Boot Size

How reliable are boot size capacities given my manufacturers?

Here's my conundrum ....

Our Outlander PHEV is stated as 463L. Went to see the Q4-etron today and that supposedly has 520L (there's no frunk). Parked side by side for a comparison and absolutely no way. Even sales assistant said the same. The larger e-tron supposedly has 620L. When I looked at that I thought it was about the same as the Outlander.

Also looked at a Tesla model Y the other week and it claims to have a boot size of 864L (not including frunk and in 5 seat mode). It is definitely has a bigger boot than the Outlander, but nearly double ... no way.

So either the Outlander is under-measured or someone is playing fast and loose with measurements somewhere.

Anyone else come across this?

These are usually measured to the window line.

Ahhh, so is the measurement just up to the parcel shelf in effect?

Don't know if it's the same for the Model Y, but the Model X has a huge space under the boot floor in some 5-seater models - easily big enough to hide a body in

james44 said:

Ahhh, so is the measurement just up to the parcel shelf in effect?

Click to expand...

Possibly, but the parcel shelf is below the window line in the Outlander, which might explain the difference.

There seem to be many different ways to measure "boot size" the most meaningful, IMHO, is the largest regular box* that can be physically placed in the boot with the seats up and the seats down. The box cannot be assembled in the vehicle, it must be able to be put in and out of the car without changing shape.

A boot size in litres doesn't seem very useful to me, unless you're storing a liquid in flexible bags.

* This is a measure that has been used in consumer reporting in Australia, the box must be square or rectangular in cross section, on every axis perpendicular to a face, i.e. no bizarre shapes to fake the measurement.

Vehicles that have narrow doors, low doors, or high door sills can perform poorly with this measurement.

(I don't know if other countries use this standard)

Note that the Outlander PHEV has a relatively high floor in the boot, so this could also reduce the volume significantly.

Whilst I agree that the "box" measure can be helpful if you regularly carry boxes, in my experience of family holidays and moving students, the "liquid bags" measure is probably more practical, when trying to fit in a teenager's wardrobe contents or vital food supplies, which can't be sourced abroad :lol: