Package deal: KAMEI KM536 Corvara S 390 carbon grey box and bars

This superb box and bars package deal provides everything you need for a fixed price, including locking roof bars and a roof box storage device or a useful set of straps. When you've chosen your car we'll show you which roof bars are available. You'll pay more for aluminium than steel, and you'll pay more for Atera, Thule, or Whispbar, but the savings on buying the components individually are huge. We're confident that you won't find such good value anywhere else!

Any T-track aluminium roof bar box adapters you might need will also be included.

KAMEI's Corvara S boxes are the best designed and engineered boxes available. They look distinguished on any car, have a superb 'Just pull shut to lock' central locking system that makes them very easy to use (all KAMEI boxes have an easy closing feature of one sort or another), and have gas-assisted struts that allow for a smooth opening and closing motion that just isn't possible with other systems. And they also have KAMEI's ultra-low-profile ClickFix system, "the fastest in the world", for fixing the box to all brands of slotted aluminium bars, including BMW's. Note that the Corvara S boxes can't be fitted to steel bars.

The only downside is that so much patented technology and quality doesn't come cheap, but they're good value compared to e.g. Thule Dynamic boxes which simply aren't as good.

There's a general consensus that KAMEI, based in Wolfsburg in Germany, makes the best quality boxes on the market. Don't just take our word for it! They're a specialist box manufacturer, Quality Assured to ISO 9001, represented in over 40 countries, with numerous Best Buy awards over the years, including the last 6 consecutive Auto Express "Best Buy" awards!

With their innovative and intelligent designs, top quality materials and engineering, and outstanding build quality, it's no surprise that KAMEI are Original Equipment box suppliers to several major manufacturers, including Audi, Mercedes-Benz and VW. And their boxes have the longest guarantee of any manufacturer in the car rack systems sector - 6 years!

KAMEI originally built its reputation in the car styling sector over many decades, so it should be no surprise that they 'get it right' with both looks and aerodynamics. Both the lid and the base of the Corvara 390 boxes were styled to integrate with the latest car roof shapes; there's minimal front overhang, and hatchback tailgates can be fully opened - yet it's long enough for carving skis. Corvara's are great looking boxes, in our view the most stylish on the market.

A bit small at 390 litres? We don't think so, having stuffed a Thule 480 litre box (196 x 78 x 44cm) and then packed all the same stuff in a Corvara 390 (190 x 75 x 43cm) with the aim of finding out what's going on here. KAMEI boxes are differently engineered to Thule boxes, with smaller internal dimensions, but the experiment proves the point that small increases in size, especially in height, will significantly increase the nominal capacity but not necessarily the real world usefulness. It's also fair to say that KAMEI tends to underestimate capacity. See the tab 'What does volume really mean?' for more information about this thorny topic.

KAMEI central locking systems have the benefits of central locking without the potential drawbacks. Turn the key and the lid opens wide on its gas struts, but to close it you just pull the lid until it clicks shut - no need to hold the front and back shut while simultaneously turning the key. And you can’t lock the keys in the box inadvertently because the keys can’t be withdrawn from the lock until the box is properly shut. This is clever engineering.

The ClickFix Schnellbefestigungs-System is claimed to be "the world's fastest roof box mounting system". Certainly we can't see how it could be any faster. Push the clamp down. Done - it automatically adjusts to all T-track profiles, even the BMW ones that usually require special adapters.

Some other features:

• The whole range is TÜV and GS (security) tested and approved.
• Corvara S boxes open from either the left or the right hand side, making them very easy to fix to roof bars (no stretching into the box is needed), as well as providing full choice about positioning (left, right or centre).
• The patented DuoLift opening system includes gas struts which allow for smooth opening and closing, as well as a very wide opening (to 35cm) for easy loading and unloading.
• The ClickFix box to bar fittings slide at all four fitting points so there’s never a need to drill new holes if the distance between your roof bars is non standard.
• The 3 combined locks/hinges are at just the right places for optimum security.
• Weight 16kg empty, maximum load 75kg, gross loading limit 91kg, but only if 91kg is within your car roof loading limit.

A good question. It's not always easy to convince customers that a 330 or 340 or 390 litre KAMEI box is in practical terms as large as a '480 litre' Thule box, even if they have seen the boxes side by side, and the cartons. Now an influential German motoring web site has provided us with more evidence, which is that KAMEI's Corvara 390K (the same body shell as the Corvara S 390) was 3.8% smaller than advertised, but the Thule Dynamic 800, a stated 420 litres, came out at 274 litres, a 34.7% exaggeration!

See the "exaggeration" table above, the second last picture, as well as a Google translation.

Auto-Presse also report that the KAMEI Husky L and Delphin 470 boxes are larger than their stated volumes. None of this surprises us - KAMEI is a family business which takes pride in doing things properly. "Made in Germany".

Please click here or on the logo below to view the article in full:

Technical specifications at a glance:

• External dimensions: 190 (l) x 75 (w) x 43 (h) cm
• Internal dimensions: 178 (l) x 65 (w) 36 (h) cm
• Volume: 390 litres
• Weight: 16kg
• Max load capacity: 75kg
• Max number of skis: 6 (max 180cm)
• Opens from: either side
• Type of struts: hydraulic gas struts
• Opens how wide: 35cm
• Distance between roof bar fittings: 57 – 92cm
• Guarantee: 6 years
• Colour: 'carbon' grey lid / black base

This roof box is only compatible with aluminium roof bars, so our Package Deals will not show the steel roof bar options.

Delivery charges and arrangements:

We charge a contribution towards delivery costs, depending on what you order, where you live, and how quickly you want the goods.

These are our standard charges; there are usually surcharges for all offshore destinations and some remote postcodes - for details please see our delivery information page.

Delivery of this item

Delivery of other items

Delivery times

Delivery times are calculated in working days (Monday to Friday, excluding Bank holidays).

Cut-off times for Express Delivery orders
Express Delivery orders placed before before the cut-off times shown below will usually be desptached on the date of order. Express Delivery orders placed after these cut-off times will be despatched the next working day.

Delivery FAQs

When will my order arrive?
There are no deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays, except for postable items where Royal Mail has a Saturday delivery. Express Delivery orders placed on a Friday (before 1pm) should be delivered on the Monday or Tuesday, Express Delivery orders placed on a Saturday or Sunday should be delivered on the Tuesday or Wednesday. The arrangements for Very Heavy Items are different and are shown above.

What about Next Working Day delivery?
Most Express delivery orders will arrive on the next working day, if the order is placed before the cut-off time (see above). Some will arrive on the second working day if there has been a "split-delivery". So-called “split deliveries” happen when the couriers do not have enough trailer space for everything that should be moved around the UK, so they will load what they can and leave the rest for the next trailer.

Is my delivery day guaranteed?
No retailer or courier company can ever "guarantee" a Next Working Day delivery. As well as split deliveries, all courier companies occasionally have the same transport problems as can happen to everyone else, including snow blocked roads, closed roads, traffic jams, mechanical breakdown, an inability to find the delivery address, or to gain access to it if, for example, it's in a block of flats. We work with some of the best couriers in the business, and overall they provide an outstanding service.

Do I need to be at home?
We are very flexible with our deliveries and will aim to deliver to an address which suits you – this does not need to be your home address. Goods can usually be left without signature - we prefer this with roof boxes. There's a "Special Delivery Instructions" box in the checkout area where we'll ask you to choose a typical instruction and then amend it to suit your particular requirements.

Payment options:

We take the following cards, and also PayPal. Please note that the entry on your card statement will be from "The Roof Box Company".

Secure payments

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