Roof boxes,roofboxes,Atera,Thule,KAMEI,Autoform,Kar Rite,Roof Boxes:Recommendations,roofboxes

Can't decide?

If in doubt, please trust us with these Recommendations...

There's always a price / quality trade off when choosing a 'Best Buy' - our emphasis is on best quality in each price range. The price differences between cheap and quality boxes are, after all, insignificant when compared to most car running costs - not usually much more than a couple of tanks of fuel – and a quality box should be an important part of your family weekends away and holidays for many years.

We have a "90 day exchange scheme". What this means in practice is that if your box is not as suitable for your purposes as you thought it would be, we'll exchange it for a box of comparable quality - we'll pay the return carriage. The details of this unique scheme / guarantee are shown on our Terms & Conditions pages. The bottom line is that, subject to a bit of commercial commonsense, we'll go the extra mile to make sure that you're not left with a box you're not happy with. There are no risks in buying a roof box from The Roof Box Company.

If you've come to this page without reading our Information pages, we suggest you have a quick read of these pages first. Then have a look at the “Our roof box range” pages, organized by category, where you'll find pictures, prices, and comments on individual boxes. We aim to answer most if not all of your questions, as well as guiding you to the type of box which will be most appropriate for your needs.

In any event you certainly won't go wrong with one of our package deals; they’re outstanding value for money and you’re getting the best boxes in their price range as well as top quality roof bars. Our recommendations are as follows:

Short Wide boxes - BUDGET

If you're working to a tight budget then have a look at the Karrite Odyssey 320, also available as a box and bars package deal for only £139.95. The Hapro Roady 422 is a good quality box at £144.95, only £189.95 as part of our package deal with CRUZ bars. The Thule Ranger 90 package deal is also worth a look at only £184.95, available only while we have overstocks.

Short Wide boxes - TOP QUALITY

The KAMEI Delphin 380 ( £204.95 ) is the obvious choice, Runner Up in the 2008 Auto Express test. It's available in right hand opening (driver's side) or left hand opening format.

Medium Long Medium Wide boxes - BUDGET

The KAMEI Husky ( £154.95 ), available with right hand opening or left hand opening, also sold as a package deal with CRUZ bars.

Medium Long Medium Wide boxes - TOP QUALITY

The KAMEI Delphin 340Ks at £194.95 are proving very popular, being top quality at a mid market price; they're available in right hand or left hand opening. Thule's Atlantis boxes are available in two similar sizes, the Atlantis 200 and the Atlantis 780. If you can't decide which Atlantis to buy we'd recommend the slightly longer and thinner Atlantis 780 (which uses its extra height to boost nominal capacity, but we think it's a better looking box), available in glossy silver or in glossy black. Also check out the Atera Carver II 440. The KAMEI Corvara 390K DuoLifts, starting at £279.95 , have a similar foot print to all these boxes, with quality and user friendly features as good as it gets - "close to being the perfect roofbox" (Auto Express, 2008, “Best Buy”). It was very pleasing but not surprising that the Corvara 390K DuoLift was also the Auto Express 2009 Best Buy. They're available in silver, titanium metallic, black metallic.

Long Thin boxes - BUDGET

The KAMEI 300 is proving to be very popular thanks to its looks, pricing, flexibility, quality and symmetry - you can put two of these boxes side by side even on 108cm aerobars. Apart from its shape it has identical specifications to the Delphin range.

Long Thin boxes - TOP QUALITY

This section comes down to style. Have a look at these four and decide which style you prefer: Atera Carver II 330, Autoform Explorer 370 (metallic black or metallic silver), KAMEI Corvara 310 DuoLift (silver, titanium metallic, black metallic), Thule Atlantis 600. The superb KAMEI Corvara 310 DuoLifts are also available in “right hand side opening only” format – you get everything except the dual side opening, a feature which is of less benefit in a thin box. The Atera Carver II 330 and Thule Atlantis 600 are really Medium-Long Thin boxes - some people don't like the idea of their box sticking out over the windscreen, even though it won’t be visible from the front seats. If in doubt go for a KAMEI Corvara 310 right hand side opening, available in silver, titanium metallic, black metallic.

Long Medium Wide boxes - BUDGET

Long Medium Wide boxes give you capacity as well as the flexibility to carry other things on the roof. The KAMEI Delphin 470s, available with right hand or left hand opening, could be in the top quality section but they’re our all round family-on-a-reasonable-budget "Best Buy" boxes. “Use this roof box, and you’ll love it! Feels bombproof, and that shape maximises volume.” (Auto Express roof boxes test 2009, Runner Up) The KAMEI 450 has the same materials specifications but is symmetrical, so just turn it around if you want to open it from the other side of the car.

Long Medium Wide boxes - TOP QUALITY

Easy. The KAMEI Corvara 475 DuoLift (silver, titanium metallic, black metallic) We also try to keep the Corvara 475 right hand opening boxes in stock; they’re suitable for those who want the quality, features and looks without having to pay DuoLift prices - find these on the Roof Box List.

If you want a firmer recommendation, go for a Corvara 475 DuoLift. If this is way over budget then go back to the Delphin 470 (right hand and left hand opening) which is usually the box of choice for the staff here who can choose to use any box they want when they’re on holiday. The one thing we can all agree on is that you can get a huge amount into either of these boxes and, what with dogs, children etc., having a box of this size makes all the difference!

I want as big a box as possible

At the top end, the Atera Odyssey 900 does a similar job to the Thule Atlantis 900, but the downside of both boxes is size and weight for single person handling. The Autoform Denvers (black, silver, black metallic, silver metallic) are slightly better quality than either the Atera 900 or the Thule 900, but are only single side opening. The Atera Zenith 850 and Thule Spirit 820 boxes (black, glossy black, metallic silver, pepita glossy) are super quality. Size and weight may be no big deal for you, but give some consideration to using 2 boxes; most of our 2 box deals provide a greater capacity than one box, usually at a similar price, but with much easier handling, and the flexibility to change the set up as the family grows up and requirements change.

The Best Box

What in our view is the overall Best roof box on the market today? All things considered - especially bearing in mind quality, reliability, and ease of use, but also individuality and all round smartness - it's going to be the KAMEI Delphin 470, available in right hand and left hand opening format at £249.95 , cheaper when part of a box and bars package deal.

The Delphin range was completely restyled in 2007/08 but has retained the same tried and tested fittings and locks as the previous Delphin series. We’ve had a pair of the older 460s in our staff 'pool' for almost 8 years, one silver and one Carbon Design, drove them around the UK and continent at high speeds in both summer and winter, saw one of them scrunched inadvertently (and hard) into a multi storey car park (we rubbed off the paint with white spirit), frequently overstuffed them and were always amazed that their lids could still be shut so easily, and the locking bolts pushed home! Both boxes look almost as good now as they did when they first came out of their cartons. They've proved to be strong, secure and completely reliable.

Our Runner Up is the KAMEI Corvara 475 Duolift (silver, titanium metallic, black metallic). These are tops for style, sophistication, build quality and user friendly features, especially the “Just pull to shut” central locking system. Families looking for boxes which are large enough but also flexible enough for the medium term, e.g. leaving roof space for a couple of bike carriers, need look no further than one of these two.

Third prize goes to the Thule Atlantis 780, the best all rounder in the Atlantis series, available in glossy silver or in glossy black.

Don't forget about our 90 day exchange scheme - just in case you aren't convinced that you got the right box first time.