Last weekend I packed my HHR with 5 dogs, crates, food, water exercise pen, tack box, luggage and 2 adult humans and headed up the Smokey Mts for a dog show. My dogs weigh about 10 to 15 pounds each but the crates and other gear added up. I had room to spare and this little car fully loaded got (on the dic readout) 30 mpg, the trip was 279.9 miles to the motel and I used half a tank of gas. Two other gals came to the show from Louisiana in their HHR with BIG dogs and crates and they had more in theirs than I did in mine. They were just as impressed as I was. When we were getting ready to leave the show we had an audience of dog show people watching us pack and asking questions, when I told one lady how much gas it took to get there she said "that's it my gass guzzler is gone".

 

Ahhh, you figured out one of the secrets of why we all love our HHRs. Hope you have many more successful trips. I'm headed north this weekend and can't wait!

 

OH that is why I bought the HHR in the first place, I wanted a car that could haul my poodles to shows and not break the bank doing it. This was just the first time we actually used it for it's intended purpose. I've had it for over a year and just hadn't gotten to a show. I had narrowed my choice down between the HHR and the Vibe and I made the right choice...:)
What impressed me most was the two gals who came from Louisiana with 3 standard poodles, one toy and one yorkie, a full sized grooming table, all their grooming equipment, dog supplies and their luggage and each dog was in it's own seperate crate. The now intermittant water leak is the only thing I don't love about my HHR and hopefully that will be fixed soon.

 

The cargo room vs Gas Mileage is why I let go of the Explorer and bought the HHR. Nearly the same room and more room for longer items...like 8' boards.
Its pretty nice looking as well. (Not too many I know agree with that one though.)

 

I found in my minivan you could only stack things so high. The floor space is pretty much the same on both cars. I didn't have those convenient fold-away seats in the van. But, I was able to get all my son's clothing and furniture for college in the HHR and the bicycle on the back. The weight had no bearing on the car's performance. It rolled right along, just like always!