How Much Stuff Can GMC’s Smallest SUV Carry?

This is adding my 38-quart cooler (23 x 16 x 13) and the cylindrical Edmunds Golf Classic Duffel Bag (20 x 10.5 x 10.5). There was some space left in the lower left there, but an extra duffel would’ve needed to be squished to get in there.

Not surprisingly, the Equinox required the same Tetris formation to fit all this. Having that experience was helpful, though, since this formation is super-awkward, and it originally took me a lot of trial and error to get it. Again, the weird lower floor is to blame. 

This result is also worse than the CR-V Sport Touring, which could hold that extra duffel, was much easier to load, and had more remaining visibility. (Other compact SUVs like the Tucson and Subaru Forester were much better.) Interestingly, the CX-50 also manages that extra duffel with an easier Tetris formation despite not having the lowerable floor. Visibility was similarly iffy. 

So how is the CX-50 basically equal despite not having the lower floor option? It’s better able to use every drop of volume it has. Once again, blame the Terrain’s lower floor design. 

In the end, the cargo volume specs very much align with those of most competitors in terms of the Terrain’s real-world cargo space and functionality. It really is in the segment’s basement. But hey, at least its Chevy twin is keeping it company down there.