Trunk-Or-Treat!

The end of October approaches, and that means Halloween is this Friday. If you haven’t already, it’s now the time to dress up your kids, your house and, yes, even your car. Lots of people are participating in a newer Halloween tradition. It’s called trunk-or-treat, and it seems to be getting more and more popular. The idea behind trunk-or-treating is that you decorate your car, ideally to match whatever costumes your kids plan to wear. Your car becomes an extension of the costume, a continuation of the theme. You then fill what room you have left with candy, and kids go to your trunk, instead of your front door.

Trunk-or-treating can be especially useful if your neighborhood is too big to walk. Just drive with everyone else in your neighborhood to a parking lot or public gathering, form a circle with your cars, and go around collecting candy. It’s an interesting idea and one that is more common than you would think. You can dress up the entire car, but the trunk is the only part that needs to be in costume. So, you’re probably wondering, what kind of cars would be good for such an event? Well, we’ve compiled a list of vehicles with impressive trunk space. These trunks all offer a sizable canvas for you to decorate as you like, and they all have plenty of space to store lots of candy for the kids, too.

10. It’s hard to tell exactly what category of car the Honda CR-Z is. It’s a coupe with only two seats with a hatchback not quite like anything else you’ll find. Its design allows for two to travel comfortably, while dedicating the rest of the car to essentially its trunk. It’s a great car for bringing a single kid out trunk-or-treating with, and its 25.1 cubic feet of cargo space provide some great depth for decoration. You could even easily fit those jump-scare mannequins or spiders that Halloween stores sell. Now that’s a good trunk-or-treating idea, but keep in mind that you don’t want to scare all the kids away.

9. Minivans are really the ideal vehicles for Halloween, and the Toyota Sienna might just be the best one to go trunk-or-treating. It offers plenty of space for a bunch of kids and has a massive hatch to be decorated. Perfect for large families, the Sienna offers the most cargo room among minivans while maintaining seating for 7 or 8 (depending on the trim). Its wide hatch and deep behind-seating space provide plenty of space to work with. The Sienna’s unmatched 39.1 cubic feet of cargo space will give you plenty of room to decorate while still having a ton of room left over for an obscene amount of candy. Have a large group doing a costume theme? The Sienna’s the vehicle to drive.

8. If you’re looking for the most performance per cubic foot of trunk space (and don’t want to break the bank), take a look at the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Not only is the Corvette an absolute beast on the track, it can pack up to 15 cubic feet of candy and costumes in the back. Sure, you’ll have to do your best not to scare off your neighbor’s kids with that vicious grille and savage exhaust note, but hey, it’s Halloween. And if you want to scare yourself afterward, just head to a track and let the C7 take you from 0-60 in 3.8 seconds. Now that is how you celebrate Halloween.

7. The Nissan Versa Note has one fine hatch and would be a great compact hatchback for trunk-or-treating. It’s definitely one of the more affordable cars on this list, but it offers more space than you would think. Despite its small stature, the Versa Note hatchback’s cargo area measures an impressive 18.8 cubic feet. As far as cargo space goes, this is likely the best dollar-to-cubic-foot ratio for a hatchback. The Versa Note really isn’t that intimidating to look at, so take the time to dress it up a bit for the holiday. You’ll certainly have plenty of space to work with in the trunk.

6. If you want a car that’s always in the Halloween spirit, your best choice is the Maserati Quattroporte. Like Neptune, the Quattroporte carries a trident wherever it goes. However, the car also has a sinister side and definitely spends some time rabble-rousing in the underworld with Neptune’s brother, Pluto. If you want to capture some of that spirit this Halloween, sink into the Quattroporte’s plush leather seats and let its 523-hp, Ferrari-built engine whisk you away to Hades. That or fill the 18.7-cubic-foot trunk with candy and treat your neighborhood to both a good time and fine Italian design. Your call.

5. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the perfect wagon for trunk-or-treating. Looking beyond its obvious status as a performance luxury vehicle, the E-Class also has a mighty nice trunk. On the outside the E-Class isn’t exactly terrifying, but you’ll have plenty of room to make the interior as scary as you want with 36 cubic feet of cargo room. We know you might be hesitant to dress up a Mercedes, but the E-Class Wagon has enough to fit whatever theme you and your kids choose. And it’s not a bad car to own after the fact.

4. If no roads exist between you and your trunk-or-treat event, the Toyota 4Runner has you covered. The rugged 4Runner can cross just about any terrain and affords you 47.2 cubic feet of cargo space to fill to the brim with candy corn. Once you do get where you’re going, open the rear door and switch on Party Mode, a nifty little feature Toyota offers on the 4Runner that sends your sound out the back. You can sit back, crank up the tunes and watch the Halloween festivities unfold.

3. For the environmentally conscious, there’s no better way to enjoy the magic of Halloween than in a Tesla Model S. While the Model S is practical, comfortable and extremely fuel-efficient, what makes it a great car for trunk-or-treating is its near silence thanks to its electric drivetrain. You’ll be able to sneak up on all your friends and scare them, because they’ll never hear you coming! Not only that, the Model S is also offers tons of trunk space, thanks to its slantback roof and frunk (front trunk). If you do scare your friends, you’ll be able to make up for it by offering them 31.6 cubic feet of processed sugar.

2. You won’t have to dress the Ferrari FF that much. It’s impressive to look at as is. The FF is perfect for the person who gets really into Halloween and wants to dress up as a racecar driver or an international spy (though James Bond never drove a Ferrari). It can already fit into a racecar-themed costume with your kids. Its hatchback provides some of the best cargo space offered by a supercar. A trunk with 15.9 cubic feet is actually astonishing for a car with 651 horsepower. And Halloween is the perfect excuse for you to go out and buy yourself a $300,000 supercar. We suspect you’ll have the fastest trunk out there.

1. The Ford Taurus is our favorite overall car for the trunk-or-treat experience. Not only will the local kids be scared by your menacing front grille, but you’ll also have more than enough space to bring candy to your meet-up, with the Taurus offering an astounding 20.1 cubic feet of trunk space—by far the most among traditional sedans. Hell, you could even build your own haunted house in the trunk and give the devil himself plenty of room to spread out (although we don’t recommend it). Add to that the ample and spacious seating for 5, and it becomes clear the Taurus is a scary good ride.

Is there a car you’d like to take trunk-or-treating?

-jharrington and zwaller

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Used Honda CR-Z
Used Toyota Sienna
Used Chevrolet Corvette
Used Nissan Versa Note
Used Maserati Quattroporte
Used Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Used Toyota 4Runner
Used Tesla Model S
Used Ferrari FF
Used Ford Taurus