Corolla Verso Roofbox Options

[ToyotaNewbie]

Hi,

First post here. Considering purchase of a 04 1.8TVVi T3 Verso. Going to look at it in the morning.

All users seem to love their Versos so I'm pleased about that!! :D

However the car I'm seeing has no roofbars. I already have a Thule Atlantis roofbox from a previous MPV (big box, 600L capacity) The (non-franchise) dealer says that there's a quick-mounting Roof Rack that sits inside the door frames.

Is this the one?

http://www.roofracks.co.uk/fitments/toyota_corolla_verso.htm

Thanks in advance.

I've seen the brake disc scoring problem. I'll be looking for that. Is there anything else I should be looking for?

Thanks,

Martin

[Haylands]

Martin

Halfords and eBay do roof bars for the Verso so no bother there.

My mate has the same spec Verso as you are looking at and it's a great car, you will like it...

I think it's just a good general check, make sure all the buttons do what they should.... windows/heater/radio etc, check service history, do a HPI check if private, ask for one if a dealer. Also check the VIN number under the bonnet with the V5.

Give it a good test drive, slow speeds and motorway....

And remember it's a buyers market, be firm with an offer and don't budge too much, there are plenty of cars for sale out there...

Good Luck

Pete

[Zwart_Verso]

However the car I'm seeing has no roofbars. I already have a Thule Atlantis roofbox from a previous MPV (big box, 600L capacity) The (non-franchise) dealer says that there's a quick-mounting roof rack that sits inside the door frames.

Is this the one?

http://www.roofracks.co.uk/fitments/toyota_corolla_verso.htm

Martin,

I also have a Verso without roofbars, in fact in Holland Verso's are not sold with roofbars, it is not even offered as an option neither factory nor aftermarket. Personally I think they look better without, but I would wouldn't I ;)

I have the official Toyota Roofrack, which fits perfectly. See here >> http://techdoc.toyota-europe.com/legacy/Toy/aimuploads/%7B20D09682-A563-4896-8ED5-5E2B5E14AF0E%7D/RoofrackNG2004AIM3190PZ403E8612GA.pdf

The rubbers fit the contour of the roof exactly (each of the 4 rubbers is different) and it feels like you could pick the car up with it when fitted. I had a similar one for my Carina E and used it many times over the last 10 years with no problems.

All users seem to love their Versos so I'm pleased about that!! :D

Yes, I love mine too! Good luck and success with your purchase.

Let us know how you got on.

Andy.

[Zwart_Verso]

Sorry link does not work, but I think that you need part no. PZ403-E8612-GA

In Holland this cost €173.34 ex VAT.

Perhaps Parts King can give you a good UK price.

Andy

[ToyotaNewbie]

Update:-

I've agreed a sale on the Verso. The only thing that was odd was that the drivers seat was worn through on the side support nearest to the door. The car's only done 35000 miles so that seemed a bit odd? The car's got history so should be genuine?

It's got rear parking sensors in addition to the standard T3 spec

The dealer's going to fix the seat as part of the sale though, so I'm happy enough.

I visited the local Toyota dealer too and got a part number for the roof bars. Andy you were spot on with the part number!

My wife didn't see the car as she didn't want to drag the kids out an hour each way. Trying to look over a car with five kids aged ten and under would have been a bit difficult.

Now she's seen one parked at the end of our road and says she thinks it's a bit small!

[mikeverso]

Now she's seen one parked at the end of our road and says she thinks it's a bit small!

I think they look small, but when you get close and inside they are quite big.

It must be the styling of it, i have a vw touran at the moment but am getting a new verso on 2 march. parked together they are basically the same size.

[hertsnminds]

Now she's seen one parked at the end of our road and says she thinks it's a bit small!

On the outside the Verso is 4mm narrower than the C4 hatch I used to own. But in the Verso we can get 3 child seats in row 2, in the C4 we couldn't.

Or to put it another way, it not the size, but how you use it :)

[ToyotaNewbie]

I have the official Toyota Roofrack, which fits perfectly. See here >> http://techdoc.toyota-europe.com/legacy/Toy/aimuploads/%7B20D09682-A563-4896-8ED5-5E2B5E14AF0E%7D/RoofrackNG2004AIM3190PZ403E8612GA.pdf

In step 5 of the document that you've linked to, I'm not really sure what the measurements 240mm and 460mm are indicating? Are these the distances apart that the bars can be placed?

Do the bars go in one fixed position, or is there some latitude in the positioning?

According to the Thule website, the Atlantis box has a minimum bar pitch of 575mm, and max of 975. Obviously I would prefer that they were as far apart as possible. When we had the box on the roof of our Sedona, the ends of the box used to hit the roof! (the Sedona bars are VERY low!) and we had to put car wash sponges under each end!

Thanks,

Martin

[ToyotaNewbie]

Now she's seen one parked at the end of our road and says she thinks it's a bit small!

On the outside the Verso is 4mm narrower than the C4 hatch I used to own. But in the Verso we can get 3 child seats in row 2, in the C4 we couldn't.

Or to put it another way, it not the size, but how you use it :)

We can't get three car seats across the back of our Octavia either. And even if we could, the middle seat is a bump rather than a proper seat so it wouldn't be stable anyway!

[Zwart_Verso]

In step 5 of the document that you've linked to, I'm not really sure what the measurements 240mm and 460mm are indicating? Are these the distances apart that the bars can be placed?

