I’m thinking about creating a site for this for all makes/models.
As someone who travels with a bunch of luggage I would really like to know if a car will fit my needs.
Right after buying my current car, I spent a while working around it with a tape measure, getting cargo dimensions in a bunch of different locations. I found that the depth of the cargo area varied pretty dramatically at different heights, due to the way that the front seats lean back and the rear hatch leans in. At the cargo floor, I have 72" between the hatch and seat, but only 50" at the roof.
It all paid off when I picked up a big piece of furniture. I knew that it should barely fit in the back, and I was correct. The store employees were a bit sceptical, but it fit with less than an inch clearance on each side.
The items pictured all vary in size, and you can measure height/width with a tape measure in 10 seconds.
These charts aren’t used because they’re pointless.
Honestly, just the length matters. Knowing the flat square of X Depth and Y Width is so useful.
Phrasing.
its a shame these cars arent swedish anymore
Increasingly, all I want is a tally of how many pieces of luggage of a certain size will fit behind each row of seats. After going through a couple vehicle hunts by now, I’m used to the standard of cubic feet as the universal cargo space measurement units. But frankly they’re useless. One vehicle’s 38 cubic feet might be a lot easier to maximize than is another vehicle’s 41 cubic feet.
No, what I want is Bjorn’s “banana box” test result. Or, if quirky isn’t your style, then let’s go with 24" roller bag suitcases. It’s what we all want to know anyway: “how many of [bulky item] can we fit in here?”
It’s similar with motorcycle luggage.
Great, the side case has a volume of 36 liters. Tells me nothing about whether it can hold an adult size helmet (no, in one case). Meanwhile a 21 liter case of another brand will, because the volume is distributed differently.
the problem is luggage size varies so widely it’s just impossible to standardize that sort of thing in any meaningful way.
Just use the max size for luggages you can bring with you on flights. It’s standardized and readily available in any luggage store.
I think we could get away with leaning on another agency’s work toward defining bag sizes to help us out here: the TSA has a maximum size for carry on bags set at 22" x 14" x 9", including handles and wheels. That’s a relatively small bag size, but I don’t think there is a standard maximum in each direction like that for checked bags. Those bags can be bigger, but the restriction is in 62 linear inches (i.e. the total sum you get from adding together the width, length, and height of your bag has to be less than 62")–not a maximum in each dimension.
People tend to be familiar with checked bag sizes. There is a max in each direction already established by a well known industry/agency. And since it’s a smaller bag, you can more efficiently cram the nooks and crannies of a vehicle’s cargo area with them (the same can’t be said for the larger, 24", bags that Alex on Autos uses–I like his general method here but there is no true standard for a 24" bag like there is for a “checked” / 22" bag).
Alex on Autos is the only guy I watch if I’m seriously considering a car to buy. I’m a middle aged man now. The kind of shit he covers is important to me now. The fuck do I care if the car can take corners or do 0-60 in 1 second less. I need to know about car seats and golf bags and hip room. Those are the dad specs we need to know lol.
Also autoblog has the luggage test which I appreciate.
Hello fellow AoA fan. I always love how he reviews cheaper cars in detail while other reviewers just skip them
It’s asinine how difficult it is to find this kind of information. A quick google search always ends up in:
“We’ll our vehicle can fit 200 cubic liters of volume!”
Sick, I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m filling it full of liquid. Like wtf do I do with this info. Give me LWH!
What? You don’t mean to be transporting ping pong Balls!
Hey now, that’s 200 cubic liters of gas too.
Will the people that would need this even see it? Yo me it look like it is part of the dumbing down process of Volvo customers that started with needlessly limiting top speed on their petrol cars.
needlessly limiting top speed on their petrol cars.
e-bikes are limited to 20mph for safety
Every Volvo we’ve owned has an extra 5th dimension for storage… seriously designed by Sweden’s finest Time Lords.
My ‘04 xc70 fits an astonishing amount of stuff in it, this summer I managed it fit a bed and everything else I need for an unfurnished apartment in the back
I wish that was the case with the last gen v60 wagon.
I was on the verge of buying one, but the high load floor and sloping roof made the hatch area way to short. Shame because it would have made a really nice daily.
I like it, but as was pointed out in the comments of that article, using the max dimensions rather than the minimum dimensions is a miss.
Door width is the other big one. It isn’t useful to have space for something if you can’t get it in. This has become more of an issue as designers taper the rear of vans/suvs for aerodynamics and style. I looked at a new Sienna to potentially replace my Transit Connect and while in theory there was more volume inside (as its a longer vehicle), it appeared way less usable given the rear hatch shape and irregular dimensions. I’m now somewhat interested in the upcoming Santa Fe, basically just because how much the designers talked about maximizing rear opening size.
The kicker for rear entry taper is the need to have the taillights visible at all times (per regulations). Thus the rear door tends to be shrunk to accommodate, rather than the classic clamshell design (IIRC Buick got around this by adding a second set of smaller tail lights in the body separate from the tail lights in the rear hatch on some models, like the Cascada).
Door width is the other big one.
I love my 2000 V70 for this reason, even more so than my mk4 vw wagon. The opening is a giant square that’s pretty much the width and height of the cargo area. I know it’s more a function of it being an older car with thinner pillars and lighting elements, but things are so raked it definitely makes it difficult when the opening is substantially smaller than the actual cargo area. Maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to Transit Connects, it’s a box.
Fiat Multipla had a comic book that explained how to fit all sorts of stuff in it, that car has a really clever interior. I tried to find a scan on the internet but this listing is the best I could find.
I got my ex wife a CX-5 instead of a RAV4 because the hatch opening and the distance between the rear wheel arches inside was bigger. The RAV technically had more space but it wasn’t as usable.
GIANT POPUP
This reminds me of the (I think) E39 BMW 5-series that had a diagram on how to load 3 golf bags inside the trunk
My 350Z has a diagram for golf clubs. Unfortunately, can only fit 2 bags in the trunk area.
I know the e60 had it - I had one. Believe the e39 did too.
Yes my E60 (2008 535xi) had it too. God I loved that car so much.
It does. I used to own a E39.
My G37 has it but for 2 golf bags, I think with arrows showing how to angle them in. Needless to say the trunk is tiny
Someone on the forums made one that was identical, but it was three dead hookers, outlined in three colors.
3 bags? Am I so rich I have three bags myself for some reason or are my friends so poor they don’t have a ride to the course?
Wife and a kid maybe?
Too expensive. Much rather have a BMW and two extra golf bags. TaylorMade
I’m sad that I’ve only owned E39 tourings and missed out on this entirely.