Midsized SUVs With the Most Cargo Room
These two- and three-row models have the most space to carry luggage, packages, or even a big-screen television
Sport-utility vehicles are the primary choice for car shoppers, particularly because of their available cargo room. From going on vacation or dropping a child off at college to carrying sports equipment or carrying goods from a big shopping trip, there is real (and, sometimes, perceived) need for vehicles with a large, flexible interior.
Automakers are happy to oblige, highlighting the overall luggage capacity of their offerings. However, not all of that generous-sounding cargo room is necessarily usable space. Having a lot of space doesn’t do much good if the cargo opening is narrow, short, or oddly shaped.
At Consumer Reports we evaluate cargo room differently. For SUVs, we use an expandable rectangular pipe-frame “box.” We enlarge it enough to just fit through the rear opening and extend it into the cargo bay as far as possible without preventing the hatch from closing. Cargo capacity is the volume enclosed by that box. This gives consumers a better idea of the cargo they can fit in the back, whether it’s luggage for a trip, a new dishwasher, or a big-screen TV coming home from the electronics store. (Learn more about how Consumer Reports tests cars.)
Below, we feature the two- and three-row midsized SUVs with the most usable cargo room based on our testing process. They are ranked in order of cargo room in cubic feet, with the top performer first.