Trunk comparison: BMW 5 Series Touring vs VW Touran

Key Differences

BMW 5 Series Touring: +29.5 in (221%) longer trunk when all seats are upright. This means: in a fully occupied state, the BMW offers significantly more cargo space behind the seat rows than the Touran.

VW Touran: +6.3 in (23%) higher trunk opening. The opening height is noticeably greater in the Touran, making it easier to load tall or bulky items vertically.

Implications for Usability

Trips with many passengers and luggage: Due to the much larger cargo space with upright seats, the BMW is much better suited when multiple seats are used simultaneously and a significant amount of luggage still needs to be transported.

In such situations, the Touran would more often require folding down seats or using a roof rack.

Transporting tall or bulky items: The higher trunk opening of the Touran facilitates loading tall or bulky goods (e.g., furniture parts, tall boxes, strollers) because there is more vertical clearance.

Combined with the slightly lower loading edge of the Touran (BMW loading edge is +1.6 in higher), lifting heavy loads during loading is easier.

Small differences (under 10%): The BMW is slightly longer with folded seats (+6%) and somewhat longer with the first row upright (+8%), and the width at the narrowest point as well as the opening width are each only about 2% larger in the BMW.

These differences are hardly noticeable in everyday use and only marginally affect usability.

Conclusion

Those who regularly travel fully occupied and still need usable trunk space benefit from the BMW 5 Series Touring. Those who frequently load bulky or tall items and value easy loading and unloading have the practical advantage of the larger opening height with the VW Touran.