Motability Cars with the biggest boots
Large boots are often a priority when looking for a new car. Here are some of the biggest boots you can buy through the Motability Scheme...
Whatever your needs, having a big boot and plenty of space is often an important consideration when buying a new car. Whether that’s for equipment such as wheelchairs or mobility scooters, everyday items such as pushchairs and golf clubs, or just for a visit to the local supermarket, practical space is highly sought after.
Nowadays, such space comes in plenty of packages; you could go for a stylish SUV with a raised ride height and easy-to-access boot, or a load-lugging MPV with acres of room if you don’t need to use all seven seats (or, if having lots of seats is a priority, you can read our favourite seven-seaters for Motability users here). There are even some compelling options among the original leaders of boot space: estate cars.
All manufacturers measure boot sizes in litres, but their figures include nooks and crannies of the boot space that are, in reality, tricky to make use of. At What Car?, our independent test team uses carry-on suitcases to realistically assess each car’s load-lugging abilities. Where our own findings are available, we’ve taken them into account for our favourites below.
For Motability users, there’s plenty of choice available through the Motability Scheme to help make life as easy as possible. You can find out more about the Motability Scheme by reading What Car?’s full guide or heading to the Scheme's website. Here are our favourite cars that have plenty of practical boot space.
SUVs
Peugeot 5008
Boot capacity: 10 suitcases
Our Large SUV of the Year 2020, the Peugeot 5008, offers an incredible amount of space per pound. Its boot is very well designed, with a large, square shape, a low lip and no intrusions from the wheel arches or any other odd shapes to eat into the space. As a result, it easily swallowed 10 suitcases. Extra perks include a self-opening electric tailgate that is optional on most models and standard from GT Line Premium trim up. A What Car? award winner, we also commend the 5008 for its frugal engines and classy interior. For more information on the Peugeot 5008, read our full review.
Citroën C5 Aircross
Boot capacity: 9 suitcases
As Citroën’s largest and most spacious SUV, the Citroën C5 Aircross has enough room with the rear seats up to rival the huge Berlingo above. In our tests, we managed to fit nine carry-on suitcases into the tall, square boot, which also has a large, flat load area. There’s a height adjustable boot floor that can be raised to remove the load lip, and an electric tailgate with hands-free opening – simply wave your foot under the rear bumper to open it – is optional on Flair trim and standard on range-topping Flair Plus. The C5 Aircross has a comfortable ride and its engines are surprisingly frugal engines in spite of its size. For more information on the C5 Aircross, read our full review here.
Honda CR-V
Boot capacity: 9 suitcases
The five-seat version of the Honda CR-V is another large SUV that can carry nine of What Car?’s suitcases. An adjustable boot floor is included as standard, which not only helps remove the load lip to the boot entrance, but takes away the step created by the rear bench if folded, too. That makes it easier to lift and slide heavier items into the boot. But it’s worth noting the seven-seat version doesn’t quite have the same level of practicality. Although the CR-V is a little wallowy on tight corners, the added grip of four-wheel-drive models gives an extra bit of confidence in more slippery conditions. Read our full review to read more about the CR-V’s performance on the road.
Mazda CX-5
Boot capacity: 8 suitcases
The Mazda CX-5 has less space on paper than the Citroën C5 Aircross or the Peugeot 5008, but it still manages to fit eight of our carry-on suitcases in the boot. It’s even wide enough to take a set of golf clubs. Folding the rear seats creates a huge, flat load area with no annoying steps and no load lip at the boot entrance. On top of that, it's well priced, very well equipped, and classy inside. Stick with the 2.0 petrol in entry-level SE-L trim for the best value for money. You can read our full review of the CX-5 here.
Vauxhall Grandland X
Boot capacity: 8 suitcases
On paper, the Vauxhall Grandland X might not have the biggest boot in the large SUV class, but the space is tall and practical without any awkward intrusions; we were able to fit eight carry-on suitcases into it. Other than the entry-level trim, all versions come with a ski hatch in the middle rear seat and a height-adjustable boot floor. When the floor is at its highest setting, it removes the step created by folding the rear bench. Higher trims also get a hands-free tailgate as standard. The Grandland X is also available as plug-in hybrid, which is particularly punchy but doesn’t have the best handling due to the weight of its electric batteries. For more about how the Grandland X performs, click our full review here.
The Citroën Berlingo is the current What Car? MPV of the Year, available in both five and seven-seat guises. We haven’t done our suitcase test in the Berlingo, but on paper, the five-seater has 3000 litres of space with the rear seats folded, and its boot opening is in essence the entire rear side of the car, so the aperture is the same width as the boot floor and there’s no obtrusive lip at the entrance. The only drawback is that its tailgate is so big you need plenty of space behind the car to open it. Elsewhere, the interior feels more upmarket than other MPV rivals, such as the Vauxhall Combo Life. You can read more about both sizes of the Berlingo here.
Ford Galaxy
Another finalist in our MPV award category, the Ford Galaxy is impressive as a large, practical people-carrier that drives and handles like a much smaller car. On paper its boot isn’t as big as the Berlingo’s, but again, it has a large, wide opening and a high roofline that allows plenty of luggage to be stacked. Official figures say there’s 300 litres of space even with the third row of seats in place, and each seat of the middle bench folds independently for plenty of storage configurations. To drive, it’s well balanced and doesn’t lean about too much when taking on winding roads. For our full verdict, read our Galaxy review here.
The Ford S-Max is another practical seven-seat MPV that offers plenty of storage configurations, even if it is slightly smaller than its Galaxy sibling. With all seven seats in use, there’s still enough space for a couple of bags, while with the two rearmost seats folded away, you get a huge boot that’s long enough to take a pushchair lengthways. The boot opening is also low enough to make loading heavy items less of an effort, plus there’s no boot lip, so you can slide your luggage straight in. A powered tailgate is also available. On the road, the S-Max is comfortable to drive and handles well despite its large size. Click here to read more about the S-Max in our full review.
Estates
Skoda Octavia
Boot capacity: 11 suitcases
Skoda has developed a reputation for practicality, and the Skoda Octavia hatchback has enough space for an amazing 11 suitcases in the boot, even though it’s only a family-sized car like the Volkswagen Golf. The only downside is that there is quite a significant load lip to negotiate when lifting heavy items in and out of the boot – the hatchback here (unlike the Octavia Estate) doesn’t get the option of an adjustable boot floor to mitigate this. An electric tailgate, meanwhile, is available as an option. Read more about the capacious Octavia here.
Skoda Superb Estate
Boot capacity: 11 suitcases
The Skoda Superb Estate is truly impressive, as proven by its winning our What Car? Estate Car of the Year award five years in a row. Its long, wide and square boot can swallow 11 suitcases, but it’s worth noting that the plug-in hybrid has a reduced boot size (blame the batteries that live underneath the floor). A hands-free tailgate is only available on the top trim, and you have to pay extra for a variable-height boot floor to even out the step in the load bay when the rear seats are folded down, but this isn't an expensive option and is well worth adding. Meanwhile, the Superb’s plush interior, comfortable ride and frugal engines make it a fantastic car for covering big distances in. Click here to read our full Superb Estate verdict.
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