Ford's new Galaxy is laden with the suitcases which were required to provide two uncles, two aunties and three under six-year-olds with sufficiently warm clothing for a weekend when the wind reached 70mph.
Add two push chairs, several umbrellas, umpteen colouring books and a G-I-G-A-N-T-I-C foil Noddy balloon and it's fair to say that we're well and truly putting Ford's "Big One" through its paces.
Clunk-click the seat belts, carefully close the rear door so as to avoid putting a push chair wheel through the rear screen and we're all sitting comfortably for the 46-mile trip home.
Unless you're uncle Paul, that is, who faces a journey with only Noddy's nostrils for visual entertainment.
But then, taking the Big One is a whole lot better than taking the bus.
Unlike Blackpool, still the same alcohol-fuelled neon circus that it ever was, the car tested almost to destruction this week is the third incarnation of Ford's Galaxy.
Refreshed
A vehicle wearing the Galaxy badge first hit the road in 1995 and was "refreshed" in 2000.
On sale now, the all-new Galaxy sticks to the familiar seven-seats-and-a-bit-of-luggage-space blueprint but offers it with a little more pizzazz.
For a start, it's longer, lower and wider.
It's also more "intuitive" than Gipsy Rose Lea, with a techish-sounding "Human Machine Interface" taking the place of the plain old knobs and switches.
And it's definitely more fun to drive.
Oh, and you can easily fold the seats flat for when you need to take your old bathroom suite to the tip.
But do all the new bells and whistles make any difference when the Galaxy is doing what plain old charabancs were doing half a century ago: ferrying an extended family away for a weekend break in bucket-and-spade Britain?
Let's start on the outside.
The Galaxy certainly looks the part, with a sporting profile certain to set guest house curtains twitching across the Fylde coast.
Access is easy enough through wide side and rear doors, a real boon when wrestling with sickly tots, and once inside you can see what a good job Ford has made of the interior.
There are three levels of trim in a range topped by the Ghia version, driven here, and trumped by an X-Pack option.
I particularly like the optional panoramic roof, centre roof console and drop down mirror which would allow me to keep an eye on the kids if Noddy wasn't in the way.
Even a Glasgow-week Blackpool tourist wouldn't argue with the copious number of nooks and crannies: new Galaxy apparently offers up to 31 different stowage compartments with a total capacity of up to 110 litres.
Space
On top of that, you get 435 litres of stowage space when all seven seats are in use. (And that doesn't include balloons).
The Galaxy benefits from Ford's Fold Flat Seating system - allowing a flat load space with the second and third row folded - but it's still not as clever as some rivals, including the load-lugging Chrysler Grand Voyager's under- floor storage Stow `n' Go compartments.
The only sign of Kiss Me Quick, Regret Me Forever design is the handbrake, which is the wrong way around and has an oversized suitcase handle.
It makes your hand perform in a way in which it wasn't really meant to.
There are five engines available in the new Galaxy - four diesel and the 2-litre petrol, driven here.
I found the engine to be easily up to the task and it also delivered a respectable average fuel consumption of 38.9mpg.
Despite its scale, new Galaxy was easy to drive and, at the risk of falling for the manufacturer's key phrases, really did handle more like a car than a van.
A five star Euro NCAP score means this was no white knuckle ride.
And I'm happy to say that we arrived safely home with no thrills and spills.
Well, apart from the occasional piece of carrot that is.
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