Unsecured luggage! It will fly all over the place in an accident. Years ago, I had a friend with a station wagon that rear ended a car at about 25 MPH. He had a bowling ball in the back of the wagon - the ball went through his windshield like a cannon shot. Lucky it didn't take his head with it. A heavy suitcase would be worse.

A bowling ball? How exactly did it hit the wihndshield? It something that seems like it'd only happen if he was going down hill.

Note sure. Heavy suitcase of the same weight would be bigger, I suppose. So it could be projected less easily. Anyway I do not really see the difference between a wagon and another kind of car for such case Only alternative would be no luggage at all (or luggage on the roof, like what we did when I was kid, as we were traveling in small cars, e.g. the 1984 Honda Civic with the LPG tank in the trunk, so all luggages had to go on the roof rack... it was much easier when my father had the Renault Espace or the Citroën XM in the few years he got a company car).

well this is the problem with all monospace cars (SUV, Minivan, wagon, hatchback etc..) only solution is classic sedan and better something like my old Volvo 760/940 - it had rear seats with metal part behind them - no chance for anything from the trunk to get to the passenger area. Anyway my 850 has now the openable rear seats, so when I am carrying something extra heavy in the trunk I always buckle all three seats with the setabelts one cross another - it shall help in case of bad accident.

Anyway, a cargo net dividing the back seat and the cargo area would solve the problem of luggage in estate cars.

Depends on the sedan, not all have very solid separation

I don't know what trajectory the ball took from the back of the wagon. All I know is that when the car suddenlyl stopped the ball just kept going. I hate to think what it would have done if he had been going faster.

I had better be one really strong net to stop one of my wife's suitcases. I would swear that some of them have a kitchen sink

I currently have a Poniac Montana and love it. It has captains chairs, dual A/C, and audio. It also has a power sliding door. I just like the space and it seems safer. In the past I've had a Dodge Grand Caravan and Dodge Caravan. I know they aren't too popular in Europe because of petrol, and not much in the US either. I don't care for the new Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Countrys. I liked the design of the 96-00 and 01-07 models better. They were more rounded.

I haven't raised a family, and I've had two, although I'm not 100% sure the first one qualifies as a minivan. The first was a 1985 Toyota, and the second was a 1994 Plymouth Voyager.

I voted Chevy Uplander because I'm a GM guy. I'm not a minivan person though. My family had a 1988 Grand Voyager LE and a 1998 Grand Caravan and I hated them both.