotas are good cars, but they are not old Mercedes. Or is your GF Lindsay Wagner? 🙂
They are pretty weak plastic on Toyotas. When you drive a car year round in New England the mechanisms inside the doors develop a lot of friction, maybe rust, and then you have to yank on them hard to get the sliding door open.
I’ve owned about 50 cars in New England. But the only door handles that ever broke were the crappy pot metal ones on MK1 and MK2 VWs. But at <$20ea for new replacements, and about 60 seconds to swap one out, who cares?
My GF cared. You break one, then it breaks again a little later, you end up just not fixing it/reaching in from the front.
I’m surprised no one suggested this one,
1969-1972 Grand Prix, sort of a modified type 8.
Very classy, push on the angled short portion and the long part of the lever pops out for you to grab. Lovely design from some of GM’s best years.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335732913932
I’m most familiar with class 7 and 11.
I do wonder if or what would be the best design to balance mechanical functionality with airflow, even if the airflow help of the Tesla style doesn’t actually make much of a difference.
I’d like to see and try the “class 12” up close though. Not familiar with it.
My E-series van basically had “class 7 but rotated 90 degrees”. I think, in retrospect, that feels more aerodynamic than what my Prius v has….but then again, that’s what little the van can possibly save that way.
Any one where you have to unsnap or unzip the side curtain and reach inside blindly to find the handle. Preferably during a downpour while your passenger waits as her pretty summer dress gets soaked through.
Maaan this winter is getting to me. I’m losing my mind…
Citroen 2CVs always had type 1 door handles – but with an unusual detail – when you locked the door, the handle would just spin around and around – when unlocked, it would stay horizontal and was connected to the latch mechanism. There wasn’t a way to lock the doors from inside or without a key.
Probably was the last production car with a type 1 handle mechanism…
I loved the door handles on my dad’s ’77 Celica. You just pulled on them but they were different.