When picking the right car for your family, bigger is often better.

It’s astounding just how much you need to cart around when you have a family. From the actual people, to your pets, to sports kit and ballet shoes, to luggage when you’re heading off cross-country for a staycation, there never seems to be enough space for everyone and everything.

We’ve all been there – pack the kids into the car first, and then pack everything else in around them until you can just about see their little heads peeking out over the top of sleeping bags and pillows and bags for life crammed with the ever-important snacks. 

If you’re searching for your next car lease, boot space is likely top of your list. 

And if you’re looking to make the switch to electric driving, it can be even more of a minefield. Not only are you searching for an electric car lease that ticks all your normal boxes, but you now have to mix in vehicle range to the contenders. Luckily for you, electric cars with big boots also tend to be electric cars with big ranges.

It’s a win/win for you and your family.

While electric buyers of yesteryear had to contend with the fact that early adoption of electric technology meant compromising on things like space and practicality, that’s thankfully no longer an issue. Many EVs are now built on dedicated EV platforms instead of being reimagined petrol cars with great big batteries shoehorned in.

These platforms allow manufacturers to make the most of their space, with electric cars often bringing benefits like flat floors in the back (no more middle seat arguments over where your feet go) and additional storage under the bonnet (otherwise known as a ‘frunk’).

In fact, the humble electric car is fast becoming one of the most practical.

And with that in mind, we’ve rounded up eight of the best electric cars with big boots to help you narrow down that all-important-and-often-quite-confusing decision.

Bigger does often mean more expensive, unfortunately, but we’ve considered affordability against practicality, to bring you a list of EVs with boots over 500L – they’re not the biggest boots on the market, but they are good value for the space they offer.

Tesla Model Y

Tesla Model Y

  • Seats up: 854L
  • Seats down: 2041L
  • Electric range: 283-331 miles (WLTP Comb)

The Tesla Model Y is the American manufacturer’s best-seller for good reason.

It’s large, it’s in charge, and it has a frankly cavernous boot that can’t really be matched by rivals – and if it can, those rivals are often twice the price and not jam-packed with as much tech. Teslas do come with an astonishing amount of tech, with their minimalist dashboards hiding a whole host of fun easter eggs and very useful safety kit.

Whether you want to turn your sat-nav into a Rainbow Road replica, or have your Tesla on Sentry Mode while you’re not there to alert you to and record any vandalism or attempted theft.

But the Tesla Model Y is also an exceedingly practical car.

With the boot measuring 854L (from floor to roof) with the seats up, there’s an awful lot of stuff you can cram in the back of this one. Moving house, or doing a big Ikea trip? Fold the rear seats flat (they’re a handy 40/20/40 split) and you’ll get over 2000L of space to play with. 

The boot is versatile, with deep underfloor storage to hide anything you don’t want on view, but unlike some rivals, there are no bag hooks to stop your stuff from rolling around all over the place. It does have a 117L frunk though, which is larger than most rivals, and it’s a good place to store dirty charging cables or emergency snacks. 

We’re of the opinion you can never have too many snacks, and there is plenty of snack storage throughout the Model Y’s spacious cabin. Or, you know, a place to store all your other odds and ends.

All in all – a Tesla Model Y lease is certainly one to bear in mind.

SKODA Enyaq iV

SKODA Enyaq iV

  • Seats up: 585L
  • Seats down: 1710L
  • Electric range: 249-348 miles (WLTP Comb)

When it comes to big, practical, affordable family cars, we’re big SKODA fans.

The entire range is perfect for families of all sizes, but it’s their electric entry that we’re looking at today. And – considering this is SKODA’s only solely electric car – it’s astonishingly good.

The SKODA Enyaq iV is built on the same Volkswagen Group MEB platform as many rivals, like the Volkswagen ID.4 and Audi Q4 e-tron, but holds the distinction of being the most practical of all of them. 

Which, being a SKODA, we’re not all that surprised. 

SKODA, despite their earlier reputation, are now known for their ability to strike a good balance between practicality, affordability, space, comfort, and little luxe touches that make it feel higher end than the price suggests.

Its boxy, traditionally SUV rear end gives the boot a good square shape, which means you can easily get more inside than you would in a car with an ostensibly larger, but not so practical, boot. But 585L is not to be sniffed at. Anything over 500L is pretty good in the boot practicality stakes, and with the Enyaq iV inching closer to 600L, this is a good one.

Fold down the rear seats, and you’ll bag yourself 1710L of space to play with – handy for a trip to the tip. And with SKODA offering an optional double-sided boot with a hard-wearing rubber side, you won’t even have to worry about muddying your boot floor.

The Enyaq iV is filled with all of SKODA’s usual Simply Clever touches, like an ice scraper, umbrella and parking ticket holder, and it makes for a very good family EV indeed.

