Best kit for the holiday season
Five-page special will help get your car equipped for summer
Price: From £575 Contact: www.thule.com
AUTOMOTIVE accessories company Thule has unveiled a brand new, fully foldable and compact tow bar-mounted bike rack that it claims will work with all types of cycle.
The Easyfold XT isn’t cheap, at £575 for the two-bike option and £675 for the three-cycle version, but it’s designed to accommodate anything from a light road machine to a hefty mountain bike or even an e-bike.
The arrangement leaves large gaps between the bikes to prevent damage, and it’s suitable for long-wheelbase cycles, too. Its detachable frame holders can be adjusted individually to fit different types of bikes, and these attachments ‘click’ as soon as the optimal torque has been reached, ensuring sensitive frames are not damaged.
Versatility is enhanced by the fact that, when you’re not using it, the Easyfold XT can be folded down to a size that’s no bigger than that of a normal suitcase. It can be stored either in the boot or in, say, a garage at home.
Fitting the Easyfold XT to your car is a breeze, thanks to an innovative coupling that attaches to the tow bar. There’s an optional loading ramp, too, and the built-in tilting mechanism means you can still access the luggage space even with the bike rack fitted.
Price: £229 Rating: Contact: www.amazon.co.uk
THE Mio Mivue Drive 55LM feels like a much older sat-nav. The resolution from the five-inch display isn’t as crisp as the Garmin’s, and the touchscreen is slower to respond, too. Plus, the unit doesn’t come with extras such as built-in Wifi that the Garmin features as standard.
On the move, the instructions could have been better timed. Neither were the route choices as clever as the Garmin’s – the Mio took us on a more congested route, making the trip longer than necessary.
Still, the dash cam impressed. It captured clear 1296p footage at 30fps, letting us pick out details well. Sunlight through the windscreen affected the camera more, though, while during night driving the Mio’s dash cam trailed here.