Thanks for all the advice re rental versus leasing of car in France. Now I need to determine which vehicles will carry all our luggage in the trunk. Going by my car here in the U.S., I figure that 18 cubic feet will do it. But I am having a hard time getting the actual capacity of the cars for rental/lease - they generally just list how many small suitcases, and medium suitcases will fit. But I do not know whether they are being realistic about the size of the suitcases. Is there some way to check online what the trunk capacities of various vehicle models are? I have tried Google, and located the official manufacturer sites and some car review sites, but they do not seem to give this figure. Thanks. Peter
Posted by
San Franciso Bay Area, USA
951 posts
I don't know what cars you are looking for, but I typed into google the question: what are the trunk dimensions for ... then listed my Toyota Camry and the Ford I rented in Italy and it will give you the dimensions. In Europe, they may not have the measurements in cubit feet, but in meters.
Hope that helps.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32742 posts
You know that if you rent a car you are choosing a class of car, not the exact model or even brand of the car? You may think you will get x and you may easily wind up with y or z, and that is within the conditions of the rental. It is all what is on the lot at the time, and who brought back what.
Better to pack lighter or get a bigger car if it will be tight.
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2311 posts
One thing to remember when planning for luggage storage is not just your suitcases, but your personal items (backpack, day bag, etc) as well. If you are driving from place to place and stop mid way, you might want to store those personal items in the trunk also. Leaving them visible invites theft. So you might really have one suitcase plus one personal item per person. Plus any purchases along the way. We stopped for groceries on the way to our apartment (before dropping off luggage) and the groceries got piled the the backseat with the kids!
We travelled for three weeks in a rented estate car (wagon). The example car was a VW Passat. I scoured the internet for info on cargo capacity. As I watched review videos, the trunk seemed huge. We ended up with an Opel Insignia, and the trunk quickly didn’t seem so huge. I figured we didn’t have to pack light since we had a car! We were four people, with 2 large bags, two 20” carryons, one 18” carryon, and 4 backpacks. For most of the trip we travelled with a carryon inside a large suitcase, but as we shopped we used the extra suitcase for purchases. By the end of the trip it was difficult to fit everything in the back and still cover the luggage. Since it was a wagon we could Stacked the luggage uncovered, but didn’t want to.
So my advice is: whatever capacity you think your car will have, bring one less suitcase. And don’t forget to take into account the personal items.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11177 posts
18 cubic ft is a very large trunk. You would need a car like a Chev Impala to get a trunk that large.
I suspect the only way to get the storage capacity you are looking for is an SUV type vehicle.
How many people are traveling?
Posted by
752 posts
It turns out that the Renault leasing website lists the trunk volume for the vehicles available for lease, but it’s not easy to find on the website:
RenaultUSA
The Talisman is listed in the lease program. And there Is a station wagon with 18 cu ft, but as Bob says, it’s not the most secure way to go.
From the Peugeot car website vehicle specs, I converted the trunk measurements to cubic feet for the two smaller sedans offered in the lease program. The 208 has 10.1 cu ft and the 308 has 14.8 cu ft
At least with a lease you’ll know the exact size of the trunk, and can plan the luggage to fit.