Gearing is very much a ymmv sort of thing. An 8 speed setup can provide a low enough low for loaded hauling, and a decently high top gear. A 3 speed is probably not the world's best plan for hauling (tho some people do use them for serious distance and/or hauling in hilly terrain... they do tend to be very strong riders).

That said, alhedges is exactly right about focusing on a use. The majority of my riding is summed up as "grocery getting", so I need fairly good cargo capacity and low gears. I'm rarely out of walking range of a bike shop, so the iron durability of a full on touring bike isn't needed (tho a failure prone machine would make me pretty cranky... it's a ******* using a damaged bike as a grocery cart). I don't have a car, so my bike fills a lot of roles too. The one I *care* about is the groceries *g*.

Since the bike is for her, have her register and post for herself. She can probably be a lot more specific about her priorities . (if my boyfriend tried to do this for me, he'd probably forget all about how much cargo I carry, and spend all his posting worrying about my disturbing habit of getting tangled in a diamond frame...)