Car manufacturer Škoda started to produce the second generation of the Škoda Superb with a new patented solution "Twindoor" in spring 2008.
The unique Twindoor solution was a combination of two ways to open the cover of the luggage compartment of a passenger car,
so the single car was a sedan and a liftback simultaneously.
The user could decide whether they wanted to open trunk lid only, without a rear window, so it is a sedan car at the moment,
or if they wanted to open whole fifth door as a top-hinged tailgate (rear liftgate, rear hatch), so it is a liftback car at the moment.

Now, at the beginning of May 2025, I noticed another very interesting solution:
A twin-door in Japanese style, for vans, MPVs and minivans, as I called it here and now in my own words.

I saw a short video which shows rear door of minivan Honda Stepwgn,
where user can open approximately 2/3 of tailgate as a one-wing partial hinged door (barn door), like half of a barn door, using side-hinges.
The side-hinges are not on the side of a van, they are inside of the tailgate. Whole that small one-wing door is inside of the tailgate.

Since Honda is Japanese car, and there is left-hand traffic, with pavement typically at left side of parked vehicle,
door handle is on the left side of the openable part (single side-hinged door) and hinges are at right side of the openable part.
Similar way as e.g. at Nissan Terrano, but there is whole hinge door to open, across the whole width of the car,
but here, at Honda Stepwgn, it is cca 60 % or cca 66% of width of the van to open.

Another way how to gain access into the luggage space of this minivan,
is to open whole top-hinged tailgate (rear liftgate; rear hatch) using top hinges, across the whole width of the van.

It is kind of similar to a situation when you have a garage with big gate for a car,
with side-hinged door for one walking person inside of the big gate.


I would miss a possibility to open entire opening at a tail of Stepwgn by side-hinged doors (barn doors), by two wings or by one big wing.
It is impossible to load anything by forklift into such car;
and even at some weekend trip it can be a problem, since tailgate needs generally more space to open (at parking, by some house, in front of a trailer, etc.),
and since I am rather tall, I do not like top-hinged tailgate in general, because in the case of many MPVs it means danger of collision with my head when I walk around or when I want to reach a luggage space.

But, in general, although it is impossible to open whole size of the tail of the Stepwgn in mode of side-hinged doors (barn doors),
I still think it is quite interesting solution.

I am not sure if it is better than normal two wings side-hinged barn door,
expect from "roof" above you when you are e.g. redressing before / after some outdoor activity.

If someone minds a pillar inside of rear window
(no problem for me, I do not use rear window; I use external mirrors;
but I understand that for passenger car drivers it can be unpleasant)
this solution is not for them, since the pillar is present there (it is excentric, positioned asymmetrically; similarly like at Seat Inca or VW Caddy).

So, honestly, I do not think it is practical solution; I think it rather connects disadvantages of both typical basic solutions,
but yes, it is definitely interesting solution.
It is even possible that someone with other criteria, looking at the topic in other aspects, will find some combination of advantages in it.


Short video with demonstration of opening, which I have seen, is available at:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/9851149268347975

And, as I found at Wikipedia, this innovation is from year 2015.
So, I am 10 years late with this news. This two-way tailgate is called "Waku Waku Gate".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Stepwgn

One of advantages should be that side-hinged small door can provide an access to one seat at third row – but I think the same functionality would be provided by normal two-wings side-hinged barn doors.
So, this Waku Waku Gate can be useful as kind of a compromise for users who like top-hinged tailgate, to have a roof above them when redresssing before /after an outdoor activity. If they do not mind that they have a pillar in rear window, which they would not have at typical MPVs' top-hinged tailgate.
But I do not see any single advantage for users who like two wings side-hinged barn doors (like me).

I appreciate that the Waku Waku Gate has two independent handles, each one for each mode of opening of the door.
It is logical, rational, simple and ergonomic solution how to open the door in required mode easy and fastly, without any waiting for some processes.
(User of Škoda Superb of the second generation who wanted to change mode of opening had to wait until servomotors will change settings of the mechanism into the required mode, when watching blinking third brake-light above rear window for signal, that fifth door is ready to be opened.)

The Waku Waku gate was available for fifth generation of Honda Stepwagon only, in production since year 2015.

The sixth generation of Stepwagon, in production since year 2022, does not have the Waku Waku Gate.

So, this interesting solution went into the history. It was being produced in years 2015 to 2022.


Photos: Promo photos; source: internet / originally Honda.
(Some photos are not sharp; but there is a lack of legally available pictures since it is already 10 years since introduction of this innovation.)