On June 20, we took the MSRT8 to Chicagoland to see and pickup our son, D-I-L and granddaughter, Alivia, for a weekend trip to Minnesota. It was the first long-distance run for the MSRT8 and I was anxious to see how it performed... and whether we could get everyting in it that would be needed.
So I took out the formed foam thing in the spare tire well (squishible shoe bags, and duffles went down there). I took out the tri-fold floor cover and the plastic basin to give me more depth for luggage storage, etc.
I checked, and was pleased to discover car seat anchors in all three rear seat positions. So here's a couple pictures of the initial "load" for 4 adults and a baby...
I'm also pleased to report that with ALL that stuff and ALL of us (gross weight probably 5500 Lbs or more)... we still registered 22 mpg on the highway over the long distance fill-ups! However, finding preimium gas in small towns across central MN is a bit of a nightmare. Had to put in $10 of 89 at one point just to go a little further....
I honestly doubt we could have packed everything away in the trunk of the Heritage Edition 300C! At least the stroller (and possibly more) would have had to stay home...
I will have to admit that the combination of ride stiffness and the pseude SRT8 seat inserts made the comfort of the trip not quite up to par with the similary designed deep buckets of the H.E. with vented, but not psuede inserts. Got tired but after 3-4 hours of riding, whereas that hardly ever happens in the H.E. even upwards of 6-7 hours.
But overall... MSRT8... hauls stuff and hauls as$ well as anything in relative comfort! Priceless!