2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2013 Dodge Dart SXT Rallye Long-Term Road Test

Like many cars in the compact segment, our Dodge Dart doesn't recommend loading it up with too much weight. But is Dodge being overly cautious?

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bankerdanny

If you regularly need to carry 4 full sized American adults then you should be buying a bigger car anyway.

stovt001_

And yet the same car is probably rated to tow a sizable trailer in Europe. Its marketing. "Of course you can't carry reasonable loads in a small car, silly Americans. For that, you must buy our four ton, 8 mpg SUV that sells for $50,000 but cost us $12.95 to actually make."

fordson1

My 2011 GTI has a cargo capacity of 1143 lbs. and a seating capacity of 5 My wife's 2007 Sienna Limited has a cargo capacity of 1226 lbs. and a seating capacity of 7.

So if each of my passengers is 200 lbs. I can still carry 143 lbs. of luggage. If each of hers is 200 lbs., the vehicle is already 174 lbs. overweight, with no luggage. Riddle me that one.

hybris

I think in the long run unless you are hauling truly heavy loads like in a truck or when pulling a trailer the weight numbers on the stickers mean next to nothing except to help put the car into a different emissions class.

cheerful_1

It would be interesting to see Edmunds do a track test with a car like this loaded to it's listed limit to see what effect it would have on the car's performance, especially the effect on braking. Might actually be a little frightening.