Subaru BRZ Luggage Test | How big is the trunk?
According to the specs, the second-generation Subaru BRZ trunk has 6.26 cubic-feet of space. Actually, that’s only sorta true. I got that number from the Toyota GR86 specs since I couldn’t find the BRZ number on the Subaru website. So I was lazy and just went with the Toyota number. If it’s somehow different, then I’ll own it.
Anywho, 6.26 sure isn’t a big trunk, but it’s better than the rear-drive Toyabaru twins’ (as opposed to the electric Toyabaru twins) only logical competitor, the Mazda MX-5 Miata. That would measure in at 4.48 cubic-feet, which is actually worse than Miatas of the past and smaller than my personal roadster, a ’98 Z3. It’s teeny tiny. And weirdly shaped. And you definitely can’t fit a body in it.
Thankfully, this test is about luggage. And the Subaru BRZ, so let’s get to it.
Here is the trunk. Despite it’s small volume, there aren’t a bunch of weird angles or oddities to make it effectively smaller. Unlike the Miata.
It is quite short in height, however. That is my smallest roller bag and I JAMMED it in there, which I would not and could not do if there was actually something in the bag. You can also see that the angle of the opening prevented me from later fitting that same bag behind another.
Oh right, the bags. As with every luggage test, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife’s fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D).
Considering that the Miata could ONLY fit the bigger blue bag, and even then just barely, the BRZ has already totally smoked the Miata. And although this amount of bags is certainly one of the worst results in Luggage Test history, it still seems pretty good for a 6.24-cubic-foot trunk.
And because there was a fair bit of space on top, I managed to fill the remaining space with my folded-down Osprey child carrier hiking backpack. Cause driving a toddler out to a hiking trail is totally something you’d do in a BRZ.
Any way, you can fit that much stuff in the trunk of the BRZ. However, I decided to go a bit further here since, hey, I was bored last Friday. Also because the BRZ’s back seat is barely useful for human transport, I figured I’d see how they do as luggage transport.
It’s a 100/0-split folding back seat. You have to pull the straps on both sides to lower it (or push down the two buttons on top of the seat from inside).
At first, I loaded it up like this, with the two biggest bags pushed forward on their bellies from the trunk, before I moved to the driver door to tilt them up on their sides.
Then I noticed a problem.
This would happen if you suddenly braked. Well Schmidt.
There, that’s better. And yep, you could certainly stack something else up there on the smaller bag. Though you may face the same problem when braking.
And there you have it, all of the standard luggage test collection fit inside the BRZ (above left) plus the hiking child carrier backpack (cause now your toddler hiking companion is riding in the front seat?).
This is obviously a ridiculous use case. Two people and six pieces of luggage. Or an adult and a toddler. Yeah, it’s nonsense, but it shows that just because the BRZ/GR86 is small, doesn’t mean it’s not bereft of functionality. It’s certainly better than the Miata.
Now, what about other sporty cars? Well, this should give you an idea about the Civic Si, the Hyundai Elantra N and the Ford Mustang. They’d all be better than this. So is the Supra, which is still one of my favorite luggage test Tetris jobs to date.
Related video:
