Vehicle with openable closure

A vehicle (10) has a hands free system for opening a tailgate (16), which is held open by gas struts (26, Fig. 2 ). The opening system includes a remotely actuatable latch release, and an actuator for moving the tailgate from a closed to a partially open position ( Fig. 5B ); whence the gas struts can fully open the tailgate. The actuator may include a ram (32, Fig. 4 ) that pushes the tailgate to the partially open position before the ram retracts. A tailgate control system may include a motion sensor (44) for detecting movement of a user's foot to initiate tailgate opening. Voice activation (54) may also be used. The tailgate opening system may only be activated when a matching keyless entry device is detected. An obstacle detector (56) may be fitted. The invention can be adapted to open other types of vehicle closure, such as boot lids.