Back in high school, my dad pushed for me to get a hatchback, for the trips from Boston to Syracuse University that loomed. He said I’d thank him when I had to pack a dorm room into my car—Hello, fold-down seats! So, I bought a 2005 Toyota Corolla Matrix, the hatchback version of the trusty Corolla.

Dad was right, of course: With those seats down, I could fit everything a college student needs in the car. So when I was expecting my first kid in 2017 (and it was time to sell my beloved Matrix), there was no question. I’d buy another hatchback.

I looked at the 2017 Subaru Impreza. After measuring the Hatchback version's storage space with a tape measure (with the seats up for the infant car seats), I confirmed it would hold a portable crib, stroller, and a suitcase or two. We bought one. But when my husband, Jeff, and I started traveling from our home in Pennsylvania to our families in Massachusetts, my car was packed to the brim, even with one backseat folded down. And you couldn’t see out the back window.

My 2017 Subaru Impreza Hatchback had more cargo space on paper than my husband’s Honda Civic sedan. but in practice, more stuff fit into the Civic’s trunk. Subaru

So we started taking Jeff’s 2006 Honda Civic on road trips. Its trunk could fit a ton of junk, which perplexed us both: The specs on my hatch were nearly double (20.8 cubic feet) his sedan’s trunk (12 cubic feet). I asked multiple times if he was looking at the seats-up specs. He was. Something was fishy. Numbers don’t lie, but here we were, fitting more items into a smaller space.

The 2006 Honda Civic sedan had only 12 cubic feet of storage compared to the Subaru Impreza Hatchback’s 20.8. But those numbers aren’t accurate to the way people use cargo space. Honda

After nearly a half-dozen recalls on my Subaru, we parted ways earlier this year, and we had to choose: a sedan, or another hatch. This time, though, both backseats would have to be upright, for two car seats. We prioritized safety, fuel efficiency, and storage space. Our top contenders were the 2020 Toyota Prius (a hatchback) and Toyota Corolla Hybrid Sedan, both new.

We compared the storage specs: 13.1 cubic feet for the Corolla sedan, and 24.6 for the Prius Hatchback (27.4 for the slightly upgraded model). But based on what we’d experienced with my Impreza versus Jeff’s Civic, we knew that the specs weren’t enough. We wanted to look at both cars, rump to rump, to see which one could carry more.

At the dealership, I stood in between the cars, looking back and forth. I don’t care what the manufacturer specs said: The Corolla trunk was undoubtedly bigger than the Prius's hatch. Or it at least seemed bigger.

We perceive storage in hatchbacks, like the 2020 Toyota Prius, to have less room because we don't account for the upper portions of the cabin. Toyota

“It all has to do with point of view,” says Stanley Coren, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology at the University of British Columbia, who specializes in perception. “When you’re looking at the storage space in a sedan, you’re effectively looking into a box and can imagine how much you can place in it.”

You can’t actually compare sedan to hatchback cargo numbers. Because they're not measured the same.

When you look into a hatchback or crossover, however, you see the floor space, which is smaller, because manufacturers calculate storage space as the entire volume, running floor to ceiling, Coren explains. “In our mind’s eye, we only imagine the items being placed on the floor, and mentally discard the upper volume above the seats and to the roof as not being ‘real’ or usable storage space.”

While perception certainly plays a role in choosing a car, it turns out you can’t actually compare sedan to hatchback or crossover cargo numbers. They’re just not the same.

Cargo areas are measured differently, thanks to guidance from the Society of Automotive Engineers. The group, which did not respond to multiple requests for an interview, created a methodology called SAE J1100 Motor Vehicle Dimensions. It says enclosed areas, such as a sedan trunk, should be measured with standardized blocks that simulate luggage. Open areas, like the cargo space in a hatchback or crossover, however, are calculated by length, width, and height. Patrick Garrett, a human factors engineer for Toyota told me that automakers aren’t required to follow it, and often use different methodologies entirely.



For EPA classification—how cars are categorized by size—automakers have to follow the 1975 version of J1100. But dimensions reported to other sources, like a company website or to the media, Garrett says, do not have to use that system.

The new Tesla Model Y says it has 68 cubic feet of cargo space, compared to the Model 3 sedan’s 15.7. But each company can use its own methods for arriving at those numbers. Tesla

“Sometimes a company’s internal metric is preferred, or another global metric, especially if the vehicle was designed in a country using a different metric,” Garrett says, noting that manufacturers rarely specify the measurement method they use. That might mean, for example, one automaker measures storage space from the floor to the ceiling, while another will only measure from the floor to the top of a seat back.

What makes it even harder to choose is that different car body types have different shapes. A hatchback and crossover are more curved, which means if your items don’t perfectly fit the curve (and when does that happen?), your door isn’t going to close or you won’t be able to see out of the back window.

Garrett explains that because cargo volumes—the cargo space in a hatchback or crossover—are calculated from sections, “the resulting index doesn’t necessarily describe the shape of the 3-D cargo space, which often tapers in several directions and has localized features that increase or decrease the area.”

Unfortunately for consumers, car manufacturers can market its cargo space without any caveat—a curved roof or door, a corner that really isn’t going to fit anything practical. Those numbers also don’t account for having to stack items above the rear seatback to maximize space, which can dangerously block rear visibility.

Hatches are good for large, oddly-shaped items. But a closed trunk tends to be better for boxes.

So while the sedan trunks may technically be smaller, when it comes to deciding which car is better for your storage needs, it matters what you’re packing. In my college days, the bulky plastic drawer set fit great in my folded-down hatch, confirming that hatches are good for larger, oddly shaped items. But a closed trunk in a sedan tends to be better for box-shaped items. And yes, a hatch would be great for bulky baby items. But you need to be able to fold the seats down to fit them.

So for now, we’ll load up our sedan’s trunk and strap items to the roof when necessary. Soon, we’ll start the whole process over again, but this time with a three-row mini SUV, which don’t have much interior storage space, I hear. But I’m going to have to see it in person to make sure.



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