Which is the best small car for fitting a bike in?

i don't find the fabia that great as a bike carrier,
it'll take a bike with the front wheel off but it's tight,
obviously dropping both wheels out it would fit easy, but not really the point every car will.

comparing this to a fiat punto mk2,
the punto seemed a lot easier,
the boot well was wider, just didnt have to worry about what angle the bike went in,
it would just fit (with front wheel off), strange because it feels a smaller car.
re. getting parts for punto, its the same as every other car, in fact second hand/scrap parts are plentiful as there were so many of them.

why is a estate out of the question?
I've got a 306 estate like coffeeking, 1.9 diesel, very slow car,
but insurance group 4, car tax of £130-140-ish. over 40mpg.
easy to drive day 2 day.

I think an estate will be out as day to day it would be a bit impractical

Just curious, I don't think I've ever heard an estate being called impractical? It's about 1ft longer than the hatchback version, no wider and can hold a significant amount more? That said, the plain hatch version is pretty large anyway, if you're convinced an estate is out of the question for some reason. The hatch 306 handles quite nicely (for a FWD hatchback) and the parts are as cheap as chips.

I've got a 306 estate like coffeeking, 1.9 diesel, very slow car,

I've got the HDi, it's not too slow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQoJQ6AeqSw – vid of a stock HDi estate versus a Celica in 0-60), but it's not blistering by any stretch of the imagination I'll give you that! Though the standard 1.9TD can rather easily be "tweaked" with a spanner and as screwdriver to be somewhat more spritely with no negatives.

I looked at the low-end skodas as an option but they were so horrifically coloured and plasticy inside that they made the 306 look like a BMW, and driving a few they felt somewhat over-sprung and under-ARB'd IMO.

an 02 plate 1.4 mpi, car tax is a hefty £180-ish aswell,
dont get me wrong i like the fabia just expensive-ish,
mine hasnt been anymore reliable than any other car i've owned,
and find parts are expensive as it's vw brand,

nice to drive though

03 plate Fabia 1.2 is in the lower tax bracket plus I guess insurance on it will probably be significantly cheaper. Dare I saw it but for insurance categories you are in the "risk" category!! It's good for petrol on average 350 miles from a tank around £35 to fill a tank. I can't comment on parts as I've never needed any since I bought it.

why is a estate out of the question?

Mainly insurance and running costs. I could be completely wrong, but assuming fuel costs on an estate will be more plus when i have run them through the gocompare etcs of this world they are usually £250-300 more on the insurance.

I don't think I've ever heard an estate being called impractical?

Ok, bad choice of words. Maybe i should have put unsuitable for me day to day. If i was moving my bike about every day then it would be ideal, but for mostly weekend bike duty and popping shops during the week a smaller car would probably be more practical.

The Fabia, so far, has appeared to be roomy-ish, cheaper than comparative models and cheaper to insure. For that reason only am i preferring it.

I'll shush now 😉

Mainly insurance and running costs. I could be completely wrong, but assuming fuel costs on an estate will be more plus when i have run them through the gocompare etcs of this world they are usually £250-300 more on the insurance.

Fuel costs – nope, not noticably. In smaller estate-from-hatch cars the estate "bit" adds bugger all to the weight of the car. Insurance – possibly for you, I'm not sure, but it didn't add anything when I was looking (similar age, more NCB). Not to say it hasn't changed. Diesel adds some, I'll give you that.

Hmmm…am i going to have to start a new thread about which estates for putting bike in 😉

why is a estate out of the question?
Mainly insurance and running costs. I could be completely wrong, but assuming fuel costs on an estate will be more….

I've only had my license 3 years and is first time having my own insurance, am 28.
but on my 306 diesel estate i pay £400, that wasnt much more than the punto my brother insured and he is 7 years older than me and has had a license for over 10 years. I think maybe the 306 is an anomaly though.
fuel cost same as the little 1.2 punto.

Any car with a roof rack. Get the car that suits and a rack for the bike.