On my previous car I had a towbar professionally fitted and I used a towball mounted bike rack that carried two bikes.

This worked very well for me. Benefits were that I locked a hitchlock on the bike rack at the towball point when I took the bikes off to ride away and I could enjoy my bike rides knowing that the rack attached to the towball was fairly safe from theft.

Also, loading adult bikes onto a rack at knee height is a damn sight easier than lifting bikes onto a roof mounted contraption and I never had to concern myself with height barriers at car parks.

Finally, if on a lengthy journey and you want to take a break, leave the hitchlock on so the rack cannot be taken and secure the bikes to the sturdy bike rack by the use of a good ‘D’ lock and/or a stout cable and a top quality padlock.

Of course, the downside of a towball mounted bike rack is their size and having somewhere to store it when not in use.

Edited by Dag Hammar on 29/04/2022 at 16:14

Thanks to both of you

Two things, the higher fuel consumption is not a major problem. I don't drive that much, so will only need the rack occasionally to go on holidays. This is not going to regular occurrence. So if I get slightly less gas mileage its not a big deal.

Secondly, I neglected to mention my Jazz does have the panoramic roof will this effect my choice.

Not 100% certain without looking into it, but as long as your Jazz has the two plastic or alloy trim rails either side of the roof (and it certainly looks like it from pics I've seen), it shouldn't make any difference that you have the panoramic roof. There should be two sliding or removable sections either side on these rails which is where the brackets would mount.

Re a tailgate mount, there are certainly ones available which are listed as fitting your Jazz (183996044236) If you look at pictures of them, they have thick rubber or foam sections at either side of the upper and lower cross bars. These (I think) are mainly to protect the paintwork, but would also have the effect of allowing them to be fitted on a curved tailgate. The picture for the above rack shows one fitted to a Citroen Saxo, the tailgate on these are at least as curved as your Jazz. I have to point out, I don't know anything about them otherwise, such as whether they are fit for purpose!.