If you're after a car with a big boot, there are certain types of car you should avoid. And there are some small models with surprisingly capacious boots...
The cars that take the least luggage
If you want a useful boot, it’s best to avoid sports cars – especially the Alpine A110, which came bottom in our testing. The A110 has two boots, but the rear one is too small for a carry-on case, and the front one took one.
Two other sports cars, the Lexus LC and Mazda MX-5 RF, are marginally better, each swallowing two cases. The LC has rear seats that can be used for storage, but the MX-5 doesn’t.
The only other car we’ve tested that takes just two cases is the Honda E. Its boot has a wide opening with no loading lip, but it’s one of the smallest of any electric car you can buy. There is some underfloor storage for charging cables, and the rear seatback folds down to create a bigger storage area, but it doesn’t split. In other words, if you want to carry something bulky, you can’t have a backseat passenger.
The Fiat 500 and Peugeot e-208 are more practical small electric cars, and both have enough space for three cases. The e-208 has the advantage of four doors, while the 500 is only available with two.
What if you want a small car with a big boot?
If you only have room for a small car on your drive but want it to have plenty of boot space, two models stand out: the Dacia Sandero and Skoda Fabia. They both took six carry-on suitcases in our testing – the same number as the larger Honda Civic family car.
Both small cars have sizeable load lips at their boot entrances, but the Fabia can be specified with an adjustable boot floor to level it off; this is not an option on the Sandero. The Fabia’s boot can also be made more practical with the addition of cargo nets and clip-on dividers.
The load-lugging champion of the small SUV class is the Ford Puma. It can take eight carry-on cases – six in the large, boxy boot where you can stand, for example, a couple of tall potted plants or two sets of golf clubs. It even has a removable plug at the bottom, so you can hose it out.
Two other small SUVs – the Skoda Kamiq and Volkswagen T-Roc – are almost as practical as the Puma. Each can manage seven carry-on cases, the same number as will fit into a Ford Kuga large SUV. The T-Roc comes with an adjustable boot floor that can be moved up to remove the load lip from the boot entrance. You can have one in the Kamiq too, but it costs extra.
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Keyword: Biggest boots: the worst cars for boot space