Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I struggled between 4 and 5 stars with this product but in the end, I went for 5 and here's why: 1. It's huge: After owning a GTI hatchback and a 140lb dog, I've become a master at packing the car for road trips while leaving plenty of room for the dog. It used to take me about an hour to squish, cram and smash our luggage, presents, coolers, etc. while leaving plenty of room for the dog. Now that is no longer the case. The Vista SportRack seems to hold double what I was previously able to fit in the car. It's like a black hole of space. 2. Ease of use: Mounting was incredibly easy (more on that later) and the locking mechanism and arms that keep it in the open position work fantastic. It's also very light which makes removing it a snap. I'm not a fan of leaving the cargo rack on when not needed so I was excited to be able to remove the unit and store it in under 5 minutes. 3. Price: Hands down, the best price you will find on a cargo rack of this size and quality. I was initially shopping at REI for a cargo rack and was looking at brands 2-3 times the price of the Vista. Some of them were shiny and some of them were side loaders which I initially wanted but nothing warranted the price they were going for. 4. Rear loading: If you're like me and you were hesitant to purchase this because of the rear-loading then let me put your mind at ease. Yes, it's more difficult (even with a small hatchback) to load the box, HOWEVER, when going 80mph down the highway you can rest your mind knowing that the wind alone will keep this box shut if your lock somehow failed or you accidentally forgot to lock it (almost impossible with the caution strip they provide). All I could think about on my first trip was how happy I was that I didn't get a side loading unit and stress about box flying open in the wind. I will say that if you constantly get in and out of your cargo box for work or kids supplies then you may still want to consider a side-loader. Now for the only con: The rack comes with 4 u-bolts that go around your existing roof rack. Unfortunately on a GTI the racks are fairly thick and while the u-bolts were long enough to go up into the box, the plastic knob/nuts they provided were not able to grab the little bit of threads that were exposed. For some reason, the nuts inside the plastic knobs are about 1/4" recessed which was definitely a bad design on their part. I unfortunately had to shoot down to Ace and buy some locking wing-nut screws which worked out great. It still allows me to put the box on without tools but it would have been nice to not spend the extra money/time. So, if you're listing SportRack, you should provide two sets of u-bolts (one short and one long) or fix the design of your knob/nuts so the threads are at the bottom. So why do they still get a 5-star? The price... Even with the trip to Ace and the $3 wing nuts, I received a cargo box that's huge, great quality and 1/3 the price of the fancy brands.