Thule Excellence ultra-premium roof box

Thule recently announced the release of a new 18 cubic foot large roof box called the Thule Excellence. The box is a two-tone black and silver and includes design features like improved ABS plastic thickness, extra lid stiffeners/straighteners, an easy pull down handle, and a storage bag to keep the top looking nice.

Designed for sleekness, lightness, and aerodynamic superiority, the box will sell at $799.95 US (price circa 2009). SUVs, crossovers, and mid-size luxury vehicles are the main target for the Thule Excellence box, which debuts in March 2009.

Update May 19, 2016:

The Thule Excellence is still going strong. It is available in many markets worldwide under several different names and color schemes. In North America, it is possible to find the Thule 611 Boxter and 6119B Excellence, both of which are made in Thule's German box factory and imported. The 611 Boxter/Excellence series is very highly reviewed and is known for it's incredible stiffness and quality.

Compared to the 611, the upgraded 6119B has an internal shock cord netting system, an anti-slip surface in the base, an internal front shield to protect the front spring hinge, and a rear spring hinge-mounted LED light (which is a nice bonus but NOT sufficient to light the box in the dark). If you grab either box, expect to pay a big premium compared to Thule's top of the line North American boxes like the 612 Hyper XL (a poor imitation of the Boxter) or the spiritual successor the 606 Flow (currently made in Germany with amazing quality).

One very good reason to splurge on the Boxter/Excellence - it will carry skis up to 205cm+ while sitting far forward off of your rear hatch for full access. No need to scratch up your nice new SUV's rear door against an inferior box!

Box Review: Thule 686 Atlantis 1600 cargo box

Update May 19, 2016:

The Thule 686B Atlantis 1600 mold is still being used to make the current Thule 628 Force Large box. This box is a very popular size for modern SUVs with racks near the rear of the roof. It allows you to carry a ski up to 180cm+ while still avoiding the hatch on the vast majority of vehicles.


The Thule 686 Atlantis 1600 cargo box is a popular discontinued Thule rooftop carrier. The shortest, stubbiest box in the Atlantis series, the 1600 is perfect for wagon, minivan and SUV owners who need cargo capacity without interfering with the vehicle's rear hatch.

A common problem with long cargo boxes on modern vehicles is that vehicle manufacturers want to mount roof racks to the back of the roof to minimize the wind noise heard in the cabin. This makes it nearly impossible to center the cargo box between a vehicle's axles. On vehicles with hatches that open up, this tends to result in paint meeting box and scratch meeting paint. By going with a short style box, you minimize this effect or avoid the problem entirely. The downside is anything longer than a 180cm ski is going to have to stay home for this trip.

The Atlantis series of boxes are dual-side opening, which is ideal for loading and unloading the boxes, and makes installation a breeze. The QuickGrip mounting hardware consists of four knobs inside the box, each controlling a set of rubber-coated steel jaws below the box. A few cranks of each knob and the box is installed. This is by far my favorite cargo box to install because of the QuickGrip and dual-side opening. It's literally a 2 minute job, if that.

The Atlantis 1600 is available in 2 standard colors, a smooth silver and black. For summer '07, some shops have a few boxes with a limited edition carbon fiber or brushed steel look. While the box has a steep MSRP of $875 CDN, I feel the ease of install and ideal size and shape for vehicles with rear hatches makes the Atlantis 1600 one of the best cargo boxes going. Plus it has the Thule lifetime warranty. You can't go wrong. Strongly recommended.