I have a 2016 CX-5 Touring with roof rails and cross bars. We will be driving to our parents for Christmas which is ~850 miles and with having a 6 month old and dog we will be short on space in the vehicle and we are looking at a roof bag to fit our suitcases etc. in and I was wondering if anyone had experience with any roof bags. I was looking at these on Amazon.

 

While I haven't used either of those bags, I did just wind up a 2,200 mile trip yesterday with the 16 cubic foot Thule Interstate cargo bag. The only two downsides are potential paint damage (I used a towel between the bag and the roof and had no issues), and reduced fuel economy (my understanding is the sleek clamshell roof rack pods are far more aerodynamic). My TL typically gets between 30 and 33 mpg on the highway, however, the combination of a stiff headwind the entire trip (New Hampshire to Colorado), and both a mountain bike and the cargo bag mounted to my roof rack, caused my fuel economy drop into the 19 to 22 mpg range. I suspect it would have been more like 25 mpg if there had not been such a consistent headwind.