5 Small Cars With the Most Cargo Space
Which car has more cargo room? When shopping for new and used sedans, cargo space is undoubtedly a factor. Trunk space might not be the most important consideration when looking for a car, but you want a vehicle that can offer convenience and flexibility.
Cars.com has reported in the past how we can be fooled about our car’s cargo space. But, for real-life cargo, these figures are pretty accurate. See the five small cars with the most storage space, and compare vehicle cargo room among these sedans and coupes.
5. The 2021 Ford Mustang coupe has 17.0 cu. ft. of trunk space
Want a luxury muscle car, but don’t want to give up convenience? The 2021 Mustang Mach 1 Premium offers a tidy 17 cubic feet of cargo space in the trunk, as measured by Cars.com. If you’re shopping for a used Ford Mustang, go confidently knowing that it can fit a good amount in the trunk.
4. The Honda Civic sedan has up to 18.8 cu. ft. of cargo space
There were two different Civic models that made it onto Cars.com’s list. The 2022 Civic Touring sedan was measured with 18.1 cubic feet of cargo space, and the 2020 Civic Touring sedan allowed up to 18.8 cubic feet of storage area in the trunk. That means both the 10th and 11th Civic generations offer cars with lots of storage space.
3. The 2020 Nissan Sentra sedan has 18.8 cu. ft. of trunk space
Cars.com measured the 2020 Sentra SV sedan and found that it was one of the sedans with the most cargo space, offering 18.8 cubic feet of storage area. This tied the 2020 Sentra with the 2020 Civic, so either of these used cars would be a flexible option if you need solid trunk storage. The Sentra doesn’t have the biggest trunk among sedans, but it’s impressive for a compact.
2. The 2021 Hyundai Elantra sedan has 19.0 cu. ft. of cargo room
The 2021 Elantra SEL Premium ranked high on Cars.com’s list of small sedans with the most storage area. 19.0 cubic feet of measured cargo room gives you plenty of room for luggage, baby carriages, pet supplies, or groceries. The Elantra also sees up to 35 mpg combined, making it one of the few cars with great cargo space and good gas mileage—what more could you ask for from a sedan?
1. The 2020 Toyota Corolla has 19.1 cu. ft. of trunk space
The Corolla is one of the smallest sedans with the most cargo space. This compact sedan showed 19.1 cubic feet of cargo space in the fully loaded 2020 Corolla XSE, which is surprising for a car this size. The Toyota Corolla’s hefty cargo room makes it one of the best rental cars because it can fit multiple suitcases or duffel bags with ease.
How to determine cargo space
Note that all of these figures above differed from the manufacturer-supplies figures, sometimes dramatically. Every car on this list had more “real-life” cargo room than the numbers offered by the automaker. This list would be in a very different order going by manufacturer specs vs. real-life measured specifications.
However, that’s because they were measured in very different ways. How is car cargo space calculated? Typically, automakers use the Society of Automotive Engineers’ J1100 industry standard to measure storage area in vehicles, and that can differ from other measurements.
Try not to compare the figures apples to apples. When you’re car-shopping, it doesn’t hurt to bring a tape measure and maybe a suitcase along for the ride to do some cargo measuring for yourself.
Cars on this list were measured using Cars.com’s own measurement system and may not represent every make and model available. Cars.com is measuring more cars and adding more figures all the time.
