I use roof mounted Thules on my car Bobby. In fact I rarely take them off. When empty they don't seem to make any noticeable difference to mpg. When they have bikes on they do rip fuel consumption quite a lot, particularly at motorway speeds. My car isn't tall so loading and unloading is a cinch. No steps required. I get why you might add a cable tie but to be honest I don't bother, and I've never had one work loose even on a run to the south of France.
Towbar mounts are great ( much better for economy ) but expensive to buy and of course you need to store it when not in use.
I can see why putting a road bike in the car would be OK, but clarty MTBs are better outside!
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