One of several trips to the home/garden center this week to get mulch for flower & garden beds. Filled the cargo area & back seat with 16 bags. On the way home I got curious about the weight, so while unloading I brought the bathroom scale up to the garage. Hmmm... 45 pounds each, plus a couple that were 35 pounds. Total of 700 pounds. Add in the driver and passenger we're up around 1200 pounds. Look in the manual for the load limit and I see "850 pounds for cargo plus passengers". But as the car was performing wonderfully with the load, and this is far from the first time we have done this, so I don't worry. The main reason we use the 2004 Prius instead of the 2019 RAV4 for this, is that we can't get that many bags into the back of the RAV! So the Prius is, for us, a much better "hauler" than the SUV. -Graeme- 2004 Prius with >190,000 miles. Sent ?.
I'm glad it went well for you. However, you might consider not going that heavy again. The motors can handle it without too much stress for limited distances, but your suspension will suffer in the long run. Repairing a suspension that has pushed through due to extreme weight is rarely done, is generally "totals" the car. Just look on YouTube for videos of overloaded vehicles, it's amazing what people get away with, and it's painful when you see the suspension give due to hitting a pebble that breaks the camels back!
I have been using Prius to haul mulch for a long time. I have hauled about 20 bags of bagged mulch many times. I completely agree with you that Prius can haul as much stuff, if not more, as compared to my 2018 Rav4 Hybrid.
