Luggage in a midsize car

You can find answers for many of your questions about car rental at gemut.com. The downloadable PDF, "What you should know about renting a car in Europe," is excellent. It includes descriptions of car sizes.

We have done our car rentals through them for years. The last time we rented, we had two carry-on 22x13x9 bags, 1 tote, 1 CPAP bag and 1 messenger bag. The car was so small that we had to put one of the "big" bags in the back seat. That was no big deal for the 2 of us, but would be a shock if you accidentally rented something too small for your group.

You don't say if the three children are teenagers/adults or small children. That would certainly make a difference.

I would guess that luggage for five people would not fit in the trunk of most mid-sized cars, nor would five people fit comfortable in the car, and if the three people crammed into the back seat had to have overflow luggage in their laps, they would not be very happy.

But rental companies usually give examples of what cars you would be renting. Visit dealerships and try them on for size, then decide. If you can't confirm that you would all fit in a mid-size, I would rent a full sized car.

But, there is plenty of room for 5 people and carryon luggage in a train coach. Have you really checked out the public transportation possibilities, or are you renting a car because that's all you know how to do? I've spent about five months traveling in Europe, most of the time to small towns, and never needed a car.

Many years ago as a family of 2 adults and 2 teenagers I rented a mid size car for us to pick up at the airport. When we got to the actual car there was absolutely NO way our luggage and bodies could be crammed into it. Back to the counter i went and ended up with a minivan which was very comfortable but still not cavernous like the USA family vans. Don't under estimate on the size of vehicle you need or you'll be disappointed.

"Don't under estimate on the size of vehicle you need or you'll be disappointed."

Ditto on this, and the other point above about carefully checking the luggage each car size claims to be able to hold. When my friend and I went to Sicily, we rented a larger car than we otherwise needed, just to be sure it would hold all our luggage out of sight. (We used Kemwel, and they had descriptions of how much luggage each size of car would hold). Even though there were only two of us, it was the right decision; if we had taken the smaller car (only two sizes with automatic transmission were being offered), we would have had enough room for the two of us - but not enough for the luggage, which then would have been visible in the back seat anytime we were parked.

This is definitely a concern. It's not hard to get people into a car/van, but once you factor in luggage, it's a whole new world. Car rental companies are pretty good about this now, when they show you the sample car in your price range there's a little diagram showing people and suitcases. You'll be surprised how much room luggage takes up.

For illustration, wife and I rented a small 4 door hatchback in France. We had two bags each and ended up having to use the back seat for at least one of them (maybe even two). Even if a car says it has a "trunk" it doesn't mean it's shaped or sized correctly for suitcases.

We had a mid size station wagon with 4 adults. Everyone was limited to one 21" rolling bag and a small backpack--and that's all the car would hold.
You might want to check into going one size larger in a car. Maybe they have a mini-van that'd better suit your needs.
But I'd still suggest everyone limit themselves to one small suitcase and a day pack.

If you just have carry-ons (of a reasonable size), I'd say "probably", with the caveat that it can depend on just which car in that class you get. We've rented some that held more than it appeared they could from the outside, and others where everything just wouldn't fit in back. Main thing, as others have noted, might be whether three would be comfortable in back.