Remember, while the car is subject to many rules in terms of approval, the volume of the boot (like the habitability) is not taken into account by the approval bodies. In France, for example, the private organization UTAC (Union Technique de l’Automobile, du Motocycle et du Cycle), which carries out all the tests to bring vehicles into compliance with the rules laid down by the European Commission, lets the manufacturers settle on their own side the measurements of habitability and trunk volume. This lack of control leads to complete blurring and manufacturers do pretty much what they want to calculate the trunk capacity of their cars.
Loading volume: blurring of the measurements
This is why, for the loading capacity, pay attention to the values of the manufacturers. Especially with the delirious figures when the manufacturer filled the trunk with water up to the roof of the vehicle. For greater clarity, we refer to the German standard “VDA 210”, which is often used by car brands. It consists of evaluating the capacity of a chest by inserting briquettes of a standardized shape 200 mm long, 100 mm wide and 50 mm high. Each of them represents the volume of one liter or one dm3. We then insert as many briquettes as possible, leaving the rear parcel shelf well fixed, and including the additional storage under the floor if there is one. The tailgate should be able to close easily.
Spare wheel or not?
However, manufacturers often use the spare wheel housing as a space capable of accommodating luggage, which increases by the same amount (it varies from 40 to 80 litres, whether it is a spare wheel housing or a spare wheel). normal backup). Unfortunately the filling of the spare wheel location is not always indicated in their measurements. Other standards exist such as the “VDA 211” which allows briquettes to be filled up to the top of the rear seat. The difference between loading below the rear parcel shelf or flush with the top of the rear bench seat can be significant: generally around ten litres. When you know that the size of a water bottle pack (6 x 1.5 liters) represents almost 14 liters, you realize that it is not as insignificant as that.
Almost no more small station wagons
Among the vehicles that have a real luggage compartment, station wagons are in the spotlight. Extrapolated from a saloon, these vehicles equipped with a backpack can accommodate all the luggage of a family in their trunk. Faced with the surge of SUVs, station wagons are trying to retain as much market share as possible. But it’s not easy, because city station wagons like Peugeot 207 SW, Renault Clio Estate, Skoda Fabia Combi (production stops) disappeared replaced by urban SUVs acclaimed by the public. Only remains on this segment the Mini Clubman.
Some new models
Fortunately, among compact or family station wagons, new models are appearing, this is the case with the Dacia Jogger and you MG 5 (an electric break) or even the new generation of the Opel Astra Sports Tourer which will soon arrive in dealerships. A sign of the times, while SUVs grew by 4% on the French market last year, station wagons saw their market share fall by 4 to 3% during the same period. Break specialist for years Peugeot remains faithful to this type of bodywork and still has two breaks in its range (Peugeot 308 SW et Peugeot 508 SW). But the creator of the Peugeot 203 station wagon (the first Peugeot station wagon produced on a large scale), the Peugeot 403 station wagon (see photo), the Peugeot 504, Peugeot 505 and Peugeot 305 station wagons had to resolve to replace the Peugeot 207 city station wagon SW by the Peugeot 2008 SUV in 2013. Despite the disappearances, there are still many station wagons on the market, we have counted thirty-four of them which will animate the ranking of this new Top 10.
