I am completely smitten with the E., my man on the other hand is mostly smitten. It looked, however, that despite a few minor misgivings (engine size, tow capacity) he was getting onboard for the big purchace ASAP...but then disaster struck...THE LOAD CAPACITY ISSUE

I know this has been brought up on some other threads but I some major spin or my Element is history...I just looked up the Load Caps for a number of SUVs and sedans...I think the only thing lower than the E was the Geo Metro (!) even the Accord, the Civic and more importantly the CR-V were listed at 850 LBs! How can this be? What do I tell this man who, if taking 3 of his buddies out for a ride, would bust the Load Cap for the ride of my dreams...sigh

Help? Anybody??

Okay I too know what it says....and while my hubbie and I are not big people (280 combined weight) we still had our reservations about the load capacity......but let me give you a few examples......

1. Our friends got married about a month ago....and we all went out (girls and guys) to the Strip Clubs.....well we had 7 people in the E and my husband and I were the smallest ones....me probably had 4 people weighing in at about 200 each (maybe more)...then myself and my husband (280).....and then another person weighing in at about 150-160..... NO issues.....no performance issues....no gas milage issues.

2. Hubbie and I (280 lbs) plus the back seats out and the entire back loaded to the top with cargo took a 700 mile road trip on Easter Weekend....and one of the tanks on that trip was my VERY best gas mileage tanks.

I take the weight capacity for what it is worth....and I know that it isn't the be all of end all.....but I think I am intelligent enough to know when enough is enough.

Just my 2 cents!

Do the math and then decide for yourself. Gross Vehicle Weight minus Curb Wieght. Equal approx. 875.

[quote:b57cc41093="zenfemme"]...but then disaster struck...THE LOAD CAPACITY ISSUE
[/quote:b57cc41093]

By your language, this issue seems to be of great importance to you. Every vehicle has it's compromises - none is perfect for every need. If this is one of your top priorities, the Element may not be for you. You're paying too much money to compromise on something important to you, and that may cause you to regret your choice later.

Hrmm.. Where can I find these numbers?

I am 300lbs and my best buddie is 300 lbs. Get us in there and there is only 275 more lbs lef then what? Does it look like a car with the trunk overloaded? This concerns me as well.

I wonder if the question here isn't so much how much load the E can take safely as the use it is to be put.

675 lbs seems a very low - in fact impossibly low - limit, given that 4 full grown adults can weight more than that, and the amount of load you could carry would be further reduced by adding accessories like the sidesteps too.

Many owners have reported that from time to time they have loaded their Es significantly above the 675 lb limit and have suffered no appreciable or harmful effects - and given the rigid structure, stiff suspesion, engine power, 4-wheel discs brakes and capacity of the CR-V and Civic which share the same basic chassis, the E would indeed seem able to comfortably handle more than the nominal limit quoted.

I would say that if the need to load above the limit is infrequent, it's probably not an issue to be taken all that seriously. But if there is need for the vehcile to carry above 675 lbs on a regular basis, the E is probably not the appropriate choice.