Family SUV boot space ranked with the rear seats up

• How should you compare family SUV boot space?
• Which SUVs give you the most space with the seats up?
• What do you give up for a bigger boot?
• Which family SUV should you choose?

Family SUV boot space matters most with every seat occupied, not after the second row is folded. The NRMA comparison ranges from 438 litres in the Mazda CX-5 to 600 litres in the petrol GWM Haval H6. The useful choice depends on what must fit while your family is in the car.

How should you compare family SUV boot space?

Compare the seats-up figure first, then check what happens when you fold the second row or choose a different powertrain.

The seats-folded number is useful if you regularly carry furniture, bicycles or bulky purchases. It tells you much less about the school run, a family holiday or the weekly shop, when people need the back seats. For that work, the capacity behind the second row is the figure to compare.

Powertrain matters because the same body can have different cargo capacities. According to the NRMA figures, the Kia Sportage Hybrid holds 586 litres with its rear seats up, while the petrol version holds 543 litres. The Hyundai Tucson Hybrid carries 582 litres, compared with 539 litres in the petrol Tucson.

That reverses the assumption that a hybrid battery always reduces the boot. In these model ranges, the hybrids gain 43 litres over their petrol equivalents, based on the NRMA capacities. Check the exact engine and variant on your shortlist rather than relying on a figure attached to the model name alone.

Seat hardware also changes how useful the space can be. The five-seat Nissan X-Trail has an adjustable boot floor, according to the NRMA, while Mazda Australia says the new-generation CX-5 has a deeper cargo area and a 40:20:40 split-folding rear seat. That split lets you lower the narrow centre section while keeping two outer rear seats available.

The shape of the boot matters alongside its total capacity. A tall but narrow cargo area may accept stacked bags yet struggle with a wide pram. A sloping tailgate can also reduce the space available above the parcel shelf, even when the published number looks competitive.

Start with a list of the items that cause trouble in your current car. That might be a pram, portable cot, sports bag or weekly grocery load. Check whether they fit together, because testing one item at a time can hide the problem you’ll face when the car is packed for a trip.

Also look at the loading lip, floor height and opening width at the showroom. These details aren’t represented by a single litre figure, but they affect how easily you can lift a pram or heavy bag into the car. The flatness of the floor with the seats folded matters if you carry long items.

Use the published capacity to remove obviously unsuitable cars. Then take the bulky items you actually carry to the showroom, or record their length, width and height before you go. A pram that fits below the parcel shelf is more useful than spare capacity in a shape you can’t load.

Which SUVs give you the most space with the seats up?

The petrol GWM Haval H6 has the largest conventional mid-size SUV boot in this comparison, followed closely by the Kia Sportage Hybrid, Nissan X-Trail, Hyundai Tucson Hybrid and Toyota RAV4.

The figures below come from the NRMA’s Australian comparison. The Model Y sits apart from the petrol and hybrid SUVs because it also provides storage under the floor and at the front.

Model and version	Seats up	Seats folded
GWM Haval H6 petrol	600L	1485L
Kia Sportage Hybrid	586L	1872L
Nissan X-Trail five-seat	575-585L	Not supplied
Hyundai Tucson Hybrid	582L	1903L
Toyota RAV4	542-580L	1590L
Tesla Model Y	854L	2158L

The petrol Haval H6 holds more with the seats up than the Sportage Hybrid, but the Kia provides substantially more capacity after you fold them. The NRMA measurements put the pair at 600 litres and 586 litres seats-up, then 1,485 litres and 1,872 litres seats-folded.

The Haval therefore suits a family that keeps the second row occupied and wants the largest conventional seats-up figure. The Tucson Hybrid suits buyers who need both strong everyday capacity and the largest folded capacity among the conventional mid-size SUVs listed by the NRMA.

Kia Sportage Hybrid

The Kia Sportage Hybrid is the most balanced choice on cargo capacity alone. Its 586-litre seats-up figure sits near the top of the conventional field, while its 1,872-litre seats-folded capacity stays much closer to the Tucson than the Haval, according to the NRMA comparison.

It suits a family that needs a large boot every day but still lowers the back seats for bigger loads. The petrol Sportage gives you 543 litres with the seats up, according to the NRMA figures, so check which powertrain a listing or brochure describes before comparing it with another SUV.

Nissan X-Trail five-seat

The five-seat Nissan X-Trail is a strong choice if you value an adjustable cargo floor as well as capacity. The NRMA lists between 575 and 585 litres behind its second row, putting its maximum just one litre below the Sportage Hybrid.

That adjustable floor gives you another way to arrange the cargo area. It may matter more than a small difference in capacity if you regularly move a pram, shopping or luggage between the boot and the ground. Make sure you’re inspecting the five-seat version, since that’s the configuration attached to the published range.

Toyota RAV4

The Toyota RAV4 belongs near the top of the seats-up group, but its capacity changes by variant. The NRMA gives a range of 542 to 580 litres with the rear seats raised and 1,590 litres after they’re folded.

At the upper end, it sits just below the Tucson Hybrid and X-Trail. At the lower end, it trails the petrol Sportage by one litre. The useful comparison is therefore between exact variants, not between the best RAV4 figure and the smallest version of a rival.

