How does the car perform while doing steep grades while loaded down with lots of stuff.

 

We were in Smokey Mountain National Park in September. While the mountains are nothing like the Rockies, we had no problems. We did ascend to Clingman's dome, which is about 7000' and had more than enough power. We had four large adults in the car at the time.

 

Cool. Was there 4 peoples worth of luggage in the car also.

 

No luggage, just four good sized folks.

We also have a 2004 Toyota Matrix (1.8L) that has been on the same trip, as well as through the Rockies in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. When we were in the high passes with the Matrix we could definitely tell the altitude and loss of power, but still moved along without too much trouble. One of the roads we did is US 212 (Beartooth Highway) from Yellowstone to Red Lodge, MT. A lot of that road is over 10,000'

The Touring seemed to do a little better in the Smokies than the Matrix, so I'd be willing to bet it would do well in the Rockies as well.