We are 103,000+ car owners sharing real-world car information.

Join Us

Small with lots of storage

The Right Car for Me | TrueDelta

Keristew

I currently have an 08 PT Cruiser. Looking for something with comparable length and storage. Can't be much longer or have less cargo space.

Priorities: Cargo capacity / Exterior styling

Need minimum of 4 seats

Will consider both new and used cars
Maximum mileage: 10000
Maximum age: 2 years

« Return to results

Sign in or join TrueDelta to post your own thoughts.

Sort responses by posting time

Response from Sea-Dan

12:48 pm September 2, 2017

Never owned a PT Cruiser but had several as rental cars for vacation - was a fav rental car while they were avaialble! That was a very nice, practical rig that I often considered but opted for a Honda Fit instead due to lower ownership costs.!

Since you didn't mention a price range, reliablilty,or fuel economythere are lots of options. A compactSUVor a hatchbackwould be my suggestion.

If you google "best in class cargo capacity and fuel economy" a Consumer Reports article should come up that lists various sized vehicles along with their EPA fuel economy and cargo space. Other than the fact that they somehow omitted the Honda Fit, that would be a great place start.

My personal recommendationsare:
- Honda Fit: can cram an amazing amount of stuff inaFit & still get 40 mpg. Downside isride is a bit rough and noisy (characteristic of most Hondas).
- Kia Soul: This has replaced the PT Cruiser as our personal favorite for a rental vehicle. Souls are very comfortable & cool interior, real world economy is > 30 mpg, lots of cargo room with seats down. Dowside is that cargo space with rear seats up is smaller than one would expect and ride is a bit stiff.
- If you want AWD, consider the Honda HR-V, Subaru CrossTrek,or Subaru Forester (massive space!). While I am personally not a Toyota fan, would be remiss to not mention RAV4

X X X X X X X X X X X

0

Link to this reponse

Honda Fit
Honda HR-V
Subaru Forester

Response from NormT

9:50 am September 3, 2017

From what I could find the PT Cruiser had 61 cu ft of cargo with the rear seats folded. But with the rear seats removed goes to 70+ cu ft of cargo. So it is small by todays's new cuv standards or considered a sub-compact.

The Buick Encore has 49 cu ft of cargo with rear seats down or about 60 including front passenger's seat folded. Searching online you can find these for under $15,000. Some have the option of AWD too

0

Link to this reponse

Buick Encore

Response from Dnslater

7:03 am September 5, 2017

As far as small hatchbacks in production go, the VW Golf has about the best in class storage with 53 cubic feet of storage with back seats folded and almost 23 with back seats up. This bests many small SUV's while getting great mileage and being shorter in length than your Chrysler. The Fit has similar storage space with seats folded, but quite a bit less than the Golf with all seats up. The Soul also has a little less than the Fit and Golf. Also, keep in mind what your storing as cars like the Golf and Kia Soul have somewhat tall boxy storage spaces, while cars like the Impreza have lower, longer storage compartments.

Several AWD options noted above, like the Crosstrek and Forester are longer than your PT Cruiser. Honda HRV is not a bad option, it is essentially a raised Fit.

The perfect car for you might be a lightly used Scion xB. They went out of production in 2015. Thanks to the large back seat, they only have 11 cu ft of storage with all seats up, but have an enormous 70 cubic feet with the back seats folded down.




1

Link to this reponse

Scion xB
Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI
Honda HR-V

Response from Sea-Dan

10:07 am September 5, 2017

I owned a 2011 Honda Fit & now have a 2017 Golf Wolfsberg. Both cars are almost indentical dimension wise with the VW being marginally larger in all aspectsl However, when it comes to hauling sspace efficiency the Fit inteior is more efficient. Although the cargo areas look & measure the same with the Magic Seat you can simply fit a bit more into the Fit.

Comfort wise the VW issuperior with smoother ride & better noise suppression and the interior fit & finish is very nice compared to good in Honda.The VW extra power nice, but the passenger space seems cramped compared to Fit & it is a bit harder to get in& out of VW. In real world driving, Fit will get ~ 10% better mpg

I like to think of the Golf as a Fit on steroids. We chose to pay more for the Golf over Fit in 2017 for comfort reasons and superior safety features. Happy with choice so far.

1

Link to this reponse

Response from LectroFuel

9:02 pm September 7, 2017

Golf Wolfsberg is probably your best bet. The Fit is cheaper feeling, but still super space efficient. The 2018 Fit is being refreshed with active safety features and styling. You didn't give a budget, so I'd take the Golf. Kia Soul could be a good choice, but it doesn't feel as solid and modern as the Golf. If the Golf is too small, look at the Soul.

0

Link to this reponse

Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit / GTI
Kia Soul
Sign in or join TrueDelta to post your own thoughts.

Return to top