Mini Cooper Cargo Test: How Big Is the 2-Door's Trunk?

• The Mini Cooper 2 Door Hardtop has 8.9 cubic feet of cargo space.
• That's 4.2 cubic feet less than the 4 Door model.
• Our real-world test shows how much you can cram inside.

OK, so the shape's not great either. There's not much length here and it gets triangular as you go up. Having done about 200 of these cargo tests, that combination is almost a worst-case scenario. 

Ah, but what's going on with that floor? Those black plastic brackets close to the back seats are rear resting platforms for a dual-level cargo floor. Neat feature, but you'll note the floor is already in its lower position. That's right, this space could be smaller. Of course, unless you really need a flat floor when the seats are lowered, there's no reason to ever contemplate using the upper position. 

But what's going on under the floor?

So as it turns out, there's little reason to have the floor at all. The only thing under here was the owner's manual, and I'm pretty sure you could find someplace to squirrel that away. 

As such, I conducted this test with the assumption that the owner would just remove the floor (although I will circle back to this issue eventually). I would also leave the rigid cargo cover in place for the first test.

Now, 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.

I think this is actually pretty good. The underfloor pit is big enough for one of my bigger roll-aboards to fit on its belly, while one of my biggest bags (Big Blue) can sit on top. The Fancy Bag can then sit on its side. 

The cargo cover was dislodged but managed to rest on top. There was zero chance of any bag I own sitting on top of this bag stack, however, so there was zero need to test with the cargo cover removed. Same result regardless. 

But I decided to do something I almost never do in cargo tests: Lower the back seat.

You see, this is what backseat legroom looks like when a 6-foot-3-inch driver is quite comfortably seated up front. It wouldn't be that much better unless someone on the below-average end of the height spectrum was driving (as an aside, my 5-foot-tall wife used to have a Mini and I could comfortably fit behind her with legroom to spare). 

As such, if you weren't actually able to use the driver-side back seat, you might as well lower the left side of the 50/50-split seatback. Let's see how much you can fit when you do that.

Everything! The black roll-aboard stayed where it was on its belly in the underfloor pit, and moving the Big Blue bag on top of the back seat with the Big Gray one freed up enough lateral space for the Green Bag to also fit in the underfloor pit. Could I have even fit a small duffel atop the Green Bag? Maybe, but let's not get greedy. 

Now, circling back to the earlier removable floor issue. You'll note I still wasn't using it despite lowering the back seat. If you need to carry a box or something else that's bulky yet still small enough to fit in a Mini, I guess having the floor around could be helpful. 

OK, back to the bags. You might be noticing that the Big Blue bags seems to be taking up more than 50% of the Mini's width. What does the passenger side of the back seat look like? 

It looks like this. There is indeed some passenger encroachment by the Big Blue bag. So, would someone actually want to sit back there?

I mean, it wouldn't be my first choice for transport. The Big Blue bag was pushing against my shoulder, and I definitely was cramped. (My son's car seat also could not fit with the bags like that.) That said, I had lots of headroom, a nice view out, and assuming the front passenger wasn't a jerk, sufficient legroom. 

I'm not sure why this group of three theoretical people would need this much luggage, but the Mini Cooper could nevertheless handle the theoretical job.