Cadillac Vistiq Cargo Test: How Much Fits Behind the Third Row?

• The Vistiq has 15.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind its third row.
• There is no frunk or even an underhood storage compartment.
• Our real-world test shows how much luggage fits behind the third row.

I can immediately see that this is indeed one of the smaller cargo areas you'll see among three-row SUVs. The seat is awfully far back and that liftgate angle isn't doing it any favors. But ...

Lifting the floor up reveals a significant amount of space that should be useful for expanding the area for luggage. I strongly suspect that GM does not include this area in its official cargo capacity number. That sure seemed to be the case in the Chevy Traverse cargo test.

You will note, however, that there is a case in this underfloor area. It contains the charge cord. In the Hyundai Ioniq 9, for example, you can stuff this into an underhood storage compartment. In the Vistiq ...

Yeah, no help here. But doesn't it look like there's enough space for Cadillac to have done something up here? Sure seems like a waste of space. 

Luckily, the charge cord could be removed from its rigid case and compacted into the bin on the left side of the Vistiq's cargo area. It stayed here during testing. 

OK, onto the bags. Here's some nice boilerplate information about the bags I use and their dimensions. There are two bags you'd definitely have to check at the airport: Big Gray (26 inches long x 16.5 inches wide x 12 inches deep) and Big Blue (26 x 16.5 x 10). There are three roll-aboards that usually fit as carry-ons: Medium Tall (24 x 14 x 9), Medium Wide (23 x 15 x 9) and the smaller Green Bag (21 x 14 x 9.5). Finally, there's everyone's favorite Fancy Bag (21 x 12 x 11), a medium-size duffle.

This would be the Big Blue medium-sized bag and all three roll-aboards. Not bad, and in fact much better than you'd expect from something with an official figure of 15.2 cubic feet. The previous-generation Volvo XC90 had 15.8 cubic feet and it held less: basically, my Fancy Bag in place of the Big Blue, so a significant difference.

I should note that there was some leftover space in the underfloor expansion I couldn't utilize with any of my luggage, including the oft-seen bonus bags. Oh well. 

The final result is identical to what I found with the Acura MDX. Interestingly, Acura provides two cargo numbers for that: one with its underfloor storage counted and one without. The one counting it comes in at 18.1 cubic feet. I'd bet the Vistiq would be somewhere in that ballpark. 

Versus other luxury three-row crossovers I've tested, the Lexus TX is the runaway leader (all bags) and the Cadillac XT6 is way down at the bottom (two roll-aboards plus the Fancy Bag). The Mercedes-Benz GLS would be ahead of the Vistiq too. 

Now, among three-row electric vehicles I've tested, the Vistiq's result technically matches the Kia EV9's, but the Kia is wider, easier to load, has superior visibility with bags loaded, and did not rely on underfloor bonus space. (It has none.) Its leftover space also held the promise of being more potentially useful. The Hyundai Ioniq 9's cargo test showed that it can do slightly better than its Kia sibling, so that's ahead of the Vistiq too. 

In total, I would call this an average result for a luxury three-row crossover. There's acceptable space behind the third row, but if you needed a bag-per-person, you'll need an accessory cargo solution.

Speaking of which, the Vistiq has flush roof rails that will accept crossbars that clasp onto that little ridge you can see here that spans their length. They aren't as versatile as raised rails, but they're better than faux rails that feature fixed mounting points.