I am about to take delivery of an MY15 Octavia VRS wagon (estate/combi for those of you outside the Antipodes). I have some Whispbars on another car that I love for their quietness, sleekness and system that allows you to slide bike/kayak carriers into the tracks without pulling out the rubber in the track (it slides down under the carrier and helps maintain the aerodynamics of the rack). Just wondering whether anyone with an Octavia III wagon has tried the Whispbars. If so, how do they look? I'm keen not to detract from the car's appearance. How do they rate for appearance against the Thule aero racks? And has anyone tried the Rhino aero bars? It is possible they are only available in Australia though. 

I planned to buy some Whispbars before I got my VRS wagon, however I did not get around to it.  I am glad I did not as I don't need them now.  I can fit two bikes in the back with the seats down.  On my previous car I had to have them on the roof where they got bugs and dirt on them.  If I take both wheels of I can fit both bikes without putting the seats down.  How good is that.

Thanks (fellow) AusieOccy. I need the roof bars for the bike at times when I'm carrying passengers in the back, and I always need them when carrying my surfskis, so my needs are a little different to yours maybe. Also I'm downsizing a little, my current wagon has 2000-plus litres of space in the back with seats down, whereas the Octavia is 1700 or so, and a bit narrower.

I have the OEM Bars. They look good but they are noisy.

Bought some Thule Wingbars this year and they're great. Quiet and look good as well.

Thule Wingbars Edge here on a VRS Estate. Expensive but no wind noise or whistling that I can hear.  Take out that rubber strip from the track however and its whistles constantly about 45 MPH.

 

Word of warning though. If you have the Black Pack (black painted roof rails), the rubber clamps on the Edge will damage the paint no matter how well you clean it before hand. Protective strips help.

I am about to take delivery of an MY15 Octavia VRS wagon (estate/combi for those of you outside the Antipodes). I have some Whispbars on another car that I love for their quietness, sleekness and system that allows you to slide bike/kayak carriers into the tracks without pulling out the rubber in the track (it slides down under the carrier and helps maintain the aerodynamics of the rack). Just wondering whether anyone with an Octavia III wagon has tried the Whispbars. If so, how do they look? I'm keen not to detract from the car's appearance. How do they rate for appearance against the Thule aero racks? And has anyone tried the Rhino aero bars? It is possible they are only available in Australia though. 

Hi Tupperware,

 

I have Whispbars on my 2015 RS Wagon. Only takes a few minutes to fit (and remove), look great and they are very quiet. Because I thought the aluminium finish would stand out too much on an all black car with Black pack, I wrapped mine in 3M Carbon Fibre (about $A100 from Supercheap auto). 

 

Cheers,

Mark

Hi Tupperware,

I have Whispbars on my 2015 RS Wagon. Only takes a few minutes to fit (and remove), look great and they are very quiet. Because I thought the aluminium finish would stand out too much on an all black car with Black pack, I wrapped mine in 3M Carbon Fibre (about $A100 from Supercheap auto).

Cheers,

Mark

Hi Mark. Any chance of a pic of yours? I have the vRS wagon with blackpack and am looking for options on roof bars. Im a bit concerned about scratching/damaging the black roof rails though.....have yours been ok?

Buy the best, most secure system you can.

It will pay for itself in safety, reliability and lack of road noise.

I have Thule wing bars that I use on my VRS hatchback and that I also used on my previous c class.

Great product, interchangable feet made it easy to swap between cars. Very easy to remove and put back on car after first set up.

Ps I lost a bike off the back of a friends car at speed due to a cheap bike carrying system once. I'm not planning in repeating the experience.

Hi Mark. Any chance of a pic of yours? I have the vRS wagon with blackpack and am looking for options on roof bars. Im a bit concerned about scratching/damaging the black roof rails though.....have yours been ok?

Hi Tupperware,

 

Sorry for the delay in replying ... haven't been on here for a while. No scratches at all on the shiny black rails and I have taken the bars off and on many times. I'll post some pics when I get a chance.