Can a belt driven bike be used in a hilly area? I have been thinking about getting a Canyon Commuter 4.0 but I am worried about the internal geared belt driven system this bike has. The only ones that come with a pannier rack are the belt driven models. How would it perform on a hilly commute? Is it ideal? I climb about 450 meters every day. I used to do it on a single speed bike so the 8 gears of the Shimano Alfine hub should be enough, but I am worried about the belt.
Yes, the gearing should be fine. from http://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus8.shtml the lowest ratio is 0.57 which is as low as many mountain bikes.

The belt is actually wider than a metal chain and has longer life, so should be more robust: http://www.conti-drive-system.com/pages/faq/faq_en.html.

But the internal hub has more moving parts, so is slightly less efficient than derailleur based system, meaning you have to pedal a bit harder. But for 450m of climbing, it should be fine.