These close results also show why the winner on paper may not be the best fit in your driveway. A small capacity difference shouldn’t outweigh an opening shape or floor arrangement that works better with your family’s gear. Check the version, then check the load.

What do you give up for a bigger boot?

You can give up folded capacity, a third row or space elsewhere in the car when you chase the largest seats-up number.

The Haval H6 shows the first trade-off clearly. Its petrol version leads the conventional group with 600 litres behind the rear seats, but expands to only 1,485 litres with those seats folded. The NRMA data puts the Tucson Hybrid at 1,903 litres folded despite its slightly smaller everyday boot.

Electrically powered SUVs distribute storage differently. The Tesla Model Y has 854 litres behind the rear seats, a 117-litre front boot and an underfloor compartment, according to the NRMA comparison. Its rear area expands to 2,158 litres when you fold the second row.

The BYD Sealion 7 takes another approach, with 500 litres behind the rear seats, 1,789 litres folded and a 58-litre front boot, according to the NRMA figures. That makes the Tesla the capacity choice between these electric SUVs, while the BYD still gives you a separate place for smaller items at the front.

Separate compartments can be useful for charging cables, wet gear or items you don’t want moving around the main boot. They can’t always replace one large cargo area, though. A bulky object needs enough uninterrupted room, so add the separate capacities only when that reflects how you’ll use them.

Extra seating can take away the luggage room you were trying to gain. The five-seat Mitsubishi Outlander carries 478 litres behind its second row, but the seven-seat version leaves only 163 litres when its third row is in use, according to the NRMA figures. If you need every seat and holiday luggage at once, that number should rule the configuration in or out early.

That means putting the Outlander’s third row into service costs 315 litres of luggage capacity compared with the five-seat load case, based on the same NRMA figures. A third row solves a passenger problem, but it doesn’t necessarily solve a family travel problem. You may still need a roof box or a larger vehicle when every seat is occupied.

This is also why a deeper cargo area can matter more than a nominal seating advantage. Mazda Australia says the new-generation CX-5 has gained depth, while the Outlander figures show how quickly usable room disappears once extra seats occupy the cargo area. Families of four or five should compare the space they use daily before paying for occasional seats.

The Subaru Forester and Mazda CX-5 sit lower in this capacity comparison. The NRMA reports 498 litres for the petrol Forester, 509 litres for the hybrid and 1,060 litres folded for both. Its published CX-5 figures are 438 litres seats-up and 1,340 litres folded.

Be careful with that Mazda comparison because the model has since changed. Mazda Australia says the new-generation CX-5 has a deeper cargo area, but the supplied research doesn’t give a new capacity figure. Don’t use the older result as the final word on the latest car.

Boot space also doesn’t settle the wider buying decision. The latest CX-5 received a five-star ANCAP rating and scored 93 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection under the current test criteria, according to Mazda Australia’s July 2026 announcement.

The supplied ANCAP Safety page for the RAV4 dates from March 2013 and records a five-star result for that earlier model. It’s too old to support a current safety comparison, so check the rating for the exact generation you’re considering.

Which family SUV should you choose?

Choose the Kia Sportage Hybrid for the strongest balance of seats-up and seats-folded space, or the petrol Haval H6 if your back seats usually stay occupied.

The Sportage Hybrid’s 586-litre everyday boot is four litres larger than the Tucson Hybrid’s, while the Tucson provides 31 litres more with the rear seats folded. Those NRMA figures make the Kia the better seats-up compromise and the Hyundai the stronger choice for frequent bulky loads.

Pick the five-seat X-Trail if the adjustable floor matters more to you than winning the capacity table. Consider the RAV4 if your preferred variant sits near the top of its published range, but confirm that exact figure before deciding. Its seats-up capacity varies by 38 litres across the versions covered by the NRMA comparison.

The petrol Haval H6 is the clear conventional choice when your priority is the largest boot with passengers in the back. It gives you 600 litres in that configuration, according to the NRMA figures, but its smaller folded result makes it less convincing if you regularly turn the SUV into a two-seat load carrier.

The Model Y has the largest published capacity here and adds storage at the front, so it suits a household willing to choose an electric SUV. Compare its separate storage areas with the actual items you carry, since a front boot and underfloor compartment divide the total across different spaces.

If you’re choosing between five seats and seven, decide whether the extra row replaces luggage space you need more often. The Outlander numbers show that occasional passenger flexibility can leave little room for bags. For many families of four or five, a better-shaped five-seat boot is the more useful purchase.

Don’t dismiss the new CX-5 solely because the previous version finished last in the NRMA capacity list. Mazda has changed the cargo area, and the current safety result gives families another measurable reason to assess it. Wait for a current boot figure or inspect the space with your own luggage before ranking it against the others.

Your final showroom check should use the configuration you intend to buy. Confirm the powertrain, seating layout, adjustable floor position and any spare wheel or cargo equipment. Then load the items that have to travel together, close the tailgate and make sure rear passengers still have the space they need.

Best for: families wanting a large everyday boot without sacrificing much seats-folded capacity should start with the Kia Sportage Hybrid.

Not for: families using seven seats and carrying substantial luggage should avoid choosing an Outlander configuration from its five-seat boot figure.