Do the bars go in one fixed position, or is there some latitude in the positioning?

Martin,

The dimensions are where the bars should be positioned. The front bar is 240mm in front of the middle pillar, and the rear bar is positioned 460mm behind the middle pillar.

There is indeed only one fixed position with the bars 700mm apart.

In this position they fit perfectly with the top of the bars at the same height as each other and parallel with the ground. Due to the curvature of the roof and the top of the doors where they fit, it impossible to make them fit properly anywhere else on the roof

I think 700mm is some kind of standard because my Carina E bars were exactly the same.

Hope this helps,

Andy

[Will_de_Beest]

Before you even unpack the roof bars, find a permanent marker pen and make marks inside the door shuts at the correct 240mm and 460mm distances. (Hope your Verso isn't black!) If we're talking about the kit supplied for the Verso by Toyota dealers, you should also remember that the bars are the grooved, oval-section, slotted aluminium type, and that any U-bolt fittings you have for square-section steel bars won't fit. You can buy the little slot-in feet quite cheaply, but if your roof box is an old one (like mine) you may find you have to drill a few new holes to make it fit.

The fitting procedure for the crossbars is a truly ridiculous pantomime that is the only thing that makes me wish I'd paid extra for a T-Spirit - which has roof rails - instead of a T3. Other makers can equip their cars with ready-made mounting points that require no measuring, no tools and no messing about with all four doors open, so why couldn't Toyota? It's not all that difficult to fit the Toyota bars, but it's easier than it ought to be to get it wrong, considering the safety implications of a roof load coming loose.

Oh, and once you've got the bars on, be very careful to secure the locking end covers. Two of ours - which I couldn't shift with fingers when I tested them - fell off on our first long trip with the box on our Verso.

Last - and unrelated - point. You mention having five children, and I appreciate that you've bought the thing now, but I don't really consider the Verso's third row suitable for more than occasional use. We have used ours for a few local, low-speed outings, but we've taken a policy decision not to use it anywhere where we might find ourselves in queueing traffic on a high-speed road. You have 440mm from the base of the seat back to the rear edge of the bumper, and even less between a child's head and the rear window.

That's as close to science as our policy gets - and I appreciate that there's a lot of steel in the rear pillars of a Verso - but I think if you need regular transport for seven, you ought to be looking at something in the S-Max or Galaxy size range. The Verso is just too short to protect you all in a rear-end collision.

[TVkills]

Martin,

I also have a Verso without roofbars, in fact in Holland Verso's are not sold with roofbars, it is not even offered as an option neither factory nor aftermarket. Personally I think they look better without, but I would wouldn't I ;)

Does anyone know if (longitudinal) roofrails are offered in other markets as an aftermarket optional?

Thanks

[Parts-King]

Martin,

I also have a Verso without roofbars, in fact in Holland Verso's are not sold with roofbars, it is not even offered as an option neither factory nor aftermarket. Personally I think they look better without, but I would wouldn't I ;)

Does anyone know if (longitudinal) roofrails are offered in other markets as an aftermarket optional?

Thanks

As far as I know they are NOT available as a kit, they are on RAV and one or two other models, but the car already has the holes pre-drilled and fitted on these cars

Kingo

[Will_de_Beest]

That's correct. According to Toyota (will supply a reference if I can find it) the roof rails are part of a different roof structure that has to be put in at the factory. So if your Verso comes without, it stays without.

Personally, I find the Toyota crossbars annoying because they could have been designed so much better; but they're not enough of an annoyance to make me wish I'd paid extra for a T-Spirit or (especially) a T180 instead.

[*Rich*]

That's correct. According to Toyota (will supply a reference if I can find it) the roof rails are part of a different roof structure that has to be put in at the factory. So if your Verso comes without, it stays without.

Personally, I find the Toyota crossbars annoying because they could have been designed so much better; but they're not enough of an annoyance to make me wish I'd paid extra for a T-Spirit or (especially) a T180 instead.

I bought these Atera AS roof bars from www.roofbox.co.uk

They were around £90, and very good.

[Aggieboy]

Morning all,

I'm new here and picked up our Verso yesterday. :D Got them to 'throw in' roof bars as well. Has anyone put some tape on the vehicle or bar ends before fitting? The ends have a thin covering of rubber/plastic but seem as though they could damage the paint.

[Will_de_Beest]

If your bars are the oval-section aluminium type with the grooved top that we got from our dealer when we bought our Verso then don't worry about the paint, just make sure you keep the hooks clean and free of any grit that might cause scratches. In fact, protective material might interfere with the grip of the mounting against the roof, so it's probably not a good idea. If it's any encouragement, after 13 months and quite a few times on and off, our bars have left no marks at all. They do have their own special storage place in the garage roof, which helps to keep them clean.

If you're used to another make with a better thought-out fitting system, you'll probably curse the fiddly mountings. I'd advise you to take some time to practise fitting the things, so that the nuts are finger-tight all round before tightening them finally with the torque wrench. Then, when removing them, be sure you don't loosen them too far: you'll have to swing one end over the roof, and you wouldn't want the whole fitting to fall off - that really would damage the paintwork!

[Aggieboy]

Thanks for your reply. Yes, those are the ones. I'll bear in mind your tips and get someone to help me fit and release!!

[Aggieboy]

Fitted today, by myself, for my holiday tomorrow :D . Absolute doddle tbh. Stuck a glove on the opposite end when starting to line it up .