Roof box for medium size hatchback

jimbo_the_jetset

I am just starting my research to find a good and reasonably priced roof box to increase our load capacity for days out/holidays. Our car is a Kia Ceed. Does anyone have any personal recommendations of boxes for this size of car. Currently on the list are :

1) Karrite Odyssey 470 - probably the cheapest out of the 3 and seems to get good reviews and perhaps the biggest volume. Is there a catch?

2) Hapro Traxer 6.6 - 5 year warranty, great fixing system, could be bit long for the car (need to check). Other sizes available but approx 100 litres lower than Karrite above

3) Halfords Exodus - bit more expensive than the Karrite but also gets good reviews.


Finally, has anyone used Cruz roof bars from roof roofbox.co.uk? They seem to be much cheaper than Thule equivalents if they are indeed equivalent.

Thanks

RichardD1970

We had a 55 Kia Rio and had the Atera roof bars from roofbox.co.uk, we ordered the steel ones but they were out of stock so sent the aluminium ones for no extra cost :T.

It's difficult to judge comparative size when just looking at roof boxes. We have the Thule Atlantis 780 roof box, which when it was first delivered seemed ridiculously large compared to the car, but when on it didn't look out of place at all.

Iceweasel

I have a Karrite roof box - I got it from my Local LandRover dealer in their sale - so it had LandRover logos on.

To be an OE supplier to a brand like LandRover is a recommendation in itself.

Excellent quality and easy to wash the squashed flies off.

I've lost track of how many trips I've made with it - as far away as Greece.

It does vibrate a little when empty - but a good MSE supporter will take it off when not in use.

There seems to be a fashion trend for black boxes - I would caution against them as they get damn hot in the summer - better to get a silver finish one.

Get a set of aero bars - the rounded-off elliptical kind.

Square section bars make a whistling noise at any speed and cause more insects to be deflected down onto the car roof - or worse still into an open sun-roof.

Be sure the bars can be locked to the roof - or in some dodgy parking area, you'll lose the lot.

Don't forget it's important to check the securing screws/bolts after you load the box and again after the first 50 miles of the journey.

forgotmyname

Dont forget to check the vehicle height. Sister had the same car as me but a different brand of roofbars and box.

She scraped the barrier on a carpark entrance where mine cleared.

NeverEnough

The Exodus is a nice box, have had one for 4 years -easy to attach to the roof bars (BMW OEM ones on my X5). Also used it once on a Mercedes A class with generic bars, again it did the job well and is still in good condition after 4 years. We also have a Thule box which is of similar quality. Halfords run specials with big reductins on the Exodus every so often, sometimes also include free fitting.

molerat

Thule boxes come with both side opening and an integrated fixing system like the Traxer. The u bolt fixing combined with one side opening can be a bit of a pain on taller vehicles and wide boxes but a car wash sponge can be put to good use there.

jbainbridge

We've got Cruz bars and a Karrite Odyssey 360(?) from roofbox.co.uk

Works really well ... functional rather than stylish! But then the're only on for a short period so I really don't care. Also bought a couple of the Cruz bike racks ... again very cheap - work well.