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Since the Golf is a hatchback and the Passat is a sedan, it is very surprising that the Passat would have more cargo capacity. Car and Driver currently shows 17

Since the Golf is a hatchback and the Passat is a sedan, it is very surprising that the Passat would have more cargo capacity. Car and Driver currently shows 17.4 cubic feet for the Golf and 15.9 for the Passat, although perhaps they were inverted in a different model year.

NikolaNovak 5y ago
Passat is a far far larger sedan than golf is a hatchback. Any magazine indicating golf has more capacity is doing deceitful apples and oranges - I assume golf with rear seats down (a two seater) vs Passat as full five seater. Jetta is the sedan version of golf (roughly) and as a five seater it is full 50cm longer than golf. Passat is another 25 cm. It's just more car than golf. (mind you, I'd always get a golf over Passat but that's precisely because I want a small car and don't need a cargo carrying boat :)
- closeparen 5y ago
  It's 17.4 cubic feet with rear seats up, 53.7 with rear seats down. The Golf is surprisingly roomy! I moved across the country in one (granted, before I owned any furniture, but with several suitcases and large plastic tubs full of stuff...) https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/golf/specs https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/golf/specs
  - NikolaNovak 5y ago
    That's astonishing to me! My sister has golf and her husband a Jetta. I love the golf but Jetta is, as designed, a bigger car. There are definitely loads that will fit golf and not Jetta due to different trunk entry ways, but I'm still surprised to hear that in terms of sheer volume, golf wins with seats up :O
    - b112 5y ago
      Perhaps due to the storage space not stopping at the trunk lid level, but continuing vertically upwards?
      - NikolaNovak 5y ago
        Oh absolutely; it just always felt like what Passat gained horizontally offset what it lost vertically. Again, not that I'd go for a sedan over hatchback personally... and if it can't even make up the lost cargo space, the point of long sedans is even more lost on me.
- jen20 5y ago
  A problem with renting any non-sedan car in the US is that the rental companies tend to remove the back shelf, leaving the contents of the trunk exposed. This means you can’t realistically stop anywhere and leave even small luggage hidden in the car. For this reason, I tend to refuse SUVs and hatchbacks, and insist on a sedan.
avar 5y ago
I was referring to the wagon version of the VW passat. It has around 35 ft^2 of cargo space: https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/volkswagen/passat-wagon/interior https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/volkswagen/passat-wagon/...
- closeparen 5y ago
  Aah, makes sense. These days I occasionally see the station wagon A4 and A6 but never the Passat.

NikolaNovak 5y ago

Passat is a far far larger sedan than golf is a hatchback. Any magazine indicating golf has more capacity is doing deceitful apples and oranges - I assume golf with rear seats down (a two seater) vs Passat as full five seater. Jetta is the sedan version of golf (roughly) and as a five seater it is full 50cm longer than golf. Passat is another 25 cm. It's just more car than golf. (mind you, I'd always get a golf over Passat but that's precisely because I want a small car and don't need a cargo carrying boat :)

closeparen 5y ago
It's 17.4 cubic feet with rear seats up, 53.7 with rear seats down. The Golf is surprisingly roomy! I moved across the country in one (granted, before I owned any furniture, but with several suitcases and large plastic tubs full of stuff...) https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/golf/specs https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/golf/specs
- NikolaNovak 5y ago
  That's astonishing to me! My sister has golf and her husband a Jetta. I love the golf but Jetta is, as designed, a bigger car. There are definitely loads that will fit golf and not Jetta due to different trunk entry ways, but I'm still surprised to hear that in terms of sheer volume, golf wins with seats up :O
  - b112 5y ago
    Perhaps due to the storage space not stopping at the trunk lid level, but continuing vertically upwards?
    - NikolaNovak 5y ago
      Oh absolutely; it just always felt like what Passat gained horizontally offset what it lost vertically. Again, not that I'd go for a sedan over hatchback personally... and if it can't even make up the lost cargo space, the point of long sedans is even more lost on me.
jen20 5y ago
A problem with renting any non-sedan car in the US is that the rental companies tend to remove the back shelf, leaving the contents of the trunk exposed. This means you can’t realistically stop anywhere and leave even small luggage hidden in the car. For this reason, I tend to refuse SUVs and hatchbacks, and insist on a sedan.

avar 5y ago

I was referring to the wagon version of the VW passat. It has around 35 ft^2 of cargo space: https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/volkswagen/passat-wagon/interior https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/volkswagen/passat-wagon/...

closeparen 5y ago
Aah, makes sense. These days I occasionally see the station wagon A4 and A6 but never the Passat.