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Subaru Forester Cargo Test: How Big Is the Trunk?

The Forester's actual cargo-carrying abilities are far better than its specs suggest

Subaru Forester Cargo Test
  • The 2025 Subaru Forester's specs say most trims have 27.5 cubic feet of cargo space.
  • That's lousy for a compact SUV.
  • But our real-world test shows where the Forester really stacks up. (Spoiler alert: It's a lot better.)

This is going to be one of those cargo tests that shows the value of doing cargo tests in the first place. The Subaru Forester's specs say most trims have 27.5 cubic feet of cargo space, while the base model has 29.6 cubic feet due to it not having a panoramic sunroof. Both of those figures should theoretically put the Forester near the bottom of the compact SUV segment. (Only the Buick Envision is worse.) The Forester's lower volume is 9 to 13 cubic feet less than top rivals from Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia. That's potentially an enormous deal-breaking sort of difference.

Except, as you're about to see, it doesn't actually exist in real life. Quite simply, the Subaru Forester's cargo area is not as small and uncompetitive as its volume suggests. Quite the opposite. I guarantee that this is the result of Subaru using a different measurement than almost everyone else. Why? Well, the previous-generation Forester, which isn't all that different from its replacement, was launched for 2019. At that time, Subaru published that it had 33 cubic feet with the sunroof. For 2021 and every year thereafter, it was 26.9 cubic feet. I'm not sure the exact measurement difference or the reason for the change, but my testing of a 2022 showed that its real-world volume was indicative of an SUV with the bigger number. Let's see how the new generation shakes out.

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Subaru Forester Cargo Area

A disconnect between the spec sheet and cargo test results is often due to a car company measuring cargo volume from the floor to the top of the seatbacks instead of to the roof. That can't be the case here since Subaru includes numbers with and without the sunroof. As such, I'm stumped as to what's going on.

Now, for the test itself, you will see that this Forester has a cartridge-style retracting cargo cover. Usually, I'd have to test with and without this, but ...

Subaru Forester underfloor storage in the cargo area

Subaru designed the underfloor area to accommodate the cargo cover. Great. Less great is that the underfloor area cannot be used to expand cargo capacity as it can in most competitors. We'll see how much that really matters soon.

Before that, though, I will note that the upcoming Forester Hybrid will not have the spare tire, so I don’t know if this will change the overall dimensions. I do not know if this space will shrink as well.

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-on: 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.

Six suitcases in Subaru Forester cargo area

Well, that was easy, and look at all that extra space. This is the first hint that there's way more space here than other vehicles with cargo volumes in the upper 20-cubic-foot range.

Now let's fill 'er up with cargo test bonus items.

Five suitcases, a cooler and three duffle bags in a Subaru Forester cargo area

This would be a 38-quart cooler (23 x 16 x 13), the Edmunds Golf Classic Duffle (20 x 10.5 x 10.5), and a soft-sided duffle that has roughly the same dimensions as Fancy Bag.

I ended up doing better than this, but let's pause for a moment to see the exact same items in a Honda CR-V Sport Touring (a hybrid trim):

Eight suitcases and a 38-quart cooler in a Honda CR-V Sport Touring

The Honda is full, yet its specs say that this version of the CR-V has more cargo volume at 34.7 cubic feet. (Others have more due to the absence of a subwoofer and/or the presence of underfloor storage.)

In my expert opinion after doing about 185 of these tests over the years, the Honda's volume is indicative of an SUV with 34.7 cubic feet. Now, if the 2025 Forester had a volume spec of 33.7 cubic feet (the previous generation's original volume plus the 0.6 cubic foot supposedly added for this generation), I would totally buy that the Subaru's boxier cargo area shape allows it to eliminate wasted space and therefore maximize volume when compared to the CR-V. That's totally feasible, but not if we’re talking about a difference of 7 cubic feet.

Moreover, the Forester performed better in my test than the Chevy Equinox, Mazda's CX-5 and CX-50, and Nissan Rogue — all of which have greater on-paper cargo volumes.

And just to put a bow on this ...

Six suitcases, two duffles and a cooler in a Subaru Forester cargo area

Here, I moved the Medium Tall bag forward into the position of the blue duffle bag. I left its original position vacant and put the Edmunds Golf Classic Duffle on top like a metaphorical cherry. In other words, there's a whole extra roll-aboard in the Forester that won't fit in the CR-V and all those others.

This is an exceptional result. In my testing, it's basically equal to the Toyota RAV4 and only bettered by the Hyundai Tucson (I have yet to fully test the Kia Sportage, which has the highest cargo volume spec in the segment). Perhaps most impressive is that this result is accomplished with a spare tire aboard, without using a dual-level cargo floor in its lower position, and while maintaining excellent visibility.

Rearview camera mirror in Subaru Forester

See, visibility totally fine. Furthermore, this fancy-pants Touring trim level has a digital rearview mirror that makes the visibility concern a moot point anyway.

A lot of this test was about measurement inconsistencies between brands and even Subaru itself, but it should also be emphasized that the Forester is awfully boxy, and boxy is better when it comes to stuffing luggage inside a cargo area. Well done, Subaru, although maybe take a look at those measurements.

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