Roof Boxes

February 2008

Rocketing fuel prices and the desire to shrink our carbon footprint has led more of us to downsize our cars. It is little hardship – until holiday time, when it's not so easy to shrink your luggage.

One solution is to fit a roofbox, as these can turn virtually any car into a large saloon or estate – but only when you need the extra space.

Designs have improved in recent times, with boxes being better made and, importantly, easier to fit. The days of stretching across the roof trying to line up U-bolts and wing nuts are limited, as increasing numbers of boxes now open from both sides, allowing easy access all round. So going green and on holiday is possible, but which is the box to keep your carbon footprint in check?

Using a large and medium suitcase, big camera bag, plus two sleeping roll mats, we checked how much we could fit in each box, and balanced usable storage against price.

We considered how easy each roofbox was to mount on roof bars, plus open and close when loaded. The materials used were also checked, plus lid and base fit, and warranty cover was considered. Most boxes are guaranteed for five years and rated to carry 50kg. Longer cover periods and higher weight ratings earned extra points.

Verdict

Kamei takes the two top awards. Its Best Buy Corvara 390 is truly excellent, but the Recommended Delphin 380 is around £60 cheaper, yet just as well made and nearly as spacious. Single-sided opening makes it fiddlier to fit and less convenient to use, though. Karrite’s Contour 380 gets a well deserved third place. It’s an impressively built product that offers a lot of space for the money.

Top 3

1. Kamei Corvara 390
2. Kamei Delphin 380SL
3. Karrite Contour 380

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