tontinuk said:
A) how secure did it feel
I was perfectly happy with everything. The rack sit nice and tight with all straps secured as per attached manual, same with the bikes. It had 2 extra straps for securing the wheels (bottom part of the bike generally), so that the handlebar doesn't move (you can see them in yellow
on the photo).
Checked all the straps and tried to re-tighten them first after 10 kms (picking up a friend with his bike), and then after another 100 kms or so, and nothing got loose at all. After the whole 800 kms all straps were as tight as at the beginning.
tontinuk said:
B) drag,  handling etc any  difference
Haven't noticed any special difference to be honest. Fuel consumption obviously was higher on the way there, with the bikes outside on the rack (as far as I remember - though not really sure - it was 7.2 l/100 km on the way there, with bikes on the rack and 3 people in the car, and 5.6 l/100 km on the way back, with bikes inside and 2 people in the car, driving on highways around 135 kmph both ways, with A/C on).
tontinuk said:
C) tailgate function. Â Opening and lights etc. Â What was the impact
Opening is kinda tricky. Rack manual said that for 2008 side straps should be attached in a "special way" (I guess that's because there is not enough metal underneath the rear window to attach them to), which essentially meant they just need to be pulled inside, tailgate closed, and only then tightened. So they are not really attached to anything, and need to be re-tightened each time you want to open the tailgate.
However, considering that I've used rubber pads under each rack hook (cut from some old bike tube, to be sure the hooks don't scratch the paint), next time I might just attach these side straps to the rear window, don't really see any reason why it wouldn't withstand that.
In general, this rack sits pretty low (I was hesitating between version 3 and 3R - see links in my first post in this thread - but finally went with 3, as it protrudes less, so should be more aerodynamic), which means that you should get yourself extra lights/license place board (like
this for example, from the same site), but I didn't bother with it - well, I didn't have time really, as the car was delivered on Thursday evening, and Saturday morning I was already leaving for holidays. But then again, I live in France, and France works in its own very specific way if you know what I mean.
tontinuk said:
D) did the carrier keep the bikes from scratching the car
Yes, nothing touched the car at all. Just that wheels needed to be strapped too, so that the handlebar doesn't turn (otherwise brake levers would touch it) - but that needed to be done anyway, so that bottom of the bikes is properly secured as well.
tontinuk said:
E) how easy to fix and remove as mine will only be For occasional use
Mine as well. I didn't have to re-mount it yet after the first use, but my guess would be that now, once I know how to fit it properly, and the top straps are at the correct length, it would take around 15 mins to re-fit it again.
