I'm sorry if I caused offence - That was not the intention.
I agree totally about the capability of the Malibu, I thoroughly enjoyed working with them. It did however appear (to me at least) that the W/B figures were being quoted as if they were fact where the reality is somewhat different.
I believe from reading previous posts that you are an instructor, so you will understand this is one of the (many) ways accidents can be caused - say it enough times and you start to "believe" it yourself, to the extent that you start to "know" that the aircraft can carry full fuel and people without checking..........
As you rightly say, the best way to consider a Malibu profile is 4 people/4 hours with IFR reserve.