Hatchback vs VW Golf Cargo

[gatorcivic]

Something is not adding up for me.

Civic Hatchback cargo volume- 25.7 cubic feet, 46.2 cubic feet with the seats folded down.
VW Golf GTI cargo volume- 14.7 cubic feet, 53.7 cubic feet with the seats folded down.

So folding the seats down in the civic gives you 20.5 cu ft more storage, while folding the seats in the Golf gives you 39 cu ft more storage?!?

In case anyone is wondering here are the dimensions for the rear seats that I found (Legroom x Shoulder room x Headroom in inches):
Civic: 36 x 55 x 37.4
Golf: 35.6 x 53.9 x 38.1
They are similar so this would create a very marginal difference.

Something I found on my quest for the answer from U.S. News about the GTI "There's 16.5 cubic feet of luggage space behind the rear seats. Removing the parcel shelf/cargo cover increases that to 22.8 cubic feet. The rear seats don't fold completely flat but yield almost 53 cubic feet of max cargo space".
So even according to these measurements folding the seats down gives you 30 cu ft more of storage compared to 20.5 cu ft for the civic.

Where does this amazing difference in cargo capacity come from when the rear seat dimensions are pretty much the same? Any insights would be appreciated.


My sources:
https://owners.honda.com/vehicles/information/2019/Civic-Hatchback/specs#mid^FK7H3KEW
https://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/golf-gti/specs
https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/volkswagen/gti/interior

Sponsored

 

[silverrascal]

The rear of the GTI is more squared off as opposed to the Civic hatch which tapers. I guess that could make up for some room in the GTI. But having owned both cars, when the seats are up, the hatch's cargo volume is more practical and bigger as you have shown in the numbers.