With Freshers’ Week looming, and students packing up the car for that long-awaited trip to university, research by Škoda has revealed that one in three UK motorists (33%) feel their car boot is too small for their needs. More than a quarter (29%) of drivers also admitted they have travelled at least once with a purchase partially hanging out of their boot.
Škoda’s research reveals that, off the back of a furniture shopping spree, 64% of UK motorists said they’ve had to leave a potential purchase behind because it was too big to fit in their car, while others have driven at least once with an oversized purchase hanging out of their car window (26%).
The most common home furnishings UK drivers have had to leave behind are flatpack wardrobes, bed frames, and TVs. Attempting to fit everything is a stressful task, as almost a third (28%) admitted to damaging the item they’d just bought, while around one in five (22%) said they’d also damaged their car while trying to get everything loaded.
These stresses are alleviated for Škoda drivers, who benefit from flatpack freedom thanks to class-leading space and room to spare, in addition to intuitive, clever storage solutions for smaller items. The largest boot offering is found in the Kodiaq SUV (7-seater), where outright luggage space expands up to 2,005 litres with all rear seats folded down.
In the Karoq SUV, the optional VarioFlex seating system allows owners to adjust and remove the second-row seats altogether – offering buyers an impressive level of flexibility. The centre seat can be removed, while the outer rear seats can be moved to the centre, providing more shoulder room for passengers in the back. When extra space is required, the back seats can be removed fully, providing up to 1,810 litres of capacity.
The entire Škoda line-up offers drivers incredible flexibility when it comes to interior space, with leading boot space across the range:
Overall boot capacity isn‘t the only limiting factor when loading up with bulky buys. Almost a third (29%) of drivers revealed that, on most occasions, their boot is already full of items that they forget to leave at home, while a quarter (24%) said rear seats not folding flat limits the outright carrying capacity.
Cars that are loaded incorrectly could pose a danger to road users and potentially result in three penalty points and possible fines. Despite these regulations, 39% of participants admitted that they had previously carried their purchases home with limited or blocked visibility. Drivers born between 1997 and 2012 proved to be the most vigilant with only 30% admitting to having a load limiting their visibility, in contrast with almost 55% of drivers aged between 55 and 65 years old.
While it isn’t illegal to drive with the boot open, the Department for Transport has a selection of rules that all drivers must follow to avoid any fines and points on their driving license:
• The car’s registration plate must be visible at all times
• Rear lights must be visible at all times
• The item shouldn’t hang more than one metre from the car
• Any hanging item should be properly secured
• Items shouldn’t obstruct the driver’s view of the road or their mirrors