Hyundai Ioniq 9 Cargo Test: How Much Fits Behind the Third Row?

• The Hyundai Ioniq 9 electric SUV has 21.9 cubic feet of space behind the third row.
• That's on the big side for a three-row crossover.
• Our real-world test shows how much luggage fits back there.

This is a notably long space with a boxy rear end and a near vertical liftgate. Those elements are all typically good things whilst cargo testing. 

This is the Kia EV9. The liftgate angle would seem to be the main difference between it and the Ioniq 9. It'll be interesting to see how they compare in terms of bag count. 

But before we start adding bags, I must first see if lifting up the floor will provide any help. In many cases, including the Telluride, Traverse and Honda Pilot, an underfloor storage area will allow a three-row SUV to hold more than its cargo volume would suggest. 

As you can probably see, no, there will be no extra luggage-carrying space added here. There's enough room for the big bag of charging adapters, which is nice. (I'll be talking about that more later.) The EV9 looks virtually identical when you lift up its floor, by the way.

OK, bag time. 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.

These are the same bags that fit in the EV9, but the formation is different. The Kia's cargo area was wide enough at the floor for my two biggest bags to fit together width-wise, which is a rare feat among three-row crossovers. The Ioniq 9 is just a tiny bit narrower at floor level, but it's wider as you go up, allowing me to scramble the bags around and fit one of the bigger bags up top. I couldn't have done that in the EV9. 

Now, you might be saying, "There seems to be room up top. You couldn't have fit another bag?"

Nope. Doing this squashed the bags below (meaning it wouldn't have fit if they were all filled with clothes) and liftgate closure was iffy. Fancy Bag was a no-go, too. Moreover, rear visibility was unacceptable, and this Ioniq 9 lacked the rearview camera mirror that comes only on the top-dog Calligraphy trim. 

Instead, this is the final tally: The four original bags plus the Edmunds Golf Classic Duffel (20 x 10.5 x 10.5). Another would've fit on the right side, but then I'd run into the visibility issue again. 

OK, so where does this leave us? The Edmunds Duffel would not have been secure if stacked atop the same bags in the EV9 and there just wasn't as much residual space, so the Ioniq 9 is indeed on top, confirming that cargo volume hierarchy. 

However, this result does not put the Ioniq 9 in second place as its volume would've suggested. The Toyota Grand Highlander, Kia Telluride and Honda Pilot TrailSport could hold more — the latter two because underfloor storage expanded their cargo-carrying ability. The Chevrolet Traverse remains the runaway leader on paper and in practice. 

Current Three-Row Crossover Cargo Test Leaderboard: Chevrolet Traverse ... big gap ... Toyota Grand Highlander, Kia Telluride and Honda Pilot TrailSport (tie), Hyundai Ioniq 9, Kia EV9, Volkswagen Atlas, Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Nissan Pathfinder and Subaru Ascent (tie), Toyota Highlander ... big gap ... Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-90, Kia Sorento and Mitsubishi Outlander. This list does not include luxury models.

OK, now moving onto the frunk. 

This is the frunk, or rather, a collage of the frunk and what fits in the frunk. None of my bags will, but that's OK, because the Ioniq 9 has a bunch of EV accoutrements that come along for the ride. That includes the charge cord (square case), the vehicle-to-load adapter that lets you plug various electronic devices into the car (small skinny case), the tire repair kit (big skinny case), and the big bag of charge adapters I relocated to under the cargo floor during my week with the Ioniq 9. It was more convenient to have it there since I repeatedly needed it — I have a CCS home charger and the Ioniq 9 has a Tesla-style NACS port. 

It was originally in the frunk, though, and you can tell that Hyundai put thought into the size of each of these cases so they'd all neatly Tetris inside the frunk. Well done. And again, there's still a spot under the cargo area perfect for the bag of adapters. So double well done.