The best cars for a pram in the boot

The biggest boot on paper isn't always the best one for a pram. A pram is a long, rigid box, so what decides it is the width between the wheel arches and the height under the parcel shelf. Litres tell you very little: two of the cars below have boots of nearly 600 litres and still give the biggest travel systems a tight squeeze.

We checked 20 popular prams against every car with full boot measurements. Where a car has an adjustable floor, we use its height with the floor raised flat, the most cautious figure. With the parcel shelf in, 2 cars took all 20: Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID.4. The Volvo XC40 took all 20 too, but we only have its height to the top of the tailgate opening, so its verdicts assume the shelf is out. Here's what testers found when they actually loaded them, and the big-boot cars that do less well than you'd think.

Our picks

Big boots that are harder than they look

Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson. Both have huge boots, over 580 litres, but they're long and fairly low under the parcel shelf with the floor raised flat. The biggest travel systems come up as tight fits there, with more room if you drop the floor or take the shelf out. Auto Express says the Sportage has one of the lowest load lips in its class, and Parkers praises the Tucson's wide opening, so both are easy to load once it fits.

Tesla Model 3. The boot is long and deep, but it's a saloon. Auto Express says the narrow opening makes loading trickier than in a hatchback, and Parkers wishes it were one. Three of the biggest prams are tight fits.

Nissan Juke. Parkers and Carbuyer both praise its wide, low opening for loading pushchairs, but the floor is short: 61 cm when the Swiss motoring club TCS measured it. On our numbers it fits 8 of the 20 prams, is tight for 9 and won't take 3. The hybrid's boot is smaller again, by 68 litres according to Parkers.

Small cars: compacts only

The Corsa, Fiesta, Fiat 500, Aygo X, MINI and Inster take compact strollers and very little else. Auto Express adds that the Corsa has quite a high lip and narrow rear doors. Parkers says finding a folding pushchair that fits the 500 takes careful searching. In an older Mumsnet thread, from 2014 to 2016, parents report a Bugaboo Bee goes in but leaves no room for shopping. The Inster's boot is tiny with the rear seats back, as Top Gear puts it, but CompleteCar.ie notes the sliding seats stretch it to 351 litres. For these cars, start with the best prams for a small car boot.

Every car we checked

Ranked by how many of the 20 prams fit with 3 cm to spare, rear seats up.

Calculated from published measurements. How we work it out.