You could have put one of the suitcases in the middle back seat, right? It's no guarantee you could have gotten 4 normal-sized suitcases into the trunk of a non-hybrid Camry anyway.

My 2004 HCH had 10.1 cf of trunk space, and the TCH trunk is only SLIGHTLY larger at 10.6 cf, so you are correct about the irritatingly small trunk space. The non-hybrid 2007 Camry has 14.5 cf of trunk space - meaning the TCH trunk space is reduced by 27% over the non-hybrid.

Not the best design, for sure. Lucky for me when I go on long trips I have my two kiddos in the back seat and an OPEN front passenger seat, which becomes useful cargo space for me. When we went to Texas in June, the TCH was PACKED !! My Granny commented after seeing the trunk "I don't know how you got all that stuff packed into this car!" I had filled up her guest bedroom with stuff from the trunk and the passenger seat. I am a very skilled packer, and that trunk was filled in virtually every nook and cranny.