Thule  Motion XT Alpine Roof Box

Set up: 2020 Audi Q5 with Audi roof bars Where: REI NYC (Great staff and helped lift onto rack) When: Yesterday 04.03.2022 Pros - easy to secure onto the bars. - Looks great on car - Wind noise above 65mph is fine. - Great REI customer service. - Happy with fit. I did have to *change the trunk opening angle slightly so the trunk spoiler wouldn’t hit the box. - Good cargo space *Changing trunk door distance - mount box first - open trunk little more than halfway - Single press the trunk close button on door to stop the door from opening (Not the lock button). - fine tune opening distance by manually pushing up trunk door. I stopped it an inch before it hits the cargo box. - Press and hold the trunk close button for a few seconds until you hear beep and the lights flash to confirm the new trunk opening distance is set. Cons - Mechanism that holds the hinge on passenger side popped off, appears to be a failed rivet. Reading reviews on various sites, seems like a common problem. Called customer service and sending replacement box to arrive in a few days. - Expensive - Lid feels flimsy compared to my previously owned the Thule Motion XT L - Latch on one side of box needs a lot pressure to push open Generally happy with the box. Looks great and clears our low garage door opener. At this price point for a brand new product, failed rivets this early on leaves little confidence that this box is made the long haul and that it won't happen again in the near future which is my reason for the 3 stars. Crossing my fingers. Hopefully I'll be able to change the rating once the replacement arrives. 5 stars for REI!

Skiing with friends and family is awesome, but putting down my seats in my Jeep Grand Cherokee limits who I can bring. The Motion XT Alpine fits almost perfectly on my cheap Brightlines crossbars - but with the crossbars large feet, the box does bump into my rear gate when it is fully open. Aside from that, the box is light enough for me to He-Man it on top of the car, but having a second pair of hands makes it child's play. Both sides open easily, and locks securely. The straps with tension buckles makes sure skis don't move around even at highway speeds. Wind noise is really dependent on the weather outside. When the weather is clear, you don't hear it much at all.

This is a great roof box for the price. The quality of the construction and customer service from Thule is the best. This box is one step below the Vector series, so you have a lot of the same features as the Vector, but without the price of the Vector. I use this on my 2015.5 Volvo XC70 T6 Platinum vehicle and does not produce much wind noise, nor does it cut into my fuel mileage. The ease of opening it and closing it is extremely easy, and has a ton of room for all the gear I use for snowboarding and snow skiing in the winter months, and in the warmer months it holds all of my biking and hiking gear. It also looks really good on the car.

I'm primarily a nordic skier, so carrying a lot of long skinny skis is a priority. I'm able to fit three bags full of nordic skis (bag length = 215 cm) easily with plenty of room to spare for boots and bags. Even with all the nordic skis in, we can put the alpine touring skis in as well since the box is so wide. The box comes on and off really easily with the quick clamps. We picked it up at the loading dock at REI in the dark in 20F weather and managed to get it installed within 10 minutes. It felt secure with not much effort. The road noise on the Impreza driving on the interstate is barely noticeable. I have factory installed Subaru aero bars. When the hatch is open, it just touches the end of the box, so no trunk access problems with a hatchback Impreza. The box opens and closes really easily from either side. You can't take the key out until the latches are secure, so that's an extra piece of mind that it won't pop open going down the road.

No issues with the unit, as it performed great out west on long trip - carries quite a bit. Only concern is how fragile the hinges seem when opening. Feels like if not careful, would be easy to break - that said, performed well and I've learned to be cautious when opening. Works great on 2022 Mercedes GLS 450 - looks great too.

This box is a great addition to my relatively small SUV. Mounted fully forward, the hatch just clears the end of the box and it still looks great on the vehicle. I have no trouble fitting 4x pairs of skis and poles along with a couple boot bags in the box, and being able to open and access from either side is a huge help. Installation on the car couldn't be easier with the twisting clamps and while there is some inevitable wind noise from the box but it's much quieter than older models thanks to aerodynamic improvements to the box and the Thule areo bars. Highly recommend this to anyone looking for a low profile box that still maintains good capacity.

Got the Large size and it’s great on my Audi Q5. Allows satellite radio to still work. Other than a little wind noise, can’t even tell it’s there. Still got 26-27 hwy mpg. Also got Thule 4-bag set which made it SO much easier.

I have owned this cargo carrier for 6 months now. The Motion XT Alpine is a perfect addition to my car! (2017 Audi A4) I live in Northern British Columbia Canada. It holds all 4 of my families snowboards and 2 bags with room for more. Easy to open from either side and lockable. The plastic is durable and strong. Easy to open and close in temperatures of -30 Celsius. The hinges have worked perfectly every time. It does rattle at times when on rough roads but expected. On smooth roads, not a sound. A bit of wind noise at highway speeds but nothing I didn't expect. I would absolutely recommend this carrier to anyone looking for storage on a car. It functions as well as it looks. Thanks Thule!

I have had two of these boxes from REI, both of the boxes crack around the front opening mechanism. (One after 1 year, one after 2 months) While I love the look of the product and the profile, the box just hasn't shown to hold up very well. For as much as the product costs, I would expect the quality to be higher. I will be replacing my second box within the next few weeks and will hope the quality will be better in the third.

Love the sleek look to fit my bmw m3. Great for traveling, already went from jersey to Florida and it’s done great so far