6 Electric Vehicles With The Most Innovative Frunks

For years, the frunk - or front trunk - has been little more than a minuscule, shallow cargo area mostly equipped to mid-engine supercars. In many cases, they're as useful for cargo storage as an S-Class is for off-roading. But electric vehicles have transformed the frunk into a genuinely useful second trunk.

Since EVs don't have a conventional engine and their electric components are often placed low down within the vehicle's structure, frunks have not only ballooned in size, but they've also moved the game on in terms of the clever features they possess to make them even more practical. If you regularly like to show off your fanciful skills by reversing into the average parking bay instead of going in of nose-first, you'll love these modern EV frunk designs that make loading and unloading cargo at the front end of your vehicle a breeze. You'll also appreciate the many features added to these cargo areas, especially if you and your brood often head out into the great outdoors.

Although not one of the biggest frunks on this list at 4.7 cubic feet, the Mustang Mach-E's front storage area is still bigger than the Mazda MX-5 Miata's trunk. The Ford's frunk has also been thoughtfully designed to get the most out of it. There are dividers for storing smaller items that you don't want rolling around, and the space is water-resistant with a drain which makes it easy to clean. If you really want to, the dividers can be removed to create one larger cargo area. Another advantage to the frunk of the Mach-E is its excellent insulation, making it ideal for keeping things cool or you can use it as a massive cooling box on road trips.

Known as the Mega Power Frunk, the upcoming Ford F-150 Lightning has a frunk that is said to be the largest in the truck industry at 14.1 cubic feet. A Mercedes-Benz E-Class has less space in its trunk, which puts into perspective how huge the Lightning's trunk is. Intriguingly, the Ford's frunk began life as a rudimentary cardboard prototype as a team of researchers endeavored to discover what would make a frunk as user-friendly as possible.

They've done their research well, because not only does the Lightning's frunk have a 400-pound payload capacity, but several other nifty features. It comes with a drainable floor, bed lamps in the frunk hood, four electrical outlets, two USB chargers, and a 2.4-kilowatt power source for power tools, laptops, and other devices. You can even use your phone and the FordPass app to open the frunk, since it has a powered open-and-close system.

Although we'll have to wait some time to experience it, the upcoming Silverado EV's eTrunk is another excellent example of electric truck design. It'll need to be, since this will go up against the F-150 Lightning's Mega Power Frunk. The Silverado EV's frunk is lockable and weatherproof, and Chevy says there is enough space to accommodate a large hardside suitcase. It will also come with a plethora of accessories for both fleet and retail customers. These include slide-out drawers and tool boxes, and like the Mustang Mach-E, dividers will be available.

Not every electric sedan has a frunk. Mercedes-Benz hasn't bothered with one for the EQS, and the same applies to BMW with its i4. Mercedes says that this decision was taken to prioritize the Energizing Air Control Plus system that takes up a lot of space under the hood, and delivers cleaner air to occupants. Lucid claims that its Air has the largest frunk of any car, being up to four times larger than other electric cars. The space is both deep and wide, and there is underfloor storage for hiding valuables even further out of sight. The frunk can be electrically opened or closed from the central touchscreen, or you can use the key fob to do the same from outside. It's certainly far larger and more versatile than the frunk found on the Tesla Model S.

Much has been said about Rivian's innovative Gear Tunnel equipped to the R1T pickup. Situated low down between the rear seating area and the bed, it is waterproof, equipped with dual power plugs, and can be customized to accommodate a slide-out camping kitchen. It measures 11.7 cubic feet in size. In front, and only slightly smaller in overall volume, is the R1T's own frunk which measures 11.1 cubes. That's not as big as the upcoming F-150 Lightning's frunk, but it can still accommodate a surprising amount of cargo. It can fit half a dozen full grocery bags or two full-size coolers. The Rivian's frunk can be opened and closed automatically in a number of ways, including via the app or key fob. A 12V power outlet is another useful addition to the R1T's frunk.

The Model S doesn't have the smartest or largest trunk on this list, but we've included it because it was one of the first EVs - along with the Model X - to have a genuinely useful front trunk that improved overall versatility. You can fit a medium-sized suitcase and a few other smaller items in the space, but it lacks the clever features and sheer volume of most other frunks on this list. Older rear-wheel-drive Model S sedans had a deeper trunk made possible by their single-motor configurations. While Tesla remains among the leading EV automakers for range and performance, the basic frunk designs of its vehicles demonstrate how much more time designers are spending on other aspects of EV ownership.