Trunk comparison: Hyundai IONIQ vs Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake

Key Differences

The Mercedes‑Benz CLA Shooting Brake has two clearly relevant advantages over the Hyundai IONIQ: with the front seats upright, the trunk is 5.9 in (≈16%) longer, and the trunk depth (distance from loading edge to trunk floor) is 3.9 in (≈83%) greater.

Smaller differences: the trunk opening of the CLA is 2 in higher, the loading edge is only 0.4 in higher, the narrowest trunk width is 2 in wider in the CLA, while the width of the trunk opening is 2.8 in larger in the IONIQ; the length with folded seats is 5.9 in (≈9%) longer in the CLA.

Impact on Usability

The greater length with the front row upright (≈16%) makes the CLA more practical for everyday use when the rear seats are needed: longer items (e.g., skis, building materials, longer boxes) can be transported more easily without folding the seats down.

The significantly greater depth (≈83%) means more usable volume vertically and allows for secure storage of bulkier or taller items and better stacking in the trunk. This makes the CLA overall more flexible for larger shopping trips, luggage, or bulky cargo.

In contrast, the IONIQ offers a trunk opening that is 2.8 in wider, which facilitates loading wider items or large boxes, even though the total volume is smaller. The marginal differences in loading edge height and trunk opening height are hardly noticeable in daily handling.

In short: For more usable volume and better accommodation of longer/deeper loads, the CLA Shooting Brake is the more practical choice; those who often need to slide very wide, flat items through the opening will benefit more from the IONIQ.

When loading heavy items, the greater depth of the CLA can make lifting in somewhat more demanding but overall provides significantly more storage space.