Yakima GrandTour 16 Review

One feature that stands out with this cargo box is its mostly flat interior floor, with no bulky knobs or other attachments for your gear to get hooked on when loading or unloading the GrandTour.

Performance Comparison

The Yakima GrandTour is one of our favorite roof boxes that we have tested to date.

Photo: David Wise

Ease of Use

Our first set of tests and evaluations for these roof-mounted cargo boxes focuses on how easy they are to install or remove from a typical vehicle, as well as how convenient and easy it is to store and load your gear. The GrandTour took top marks in this metric, delivering on each point.

Right off the bat, we love how there is essentially no assembly required to get the GrandTour ready for install. You just need to locate the keys taped to the exterior of the box, open the lid, then use the included torque wrench to loosen each of the clamps.

The included torque wrench with the Yakima GrandTour.

Photo: David Wise

Once the clamps are loosened sufficiently to clear your crossbars, you can lift it up and onto your racks — with the help of a friend — and then use the same tool to tighten the clamps. This wrench will click to alert you when you have applied enough torque to the clamps, helping to prevent under or over-tightening them. With plastic attachments employed ubiquitously among cargo boxes, over-tightening can potentially stress or break the attachments. We like that Yakima incorporated this design detail to help prevent such breakage, as well as preventing the box from shifting around due to being too loose. The entire installation process usually only took us 5-10 minutes, making this a great option if you are someone who is planning on frequently installing and removing your cargo box.

We also like that these clamps have a wider range of crossbar compatibility than some of the other models, wrapping around the third-party square crossbars we used for testing much more completely than some of the other models we have tested. We feel confident that this model will fit more crossbars than most models we have tested.

This cargo box uses a single-piece clamp that fits a wide range of crossbars.

Photo: David Wise

The GrandTour is also convenient and hassle-free when it comes to loading your gear. The 16 cubic foot model we tested can fit items up to 185 cm in length (fitting the most common ski lengths). The 18 cubic foot model can hold items up to 210 cm — more than enough for the majority of alpine skis on the market. The dual-side opening container lets you access your belongings from both sides of the car — a huge plus in our minds. The floor of the box is much more flat, unlike much of the competition that has knobs and other attachments sticking up from their floors.

The relatively flat bottom makes it much easier to load or unload gear.

Photo: David Wise

This relatively flat bottom makes packing the box more efficient and reduces items getting caught on knobs and snagged. It also makes it easier to slide your cargo around and adjust the position. The more we used this cargo box, the more we appreciated this design feature.

There are also integrated spots to secure straps to keep your items from shifting while in transit and you have the option of replacing the locking cores to allow a single key to lock or unlock all of your Yakima products. All in all, we think this is a fantastic option for anyone who doesn’t want a lot of hassle when it comes to their roof box.

Unfortunately, the glossy finish is more prone to scuffs and scratches. It also shows accumulated dirt more readily. However, it does look slick when it's clean.

Photo: David Wise

Durability

For our durability metric, we rated and compared how sturdy and well-built each box felt to our experts who have assessed dozens of cargo boxes over several years. We focus primarily on how floppy the lid feels, as well as looking at any wear and tear that these cargo boxes might have sustained throughout our testing process. The Yakima GrandTour again did very well, earning one of the better scores of the group for its impressive showing in our durability metric.

The lid on this cargo box is quite rigid and opens and closes smoothly. The locking lever is ergonomic and easy to turn, with a heft to it that makes us confident that it is built to last. The clamps have sliding seals to keep moisture or dust out and we never had any problems with water intrusion during heavy rain or snowstorms.

However, we do have one concern about the GrandTour when it comes to durability. While it didn’t sustain any noticeable wear and tear during testing, we are mildly concerned that the extremely glossy finish will show scratches and scuffs much more readily than some of the textured matte cargo boxes.

We like the larger handle on this cargo box.

Photo: David Wise

Security

Our next round of tests looked at the security of each cargo box, rating and ranking how resistant to theft we feel each product is. While a determined thief would be able to access the contents of these boxes with enough force or specialized tools, there are differences between how much effort would be required to open these boxes, as well as when it comes to how secure they feel. The GrandTour feels like one of the more solid options of the group, earning it a top-tier score.

The GrandTour has the standard Yakima locking core that, as we mentioned above, can be replaced if you want to rekey your cargo carrier to match your crossbars or if you lose the keys.

There is a sturdy handle that opens the lid, with clear visual indicators that show if the box is unlocked or locked. On top of that, the key also can’t be removed if the box is unlocked, making it much more difficult to accidentally drive off with the cargo carrier unlocked. We also like that the clamps cannot be loosened unless the box is opened, aiming to prevent someone from undoing the clamps from the outside and taking off with the entire cargo box and the gear within.

The Yakima has an almost mirror-like finish.

Photo: David Wise

Appearance

Our last set of evaluations looks at the appearance of each cargo carrier, focusing on the color, finish, shape, and overall look of each product. The Yakima GrandTour — in our minds — is one of the better-looking cargo carriers of the group, meriting it a great score in this metric.

The GrandTour is an exceptionally sleek and stylish roof box that we think will complement the appearance of most cars. However, it is only available in a high gloss black finish so that is something to consider if you think that will clash with your car’s color. It also is one of the larger boxes so it can look a bit out of place on some smaller cars.

Value

The GrandTour is a solid value. While it isn’t the cheapest roof box, it offers a surprisingly good price per cubic foot and a top-tier performance overall. There are cargo boxes that cost considerably more, too, but we don't think they add more performance advantages. Compared to the other cargo boxes on the market, the price here is fair, and the performance is top-notch, proving strong value in a built-to-last product.

Conclusion