"Why," enquires my other half in a dangerous tone, "is our car wearing a helmet?"
She has just come in from the street, where I've been packing the car for a family holiday to Brittany.
"Helmet?"
I'm all for driving safely, but the sleek object perched atop the car is in fact a Thule Motion XT Sport roof box. And it's on the car so that I can smuggle as much cycling gear as possible along on our holiday.
Like many cyclists, I have a car to help me get to sportives. They come in handy between sportives too, when you need to transport stuff from A to B. Stuff like children, the groceries, garden waste, a smorgasbord of pickled herring - normal stuff.
Sometimes there's so much stuff that the inside of your car just isn't big enough - and that's when you need a roof-mounted box.
Thule's Motion XT is the first roof box I've used and it's proved a really handy addition to the car. It's the most compact box in the Thule range, deliberately chosen as it allows a bike carrier like the ProRide to be mounted alongside.
Although relatively compact, its 300L capacity is still a hugely useful expansion to the capacity of any car - certainly when you're packing in luggage for a three-week trip for two adults and two toddlers.
The Motion XT attaches to your car's roof bars, and getting it all set up was exceptionally simple even for a first-timer. Four pincer-like clamps, adjustable by means of chunky dials inside the box hook under your roof bars. Simply rotate the dials to tighten the claws. When you hear a loud "click" it's done: the box is attached to your car like a tenacious crab.
One of my favourite features of the Motion XT is that it can be opened from either side. The hinge system is in the middle, meaning that you can flip the lid open from whichever side of the car is easiest.
The box is lockable to keep everything secure inside, and snaps shut with a satisfying clunk of four catches along the edge. A helpful red tab next to the lock indicates whether the box is securely closed or not, although the audible feedback is usually enough.
Being a Swedish brand Thule describe the Motion XT as capable of fitting 3-5 pairs of skis (although they don't mention herring). To put that into a UK context, it can comfortably fit 5-6 Sainsbury's bags-for-life stuffed full of baby clothes, blankets and cycling kit.
And it works a charm. Just like the Thule ProRide, the Motion XT is a cleverly designed product that's well made and simply performs without a hitch. It's even got a nice aero shape to it, so while you might at first notice the sound of the wind whistling over it at high speeds, the effect on the car's handling is negligible.
The only downside, and it's an irony common to many a bulky storage device, is that when it's not in use you need to find somewhere to store it. At 189 x 67.5cm and weighing 16kg, you can't really hide it behind the sofa.
Creative solutions shot down by my partner include burying the open halves in the garden as a water feature, or standing it upright like a neolithic obelisk. I thought it would make a great talking point, until she breezily noted it was actually just the right size for a coffin. You know, in the event of someone's untimely demise?
I can take a hint.
In the end, we decided to leave it permanently fitted on the roof of the car. You never know when you might need to shift a smorgasbord of pickled herring.
Thule Motion XT Sport roof box, £375 - www.thule.com
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