kate,

Looks awesome, kind of like it was made just to fit the clumban.

update.

took off my rack for the first time last week and it rubbed the paint to the metal where it touched the roof on the side. took it to the dealer and they repainted my whole roof and gave me a new rack. installed it for free.

this is the original rack when the clubman came out. this rack was recalled and then fitted with different brackets @ the dealer, yet it still rubbed. now the new one doesn't. original rack owners please check your racks to see if they are rubbing on the inside of the mounting point. there is a length of metal covered with a vinyl tubing, thats what was rubbing. i remember this being discussed back in 08'

We just decided to get a box for our trip in a couple of weeks to Florida and I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on some of the cheaper boxes such as the:

Sears X-cargo x-treme
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...2&blockType=L2

or

Thule Sport Rack
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/pr...629150.2624949

also considering the

Thule Evolution 1600, but it looks a lot like the Sears x-cargo, just silver, but that would make the wife happy with our silver roof clubman.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...4&blockType=L4

I'm also open to other options, but we are trying to keep the price down.

Ok, so on craigslist for our area there is a Thule Ascent 1700 for a good price. It is listed as 91.5 inches long. With the OEM rack, not the cross bars, it seems too big. Anyone have any experience or opinions?

I have cross bars, and have the 1800, which is i believe 84 inches long.

It fits great, but i had to take off the antenna on the back.

BUT I personally think the 1600 was the nicest fit... and looked the best... I got the bigger box so i could transport longer cross country skis... also the cross bars give you a lot better options as to where to mount the box?

I suspect the box you are looking at is too long.. for the car.. I would aim for the 1600 size unless you have a specific need for longer things ( ie skis?). i think you have less options if you don't have the roof rails as well.

others may disagree??

the place i bought from ( yes outrageous expensive) allowed me to put a few on top of the car to see how well they fit.... so it really helped get a good size. and my silver box matched the silver roof exactly.

Thanks for the input kate!

I don't really need a long box, this one just seemed like a good deal. I think that I will pass and may end up with the Evo 1600 or the x-cargo xtreme.

Ended up getting the Thule Evolution 1600. They had a pretty good deal on it at sears last night. I will try to post more pictures later and will be hitting the road with it this weekend so I will try to put up a review on it.

We got the Thule Ascent 1600 and the Thule cross bars for the factory roof rails, it should be plenty big enough for our travels with the Mini-Poopers. We'll give it a real run this August going to MITM/MTTS.....

they look beautiful, mine does too but i suspect you guys get to keep your antenna. i think the 1600 is the best fit.... and personally i think the thule are the easiest to put on..... will see how long they last now.

Nice! I wonder how this will look on my mini not a clubby...

Here are a couple of shots of our 2009 Clubman S with a Thule 1600 pod. We looked a the various options and it was cheaper to go with the MINI racks than the Thule ones.

The MINI pod is 12 cubic feet, this one is 16 cubic feet. It's a bit wider than the MINI pod, but 1 inch shorter in lenght.

The pictures were taken on a recent trip to Oregon, we averaged a bit over 30 mpg loaded at freeway speeds. No noticable wind noise or side wind effects on car handling. Getting ready for a trip cross country this month.

any pics of a 1200 on a MINI (sans clubman) i'd like to see the length of it.

But are you going alone? I've camped in my Clubman before. I shove the passenger seat forwards and flip it towards the dash. Then, I lower the right rear seat back and roll out the sleeping bag. It isn't the Hyatt Regency but it'll do when camping out stores to beat everyone on the after-New Year's sales! And yes, it helps to sleep on the right side so you can use the third door to get out, it's not difficult reaching for the front door handle. I'm considering cutting a plywood board that will rest on the front passenger seat to support the lower end of the sleeping bag. Interestingly, some uber-small RVs in Europe use this exact same setup to convert to a sleeper.

Great to know Kate. Picking up my 1800 tomorrow. Thanks for the pics...it helped.