ny_driver

Anyone get a cargo box recently. I see that they have discontinued the Atlantis model and have the Sonic L, Force L and Pulse L as fitting the Q5.

Need to take a road trip with wife and her parents and they don't pack light.

idale

Yeah, I'd noticed that. The 1600 was listed as the match for the Q5, but its capacity is the same as the current-gen XLs which don't fit. Not sure if an XL can be managed through a combination of pushing it farther forward and adjusting the hatch opening height. I think I'd seen some Avants able to do that, but with the rake on the A4/allroad, they've got some additional space to work with.

There's still the Audi-branded stuff, but the big one's $1K and so I'd think that just telling people to not bring the kitchen sink would be the preferable option there.

rarewolf

We need a roof cargo carrier as well, so I looked into the Thule website. However, for whatever reason I could not get their "fit to my car" wizard to work. What is it about the various boxes that makes them suitable to the Q5? Why not the newer/quieter XXL models??

TIA

JaXeN

Back in March I purchased a Pulse XL but I promptly returned it.

The quality difference between the Pulse XL and the 1600 are so far apart
IMO that I could never recommend the Pulse XL over the 1600.

Just a few of the Pulse XL cons I noted in my short period of ownership:

- Opens only on one side
- Poor quality locking mechanism made it very easy to wedge open and access contents
- Cheap plastic locking feet with very poor weather sealing
- Cheap 80's GM style plastic finish

There are probably more things that I'm forgetting, but the above were enough for me to return the Pulse and pick up an "old stock" Atlantis 1600 at a local-ish shop.

Took quite a bit of calling around to find the 1600, but it was well worth it.

Last time I checked, Amazon had a few 1600's in stock.

idale

Sonic/Force/Pulse are the new lines, and come in different sizes. The L size is listed as fitting on the Q5 (generally it'll be an issue of box length vs. roof length (hatch location) and width between mounting points and how far apart your crossbars are.

You shouldn't have issues seeing the list of cargo boxes on Thule's configurator (they will make you choose a rack even if you select factory crossbars, but just ignore that), but you can also look at the official full fit guide online: http://docs.thulegroup.com/ThuleNA/T...eFitGuide2013/

It's entirely possible that you can get an XL to work (I would expect an XXL to be out of the question), just a matter of getting good placement and potentially making sure you set the hatch opening height; there's just no guarantees.

idale

To be fair, the Pulse is the low-end, budget option and doesn't really compare to the old Atlantis. For that, you'd want to look at the Force (mid-range) or Sonic (top-end) lines. That being said, did you fit the Pulse XL on the car? If so, how was the fit? (Seeing as the L is the only "guaranteed fit" while the old 1600 was the appropriate fit for the Q5.)

JaXeN

Fair enough, but the dimensions of the Pulse XL make it the direct-ish replacement of the Atlantis 1600.
I don't have my Q5 yet (SQ5 is on order), so I didn't do a test fit on the Q5 body --- Not that I would have anyway.

Unfortunately, everything else in the new Thule lineup is too short for my skis, or too narrow for anything else.
With the slope of the Q5 roofline, anything too long looks like you're carrying an ICBM that is prepping for launch. :-p

idale

Ooh that's right, forgot you were going SQ5. And you're right, the dimensions are way different between the Pulse, Force and Sonic... for some reason I was thinking they were closer (but for example the Sonic L is probably the closest to the Pulse XL at around 3" less in length, and you lose 3cf on the rating).

All things considered, nabbing an Atlantis was probably a good move.

Dexter1110

I'm discovering these posts while looking for roof box options for my 2014 SQ5 that came with the OEM crossbars. The Thule fit guide still recommends selecting an "L" size box to ensure full hood/hatch opening. I'd like to get an "XL" size box to get all the baby gear (x2) onboard and hoping the youngest's first words will be "road trip". Has anyone tried one of the newer Sonic/Force/Pulse or Hyper "XL" size boxes on their Q5/SQ5? Can these be advanced enough to fully open the hatch? If not, then is the hatch opening sufficient to be functional? If so, then pictures would be greatly appreciated. As an aside, I'm expecting the Hyper to be more solid/robust than the Sonic based on Thule sales pitch. Is this the case or is the premium paid only for 2-tone color with an equal-quality box?

Dexter1110

I headed out to the rack shop today and tried the Thule Sonic XL and the Hyper XL on the SQ5. With 2 young kids and skis the XL size is preferable to the L in my opinion (the XL are 90" long and hold 17 cubic feet). The tail ends of the Sonic and Hyper are significantly different. My rear hatch would not fully open with the Sonic XL but would open fully with the Hyper. I pulled the trigger on the Hyper XL.