The BMW 3 Series has long been the gold standard in compact luxury sedans. Other automakers have tried to offer the same blend of sportiness, style, comfort, luxury and convenience as the 3 Series, but despite this abundance of competition, the sedan has remained at the top of the hotly contested segment for years now.
One area where the current BMW 3 Series excels in is cargo room. The German luxury sedan offers up a whopping 17 cubic feet of cargo capacity – far outclassing all of its rivals. This is one area where the recently introduced Cadillac CT5 falls flat on its face, unfortunately. By comparison, the Cadillac CT5 has just 11.9 cubic feet of cargo capacity – placing it not only behind the 3 Series, but dead last in the entire compact luxury segment.
Compare the cargo room for the Cadillac CT5 with its main rivals here:
| Model | Cargo Room (cu. ft.) |
|---|---|
| Cadillac CT5 | 11.9 |
| Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 12.6 |
| Audi A4 | 13.0 |
| Infiniti Q50 | 13.5 |
| BMW 3 Series | 17.0 |
It’s worth noting the CT5’s 11.9 cubic feet of storage capacity isn’t much less than that of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class (12.6 cubic feet) and Audi A4 (13 cubic feet). That said, Mercedes-Benz is plotting a new version of the C-Class for next year, which will likely see the vehicle grow in size a bit, just like the 3 Series did when it was redesigned for the 2019 model year, and gain even more truck space.
The Cadillac CT5 can at least compete when it comes to passenger space, though. As the chart below shows, the CT5 has best-in-class second-row legroom – important in China, where luxury car owners are more likely to have a driver and thus will frequently ride in the back seat. The sedan also has good front headroom, front legroom and front shoulder room.
| Model | Front Headroom (in) | Rear Headroom (in) | Front Legroom (in) | Rear Legroom (in) | Front Shoulder Room (in) | Rear Shoulder Room (in) | Front Hip Room (in) | Rear Hip Room (in) | Trunk (cu. ft.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audi S4 | 38.9 | 37.4 | 41.3 | 35.7 | 55.9 | 54.5 | N/A | N/A | 13.0 |
| BMW M340i | 38.7 | 37.6 | 42.0 | 35.2 | 56.0 | 54.6 | N/A | N/A | 17.0 |
| Cadillac CT5-V | 39.0 | 36.6 | 42.4 | 37.9 | 56.7 | 55.7 | 53.7 | 53.7 | 11.9 |
| Infiniti Q50 Red Sport 400 | 39.5 | 36.8 | 44.5 | 35.1 | 56.7 | 56.1 | 53.2 | 52.5 | 13.5 |
| Mercedes-AMG C43 | 37.1 | 37.1 | 41.7 | 35.2 | 55.3 | 55.0 | N/A | N/A | 12.6 |
The 2020 Cadillac CT5 began arriving at U.S. Cadillac dealers last December. Prices start at $37,890 for the entry-level Luxury model with rear-wheel drive and the turbocharged 2.0L LSY four-cylinder engine.
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This post was written in collaboration with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.
