Automakers are happy to play to this need, readily highlighting the overall luggage capacity of their offerings. But 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, a new dishwasher, or a big-screen TV. (Learn more about how Consumer Reports tests cars.)
Below, we’ve identified the large SUVs with the most usable cargo room based on our testing process. They’re ranked in order of cubic feet of cargo room with both rows folded down, with the top performer first. Though there are other large SUVs that we’ve tested, their usable cargo room is less than that of the best midsized SUVs.
Each SUV comes standard with automatic emergency braking (AEB), AEB that works at highway speeds, blind spot warning (BSW), and rear cross traffic warning (RCTW) unless otherwise noted. Not every vehicle is recommended. This may be because of below-average reliability or a too-low Overall Score. Some models, such as the Ford Expedition and Nissan Armada, aren’t included because they have been redesigned and we have not yet tested them.
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