Used cars ranked by practicality: Compact Sedans
Used cars ranked by practicality: Compact Sedans
By Martin Pretorius
As a staple of rental- and commercial fleets, small sedans appeal with their sensible sizing, useful cargo space, low running costs, and adequate comfort on long journeys. Private buyers like them for the same reasons, often putting such vehicles into service as family vehicles.
For these buyers, practicality takes on an even more-important role, because it determines the car’s usefulness when going about its job. We’ve taken a look at 10 used small sedans listed here on AutoTrader, and ranked them from the least to the most practical. For the purpose of this exercise, we’ve used their boot space as the yardstick, because most offerings in this class are about the same size, and offer roughly similar cabin space. Luggage volumes are as claimed by the manufacturers.
Like the Suzuki DZire and the Honda Amaze, the Bolt is an example of India’s curious “sub-4 metre sedan” sub-class. Given this length constraint, its luggage volume of 360 litres is actually not too bad at all.
There’s a little extra boot space in the DZire, but at 378 litres, its volume is slightly improved on that of the Bolt. Smart packaging also gives a very decent amount of cabin space.
Kia Rio Sedan and Hyundai Accent Sedan
It’s odd that the Rio (and its Accent cousin) have such small boots, relative to their overall sizes. It is possible that they both sacrifice some luggage space on the altar of style, although their smaller hatchbacks have also taught us that the Koreans are masters at packaging a car very well. Nonetheless, 389 litres in their boots is still a pretty usable figure.
Here’s the first big surprise on this list. The Amaze is exactly as long as the DZire and Bolt, yet it can swallow a full 420 litres. Two decades ago, you’d have needed a large sedan to get that kind of load volume.
Practicality ramps up sharply from here on up, because the Ford Figo boasts of a very decent 445 litre luggage area in sedan form. Thank an extended, elevated tail for this sizeable cargo hold.
Volkswagen sedans have always had big boots, and the Polo sedan’s 454 litre capacity continues the tradition. Large and evenly-shaped, the Polo’s boot also benefits from a low load-over height and a wide and deep aperture.
In spite of its droopy tail, the Nissan Almera takes a big step forward in the practicality stakes, with a boot volume of 490 litres. There’s decent cabin space available as well, thanks to that domed roof. It ain’t pretty, but it works.
You might imagine that the Ballade’s trim lines would be hiding a cramped luggage area, but you’d be wrong. We’ve passed into realm of cavernous here, with an echoing 510 litres at the driver’s disposal.
Similar in size and concept to the Ballade, the Tipo has a very spacious cabin and a massive luggage compartment with a 520 litre capacity. Base-spec Tipos make do with a fixed rear seat, but higher trim levels add a folding rear seat for even greater practicality.
But for ultimate loading space, nothing comes close to the massive 595 litre boot of the Etios. It might look more than a little ungainly around the back, but the practical pay-off is huge. And, because the Etios sedan rides on a longer wheelbase than the hatchback, it has very impressive rear-seat space on offer as well.