Best car boot organisers
Keeping your luggage in place is important for safety – and tidiness
Luggage or shopping sliding around in your boot while you’re driving probably won't do your car (or your belongings) any good, so it pays to have some way of making everything stay put.
Non-slip matting or liners can help, but the ultimate solution is a boot organiser, which not only keeps things neat and tidy, but can also securely hold items and protect them from the rough and tumble of the load bay. They can also be left empty ready to take the weekly shop or a garden centre haul, keeping bottles and plants safe, or be packed with the kind of kit that drivers who like to be prepared can carry. This might be anything from de-icer and a mini jump starter kit to oil and coolant top-ups, or car care kit for those who can’t store such items at home.
How we tested them
We checked what you get for your money, looking for solid floors, covered pockets, pouches, covers and materials that withstand life in the boot. Our wish list also featured partitions, including ones
that can be removed, catches to secure boxes when folded, plus comfortable handles.
Options to keep the organiser in place in the load bay were also checked and we assessed how well each coped with typical contents, including boots, a wine carrier, a supermarket bag, a five-litre bottle, trigger sprays, aerosols, and a jump starter. We also factored in value for money using online prices.
Verdict
With so many similar products in this comparison, it was a surprise to see a clear winner in the revised Fortem, which gets just about everything right.
Used - available now
2023 Hyundai
Tucson
31,672 milesAutomaticPetrol1.6L
Cash £19,000
2023 Hyundai
Kona Electric
59,591 milesAutomaticElectric
Cash £13,000
2021 Ford
Focus
20,986 milesManualPetrol1.0L
Cash £14,404
2021 BMW
X3
35,543 milesAutomaticDiesel2.0L
Cash £25,310If you need more storage, then look no further than the larger Simply Premium Large Boot Organiser, which also ticks a lot of boxes. The final podium spot goes to the Halfords Boot Organiser, which is also our best budget choice.
Fortem Car Boot Organiser
- Rating: 5 stars
- Price: Around £23
- Contact: amazon.co.uk
We reviewed a Fortem organiser in our 2021 test, and it looks like it has since had a design tweak. It now features hook and loop strips, plus studded non-slip panels on the base to keep it in place, alongside two tethers for load bay tie-downs.
There are tough, rigid sides with handy covered pockets at one end and mesh pouches down each side. It folds easily and coped well with our test kit. A recent price cut seals its win.
Simply Premium Large Boot Organiser
- Rating: 4 stars
- Price: around £36
- Contact: simply-brands.com
There’s a family resemblance between this Simply offering and our winner (left). But pick it up and it’s noticeably heavier, with a slightly larger footprint. It easily managed our test load, the five-litre pack fitting under the tall ends. It also comes with a hook and loop-fastened cover if you need to protect the contents.
There are solid floors with tabs for easy lifting, plus tethers and anti-slip patches, with hook and loop strips underneath. One compartment can be partitioned, plus there are plenty of options with mesh pouches each side and pockets at the ends.
Halfords Boot Organiser
- Rating: 4 stars
- Price: around £12
- Contact: halfords.com
If you’re on a tight budget, then this is the organiser for you. It might be the least expensive on test at just £12, but it works well and has a similar footprint to our winner. It accommodated our test load easily, taking a total of four wine carriers and a quartet of lightly filled Bags for Life, plus there’s a host of extra pockets.
However, you can see where costs have been pared back. There are no rigid floors or tethers and it comes with just hook and loop strips underneath. It might lack the sturdiness or rigidity of our top two, but this Halfords organiser works well at a keen price.
Sakura Car Boot Organiser
- Rating: 4 stars
- Price: around £19
- Contact: saxon-brands.com
This Sakura organiser just misses out on a podium spot, but it still ticks a lot of boxes. It has covered pockets that are ideal for small items like fasteners and fuses plus – uniquely in this test – elastic loops in one compartment to hold bottles, aerosols and the like.
There are rigid floors, although they fold and can slip over each other. A partition can be added to one section giving a one-third/two-thirds split to provide more packing options. With a similar footprint to the Simply (above), it easily dealt with our test kit.
Thule GoBox Large
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Price: around £80
- Contact: thule.com
At nearly £80, and facing off against rivals less than a quarter of its price, this was always going to be a big ask for the Thule, but we were seriously impressed by this and the Medium version.
While they make great boot organisers, they are also tough folding crates, ideal for transporting camping kit and the like to and from the car when needed. They’re made from exceptionally sturdy materials and this large version comes with a tethered nylon cover. Top quality – but at a price.
Thule GoBox Medium
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Price: around £56
- Contact: thule.com
While the larger Thule GoBox is the biggest on test, this ‘Medium’ model is a similar size to the Simply Premium, so coped with our test kit well.
It also has an elasticated rain cover, but it isn’t tethered. There are anti-slip pads on the base but, just like its larger stablemate, more storage pockets would have been welcome. It has the same top quality build and materials but, again, it comes at a premium price.
Halfords Boot Organiser With Removable Cool Bag
- Rating: 3 stars
- Price: around £16
- Contact: halfords.com
Another organiser from Halfords’ bargain basement, but nowhere near as well executed as its stablemate. The material is thin and the whole thing lacks stiffness.
There are no rigid floors and the handles are only holes in each end, just big enough for a few fingertips. The cool bag, which fits into one of the three compartments, is also pretty insubstantial, although it does fold fairly easily to free up space for other kit.
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