Tailgate guard and dog guard vs crate in car...

Which do you have and why? Still debating about which is the best option. I like the crate, the fact they are entirely enclosed BUT... I can't use my boot with the crate in it. The tailgate guard would maybe be a compromise. Thoughts?

I have a tailgate and guard from Brajo.
A crate IMO wouldnt of worked for us, becasue as you say I couldnt of really used the boot for anything other than the dogs.
The tailgate and guard offer a larger floor space for the dogs aswell.
Easy to take out if needed aswell.

tailgate for me

Currently I have a dog guard and tailgate not because it is my preference but to maximise the space in my boot (Volvo V70) for my two dogs.

The pros:

Quick and easy to remove
Lighter than a cage
No loss of width or height or floor area

The cons

Dogs can make windows snotty
If you have destructive dogs/puppies they can access wiring etc (fortunately not the case with mine)
Cannot use elsewhere (you could use crate in house etc)

I went down the guard route as my car often has passengers in the rear seat too, but the boot wasn't large enough for both dogs (and didn't particularly want to go for an estate as my last car was a teeny Micra - bit of a jump in size!). Rather than spending a fortune on a custom made cage to go over the rear seats which I'd have to lug in and out, I went for a guard that fits behind the front seats (with rear seats folded down) and tailgate guard.
It's not 100% ideal, but it works for me. My dogs aren't destructive and I splurged on a Hatchbag boot liner to keep the interior nice but hair does get everywhere - sometimes I find myself wishing I'd just bought an estate and got a nice contained Lintran box! But the guards are easier enough to remove when I need to use the rear seats so it's worked out practical for my situation and didn't cost an absolute fortune.

I have a dog guard and tailgate guard in order to maximise the space, my boot is an unusual shape so a crate would sit in the middle between the wheel arches leaving quite large spaces all the way around. With the tailgate I use a big thick cushion in the boot which levels out the floor so the whole width of the boot is usable and 3 large Dobermanns can fit in and spread out quite easily which they'd never be able to do in a crate. I also have a boot liner etc to try and contain the dog hairs and it works quite well. I can still use the boot for most things I wish to transport and about the only time I remove the guards is for trips to the tip, other than that everything fits in quite easily.

Well I have a cage with a divider. Room for my two shepherds & no problems with rescue boy if I get her out. also better if I transport the rescue dogs though I do sometimes have to attach a panel to the divider so they can't see each other.