Peek in the trunk of many passenger cars and it looks like there is ample room to haul the latest gadget.

But trying to fit that gadget through the narrow opening is another matter.

That is what the Tribune learned in a random, unscientific test of 14 sedans, two hatchbacks and one wagon in which the goal was to stuff two boxes packed with electronic hardware into the trunk, leaving the rear seat available for passengers.

All the cars could carry a rectangular box (24 inches long, 16 inches wide and 19 inches deep) for a printer-copier-scanner-fax machine with the trunk lid closed.

However, a cube-shaped box (21-by-21-by-19) for a computer monitor fit in the trunk of only five: the Kia Amanti, Mercury Grand Marquis and Ford Five Hundred sedans and the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx and Volkswagen Golf hatchbacks.

Only three of the cars were big enough for both to fit in the trunk: the Grand Marquis, Five Hundred and Malibu Maxx.

The Volvo S40 was the runt, the only car that couldn’t hold the monitor box in the back seat.

Cargo-conscious buyers considering the Chrysler 300 sedan might look at the Dodge Magnum, a wagon built from the same design. The monitor box didn’t fit through the 300’s trunk opening, but the Magnum’s cargo area swallowed both.

Most of the sedans had folding rear seatbacks, but the clearance with the seat down was too small to put the box into the trunk through the back door.

Golfers should be happy to learn that several four- and five-passenger cars can haul at least four bags filled with irons, wedges and Big Bertha drivers. That includes compact cars such as the Honda Civic, Ford Focus and the S40, which held four bags.

But packing big sound systems into small cars can reduce utility.

Such is the case with the Dodge SRT-4, a performance version of the Neon. With a subwoofer in the trunk, the SRT-4 holds only two golf bags, and the rectangular box barely fit. However, four golf bags fit in the Focus ZX4 with a subwoofer.

The trunk in the midsize, five-passenger Honda Accord has room for five bags and could probably hold six. The midsize Nissan Maxima and Amanti also hold five people, but the Maxima has space for six golf bags and the Amanti at least seven.

The Five Hundred and Grand Marquis could carry clubs and bags for eight.

Other cars tested were the Volkswagen Phaeton and Jetta, Mazda6 and Chevrolet Malibu sedans. The rectangular box fit, but the cube-shaped one didn’t.