Volkswagen ID.4

Volkswagen ID.4

  • Seats up: 543L
  • Seats down: 1734L
  • Electric range: 224-336 miles (WLTP Comb)

The Volkswagen ID.4 is built on the same modular platform as the SKODA Enyaq iV, which also makes it an excellent electric family car, but it is slightly less practical thanks to its shorter overhang.

However, the boot still clocks in at a generous 543L with the seats up, and it should easily swallow the daily detritus of family life without breaking into a sweat. You shouldn’t have any issues cramming in the daily shop or playing luggage Jenga with a car full of your family – and with the VW ID.4 offering 1734L with the seats down, it’s a very versatile car indeed.

In fact, with the seats down it actually offers slightly more space than the Enyaq iV. 

And VW have put a lot of effort into making sure that the ID.4 is not just a good-looking car, but that it works for everyday life. 

The spacious cabin is large enough to cart around five adults – even if they’re all over six feet – and it’s dotted with plenty of storage area and cubbies. The central armrest has a wireless charging pad for your phone, and there’s a central armrest in the back with two cupholders.

Really, it all comes down to what you prefer. If you like the idea of a Volkswagen lease, then the Volkswagen ID.4 is the perfect choice for you.

Versatile, practical, stylish, comfortable – it ticks all the right boxes and then some. 

Hyundai Ioniq 5

Hyundai Ioniq 5

  • Seats up: 527L
  • Seats down: 1587L
  • Electric range: 238-315 miles (WLTP Comb)

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 – one of our favourite EVs thanks to its futuristic-yet-also-quite-retro spaceship-esque looks – is deceptively large. Yes, it is ostensibly a family-sized hatchback, and not an SUV like nearly every other car on this list. 

At 4.6 metres, this is one hatchback that isn’t going to leave your family feeling cramped in the back and arguing over whose arm is touching whose and battling for foot space dominance. 

Hyundai has instead designed the Ioniq 5 with comfort and space in mind. It’s a pretty big family car, and perfect if you’re looking for something more on the spacious side, but you don’t want to be lumbered with something larger and trickier to navigate around busy town roads and into smaller parking spaces, or you’re not a fan of the more rugged, traditional SUV look.

The cabin is cavernous, with even the rear passengers getting a flat floor for their feet, which makes the rear feel more spacious and comfortable. The interior feels airy, thanks to the large windows, and there are plenty of extra little touches (like sliding rear seats and rear parking sensors) that make day-to-day life a little bit easier when you’re on the go.

And with life difficult enough as it is, anything a car manufacturer can do to help is welcomed by us.

Sure, the boot is only 527L, which isn’t going to win any prizes on this list. But realistically, anything over 500L is practical enough for regular family life, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 clears that and then some. With the seats down you get 1587L of space, which is good enough for a tip run or helping your kids move to uni and back, and the width of the boot makes it easy to load your items in and out.

There’s also a 57L frunk, which gives you space to stow your charging cables out of the way and free up some space in the boot, and the sliding rear seats gives you a little more room if your backseat occupants have littler legs (or don’t mind squished knees).

BMW i5 Touring

BMW i5 Touring

  • Seats up: 570L
  • Seats down: 1700L
  • Electric range: 310-344 miles (WLTP Comb)

Another contender if you’re not after an SUV, the BMW i5 Touring is a very good estate option.

It’s an excellent compromise if you want to drive something electric, you want something spacious – and you also want something that’s enjoyable to drive. The BMW i5 Touring is a particularly good choice if you’re looking at business leasing, with the electric estate attracting much lower levels of Benefit in Kind tax than its combustion engine rivals.

In fact, a BMW i5 Touring lease would set you back roughly £46 a month in BiK tax if you’re a 40% tax payer, while a plug-in hybrid 5 Series Touring is around £162 a month, and a petrol BMW 3 Series Touring is even steeper, at around £486 a month.*

If you’re wanting to keep more money in your pocket and more luggage in your boot, then the BMW i5 Touring makes a lot of sense.

And it’s a practical car, as well as a very good-looking one.

The boot clocks in at an impressive 570L – 80L more than the saloon variant- and 1700L with the seats down. Even when it comes to petrol or diesel rivals, only the Mercedes-Benz E-Class offers more boot space. And even that shrinks to 440L if you opt for the PHEV variant. All that to say, the BMW i5 Touring is the estate to go for if your priority is space first, everything else after.

There’s no compromise on experience either – the cabin is a delightful and spacious place to while away the hours, whether you’re commuting or holidaying, with its ambient lighting and class-leading infotainment system, and there’s plenty of storage for all your bits and bobs.

