How many sets of golf clubs will the EX35 hold in the rear hatch area? Can a set of clubs be laid down horizontally across the width of the car or do they have to be stood up on end?

You should be able to get 3 sets of clubs set across in the cargo area. There is a video of it on a webpage I created:

http://web.mac.com/etorres/New....html

Towards the bottom of the page, next to the picture of the cargo area, you can see a video where golf clubs are being loaded into the EX35 and then the BMW X3 and Lexus RX for comparison.

Hope that helps.