Model 3 Highland or Model Y?

[eevee-fan]

I don’t know.

When I was car shopping I did a DEEP DIVE on cargo space and here was one key conclusion I arrived at: there is absolutely ZERO consistency in the reporting of storage space with the seats down, on any car. You can find people spewing out numbers, but they vary dramatically, even for the same car.

Overall, most sedans and small SUVs gain a somewhat similar amount of cubic feet when you put the seats down. So in a way the only consistent way to judge is to compare seats-up to seats-up numbers, and then realize that you probably get another 15 cubic feet or so with the seats down.

I read a number of OLDER comparison reviews of cargo space in the Y versus the 3. Most seem to settle on a bit 10% more space in the Y. But those were comparing the old 3 to the Y; the Highland refresh increases cargo space.

Well, Y is supposed to have 64 cu ft total, so they are saying 3 has trunk of 19 cu ft which becomes over 50 cu ft with rear seat folded down?

 

[fronesis]

Well, Y is supposed to have 64 cu ft total, so they are saying 3 has trunk of 19 cu ft which becomes over 50 cu ft with rear seat folded down?

Tesla says that with 5 passengers:

• the 2024 Model Y has 34.3 cu ft of storage space
• the 2024 Model 3 has 24.1 cu ft of storage space

So the Y has 10 more cu ft of cargo space while carrying the same passengers.
If you take the rear passengers out of the car and fold down the seats, I don’t think that 10 cu ft difference is going to change much. The space those passengers are sitting in is fairly similar in both cars. MAYBE the Y gets 1-2 more cu ft, but that’s all.

So…my best guess (and it’s just a guess) is that relative to that at 64 cu ft number, the new 3 probably has 50–54 cu ft.

I’ll repeat what I said earlier in this thread. The Y has a HUGE amount of storage space. The Porsche Macan has only 17 cu ft of storage space with 5 passengers, meaning the Y has DOUBLE that…But the model 3 still has 50% more than the Macan.

Again, there’s no doubt: the Y is BIGGER. But I still say that the 3 has an incredibly amount of storage space, more than a lot of larger sedans and mid-size SUV’s on the market.

 

[Dear_OP]

I think it's not the amount of volume so much as the trunk opening that results in ease of placing large items. It is also more ergonomic as the trunk floor is higher. It's just how it is. Sedan vs Hatchback format differences.