So you spent 30k plus on an XC60 with its many many safety features and you are now complaining about £130 to keep everybody else safe from your load coming off the roof at 70mph? Not to mention destroying several thousand pounds of bikes etc……….sorry but everytime I hear this it really winds me up.
Flush rails are a nightmare as each has a slightly different cross section and thats why thule spend a lot of time and energy crash testing various designs and why there are 80-90 different 4000 series fitting kits. Yes a crappy generic footpack from paddys garage will look like it fits….no it won’t actually. Any reputable rack manufacturer will not be any cheaper than Thule and basically won’t be as good so you might as well buy the real thing. As for your old footpack, they are quite sought after second hand (assume its a 757) and should be good for £40 to defray the cost as there are lots of raised rail cars out there – they are the best system for load carrying and manufacturers should have just kept them…but obvs asthetics are more important to most people.