Kia EV9

Kia EV9

  • Seats up: 828L (in six/seven-seat configuration)
  • Seats down: 2318L
  • Electric range: 313-349 miles (WLTP Comb)

This is not a cheap choice, but if you’re after something a little different to practically everything else currently available on the market, then the Kia EV9 is worth it.

It’s also the only seven-seater on the list, if that’s important to you. And it doesn’t look like your traditional people carrier either, which is a bonus for many of us. While practical, they’re not always the best looking car.

The Kia EV9 on the other hand? This is all style. And quite divisive. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and is much more marmite-y. Personally, I’m a big fan of the boxy look. It’s fun when brands go a little bolder, and break the mould. And Kia really seem to be doing that with their EV range, with the Kia EV6 styling setting that trend.

It’s all angles and futuristic-spaceship-cool and you’re not going to lose it easily in a car park. This thing is big, and it stands out.

With all three rows of seats in place, the boot space drops to 333L – about what you’d get in a supermini like the Peugeot E-208. In fact, it’s more than you get in the Volvo XC90 T8 Recharge, which only has 262L behind the third row. And while it’s not jaw-droppingly impressive, it’s good enough for everyday family life.

But bin off your rearmost passengers and drop those back two seats down, and you get a cave-like 828L to play with, which blows most rivals out of the water. And with the boxiness of the car, this space is very practical and extremely useable. 

Need even more space?

Get that second row of seats down, and you increase the available space to a cavernous, cargo van-esque space of 2318L. Take a wrong turn in the boot, and you’d get lost. Just think how much you’d be able to buy from Ikea or The Range or B&Q. You’d never have the fear of it not all fitting again.

Worth it just for that, if you ask us.

Audi Q4 e-tron

Audi Q4 e-tron

  • Seats up: 520L
  • Seats down: 1490L
  • Electric range: 287-330 miles (WLTP Comb)

The Audi Q4 e-tron is another one built on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform, so you know it’s going to be good. And it is. Sensible, spacious, and perfect for everyday family life if you’re after an Audi lease.

This sort of size SUV really is geared towards families, and the German brand has recognised this. 

Touches like the wide-opening doors make it easier to load children in and out of the car without so much worry that you’re going to bash heads against the roof, or struggle to get the car seat in. It also makes it easier for family members whose mobility might not be so good too, with the higher positioning making it a doddle to get in and out of.

In fact, the Audi Q4 e-tron is an excellent car for everyone.

The cabin is spacious, there are plenty of door bins and little cubbies dotted throughout, and the flat floor across the back makes life more comfortable for the back passengers, with the middle seat not having to straddle a tunnel or play footsie with their neighbours.

And with the boot clocking in at a solid 520L (or 535L for the Sportback model), you’ll have more than enough space for everyday family life. Seats down, you get 1490L, which is a big help if you have big items to move around. It’s not award-winning by any stretch, but paired with the rest of the Q4 e-tron and Audi’s reputation for building quality cars, it makes the EV a very attractive electric leasing option.

And if you add the optional Function Pack, you’ll get various storage nets and a cargo area cover, which makes the boot of the Q4 e-tron a very practical and useable space indeed.

Genesis GV70

Genesis GV70

  • Seats up: 503L
  • Seats down: 1678L
  • Electric range: 283 miles (WLTP Comb)

Sure, it might have the worst boot space of all the electric cars on the list. But it still sneaks over that 500L sweet spot, and everything else about the Genesis GV70 (in its electric guise anyway) is so nice that you can simply forgive it for not having the biggest rear in the world.

The GV70 is available in both combustion engine and electric motor form, but if you’re looking for a premium EV with a decent boot, then it’s the electric Genesis that is worth all your time and energy looking at. 

If you’re looking to lease a GV70 for your business, you’ll ultimately keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket if you go electric.

Not only are the running costs lower, but it again attracts much lower levels of BiK tax compared to the ICE GV70. In fact, you could be saving yourself over £450 a month in Benefit in Kind tax, with the diesel GV70 costing around £502 a month, and the EV a mere £43.*

But an electric Genesis GV70 lease is not just an attractive one for its company car tax saving.

It’s also a very nice car indeed, with a spacious and luxurious interior that sort of makes you feel like you’re driving around in a very comfy armchair, and all of the tech you could ever need crammed into the infotainment system and drivers display. Dare we say the cabin feels more luxe than many of its established German rivals?

And yes, the 503L boot is slightly smaller than the combustion engine variant, but it’s still good enough for everyday family life, and the rest of the car more than makes up for the bit of space that you lose. 

And seats down, you get a competitive 1678L to play with, so you can still run all of your big errands without having to worry.

*Figures correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

Beth Twigg

Beth Twigg

Beth is our Content and Paid Media Specialist, tasked with creating great articles to keep you both entertained and informed. She has two years previous experience, but has been writing and scribbling for much longer.