Spare me

You have been fairly relaxed about ‘space saver’ emergency wheels. I am very surprised they are legal. I have been idly thinking about my next main car. Given the poor state of the lanes in the West Country a part time 4x4 might be appropriate. The Skoda Yeti or Honda CRV diesels look good and (the last scores socially, as made in the UK). Both I discover are space-saver equipped and are therefore ruled out for me. Now I am told the X-Trail has also gone space saver. I am astonished at all this-especially for cars that might reasonably be used or otherwise thought suitable for, towing. I and many others I am sure, are just not prepared to have such poorly equipped vehicles. It is also plain that many people end up with a space saver without realising the car they buy is so equipped. You have done a lot of good work publicising poor quality timing belts, DMF problems and other quality issues. Please do the same for space-savers. If a space saver is not good enough for a taxi to carry passengers, it is not good enough for my family

Asked on 2 January 2010 by D.R., Radstock

Answered by Honest John
VW has acknowledged this and supplies a full sized spare with the new Polo. But other VAG marques supply nothing more than a puncture repair kit. These days generally you are more likely to have to pay extra for a spare than to get one as standard, and some cars, such as BMW 1 Series, Ford Galaxys, VW Tourans, and RAV-4s with the wrong back doors don’t have anywhere to put as spare. A space saver spare is an extra on the Yeti. All you get as standard is a repair kit.
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