Cargo Boxes
Thule Motion 3 Review
The box we rank first, reviewed honestly — including the three situations where the cheaper Force 3 is the better purchase.
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The Thule Motion 3 is the box this site ranks first, and what the money buys is specific: dual-side opening, the best mounting hardware in the category, and a low-profile XL variant that fits roofs the other XL boxes do not.
It is also the most expensive mainstream box you can buy, so the useful question is not “is it good” — it is what does it do that the Force 3 does not, and is that worth the gap. The short answer: the hardware, the low-profile size option, and a shell finish that photographs better and scratches more visibly. If none of those three matter to you, buy the Force 3 and spend the difference on bars.
One thing no cargo box review should skip: the limit you hit on a Motion 3 is almost never its volume. A large box empty is already 40-50 lb of your roof’s published allowance before anything goes in it, and most crossovers publish somewhere between 150 and 176 lb total. Read the sizing guide before you pick a variant, and check your own vehicle’s figure on the fit pages.
Quick picks
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up below. Scores are our editorial judgment on published specifications — not a star rating, and not a product we claim to have tested.
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Thule Motion 3The best hardware in the category, dual-side opening, and a size range that includes a low-profile XL — at the highest price in the category. | Buyers who will keep it for a decade | 8.8 |
Prices checked October 12, 2026. Product photographs come from Amazon and are refreshed with the prices. Affiliate disclosure.
#1 · Buyers who will keep it for a decade
Thule Motion 3
The best hardware in the category, dual-side opening, and a size range that includes a low-profile XL — at the highest price in the category.
- Type
- Hard shell
- Opening
- Both sides
- Sizes
- Several, including a low-profile XL
- Mounting
- Quick-mount clamps
- Finish
- Gloss
- Lock
- Central locking
What works
- Dual-side opening, which matters every single time you load it on a street
- Mounting hardware is the best in the category and the part you feel most
- A low-profile XL exists, which solves the garage-height problem other XLs create
- Thule's dealer and spares network means a broken catch is a part, not a new box
- Central lock rather than separate catches you have to remember
What doesn’t
- The most expensive mainstream box on the market
- Gloss shell shows every scuff, where the Force 3's matte hides them
- The large sizes are heavy empty — check your roof arithmetic first
- Nothing about it fixes the fuel penalty of a box on a roof
Our scoring
8.8overall
Motion 3 versus Force 3, item by item
These two boxes are the same idea at two prices, and the differences are narrow enough to list exhaustively.
| What changes | Motion 3 | Force 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Both sides | Both sides |
| Mounting hardware | The best in the category | Good, a step below |
| Shell finish | Gloss — looks better, scratches visibly | Matte — hides scuffs |
| Low-profile variant | Yes, in XL | No |
| Size range | Several sizes | Roughly 300 to 610 liters, five variants |
| Price | Highest in the category | Mid-tier |
Read that table and the honest conclusion is that most people should buy the Force 3. The Motion 3 earns its premium in three cases: you load it on a street where only one side is accessible and want the better latches, you need the low-profile XL because of a garage or a parking structure, or you are buying once for fifteen years and the hardware is where that gets decided.
Our Force 3 review covers the cheaper box in its own right, and the Motion 3 versus SkyBox NX comparison takes on the other flagship.
Which size, and why it is a weight question
Everybody shops a cargo box on volume and almost everybody is limited by weight. The arithmetic, on a typical crossover with a 150 lb published roof allowance:
| Item | Typical weight | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Aero crossbars and feet | Around 12 lb | 12 lb |
| Large hard-shell box, empty | 40-50 lb | 52-62 lb |
| Remaining for cargo | — | Roughly 88-98 lb |
Which is plenty for soft bags and clothes, and not plenty for tools, books or water. The practical rule: a box is for bulky and light. Anything dense belongs in the car or on the hitch.
Two more sizing checks before you order. Measure your crossbar spread center-to-center and confirm it is inside the box’s stated mounting range — the spread guide has the method. And measure your garage, loaded, because the loaded height of a tall vehicle with a tall box is a different number from the one on the spec sheet. That is the whole reason the low-profile XL exists.
Living with it: noise, fuel and the gloss shell
A box is quieter than bare crossbars, which surprises people — the bars are the thing making noise and the box fairs them in. What you get instead is a low boom at certain speeds on certain vehicles, which usually responds to moving the box a few inches fore or aft. Our wind noise guide has the diagnosis order.
Fuel is the real cost and no box fixes it. Published testing on rooftop carriers finds a double-digit percentage penalty at highway speed, and the Motion 3 being well shaped makes it better than a basket, not free. The only real mitigation is taking the box off between trips, which is a five-minute job with this hardware and the single highest-value habit in this hobby. The measured figures are here.
On the gloss shell: it will scratch, and you will see it. Branches in a driveway, a strap tail left loose, the corner of a garage. None of it affects function and all of it is visible. If that would bother you, the matte Force 3 is the box to buy and we would not argue.
Security is better than a bag and not absolute. The central lock stops opportunism; it does not stop a determined person with a tool, because the shell is plastic. What locks really stop is honest about this. Do not leave anything in it overnight that you would mind losing.
When not to buy this box
Four cases where the Motion 3 is the wrong purchase, from most to least common.
- You will use it twice a year. The arithmetic rarely works. Renting is a real option and we worked through the numbers.
- Your load is heavy rather than bulky. Tools, water, firewood, equipment. A roof box is the wrong tool and a bigger one is more wrong. Use a hitch carrier.
- Your load is awkward rather than packable. Fuel cans, muddy gear, a wheelbarrow. A molded shell will not take it; a basket will.
- You have no crossbars yet. The box is the second purchase, not the first, and buying it before the bars is how people end up with a box that does not fit the bars they then buy. Start at the roof rack roundup.
And the honest summary for everyone else: it is the best box in the category, most people do not need the best box, and the Force 3 is where we would send a first-time buyer with a normal roof and a normal garage.
Common questions
Is the Thule Motion 3 worth the extra over the Force 3?
What size Motion 3 should I buy?
Does the Motion 3 make the car noisy?
How much fuel economy does a Motion 3 cost?
Sources
Not sure it fits your car?
Our vehicle pages carry the published roof load limit, the roof type by model year, and what actually mounts to it — cited, and honest about what the manufacturer does not publish.
Read next
The Best Cargo Box for an SUV
Hard-shell boxes for SUVs, ranked — plus the weight arithmetic that decides your size before volume does.
Thule Force 3 Review
The box that replaced the Force XT — what changed, what you give up, and how to size it.
Thule Motion 3 vs Yakima SkyBox NX
Shape, garage height and room for a second carrier — the real deciding factors.
What Size Cargo Box Do I Need?
Roof box liters by family size, and the four measurements that constrain the choice.