Which Cars Get A Spare Wheel As Standard?
One of the sad truths of modern car design is the phase out of the traditional spare wheel, with just a handful of cars on sale today fitted with one as standard.
The decision to kill off the spare wheel is inextricably linked to emissions, with the EU test-cycle for CO2 rating using a car’s weight to calibrate the rolling road for the test. Hence, the lighter the car, the less the owner will have to pay in tax.
As a result, car manufacturers’ fight to save every gram and the spare wheel has been seen as an easy route to cut weight. Indeed, a typical 17-inch alloy wheel weighs about 20kg, which can add up to nine grams of CO2 to an average vehicle’s emissions.
Spacesavers are the most likely spare wheel fitted as standard. However, the spacesaver is not designed to be driven for long distances, with most having a maximum recommended speed of around 50mph (80 km/h) restricting drivers to short distances.
The majority of new cars are sold with a tyre repair kit as standard, while a smaller proportion get runflats, which use reinforced sidewalls and rubber to prevent a puncture and allow the driver to continue for a limited time. The remainder are fitted with either a compressor or a self-sealing tyre.
See also: Full guide to choosing a tyre - and making it last
Manufacturer | Has a full size spare | Has a space saver spare | Has a repair kit | Has run-flat tyres |
Alfa Romeo | - | Mito Super, Speciale and Veloce, £100 on other trims; Stelvio: £275 | 4C, Giulia, Mito, Stelvio | Giulia Speciale and Veloce, £250 other trims |
Audi | - | A £199 option | A1, A3 e-tron, Q2, Q5, Q7, R8, TT | - |
BMW | - | On 2 Series for £75 | 1 Series, i3 |
£180 on 1 Series, 2 Series, 3 Series, 4 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6
|
Citroen | On Space Tourer | Berlingo Multispace, C1, C3, C3 Aircross (£75 on Touch), C4 Cactus, C4 / Grand C4 Picasso | Berlingo Multispace Touch, C1 Touch, C3 Touch, C3 Aircross Touch, C4 Cactus Touch, C4 / Grand C4 Picasso with Blue HDI 150 engine, Space Tourer Touch | - |
Dacia | - | Duster £150, Logan and Sandero £100 | Duster, Logan, Sandero | - |
Fiat | 500X £175, Doblo £170, Qubo £100 | Tipo, 500 £100, 500L £125, 500X £100, Panda £60 | 124 Spider, 500, 500L, 500X, Doblo, Panda, Punto, Qubo | - |
Ford | Fiesta £100 (not Style), Focus £100 (Zetec and Titanium), Ka+ £100, Mondeo £100 | Edge, Focus, Galaxy, Kuga, Mondeo, S-Max, | Ecosport, Fiesta, Ka+, Mustang | - |
Honda | - | CR-V | Civic, HR-V, Jazz, NSX | - |
Hyundai | i800, Santa Fe, Tucson | i10, i20, i30, ix20, i40, Ioniq Hybrid, Kona | i10 (S/SE Blue), i20 S, S Air, SE and Prem Nav 1.0 TDGi, i30 S, Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid and electric, Kona S, Tucson S | - |
Infiniti | - | Q70, QX70 | Q30, QX30 | Q30 Sport, QX30 with 19-inch alloys, Q50, Q60 |
Jaguar | F-Pace £370 | XE £160, XF £190, XJ £140 Luxury/Premium, sandard on Portfolio, Autobiography and R-Sport, E-Pace £272, F-Pace £160, F-Type £377 | XE, XF, XJ Luxury and Premium, E-Pace, F-Pace, F-Type | - |
Jeep | Wrangler, Renegade £200 | Grand Cherokee, Cherokee Trailhawk £120, Compass £120, Renegade £150 | Cherokee, Compass, Renegade | - |
Kia | Niro, Sorento | Std on Carens, Ceed, Optima, Soul, Sportage, Venga, Picanto £30, Rio £42, Stinger £41, Stonic £38 | Ceed GT, Optima 3, GT Line S, SW and PHEV, Picanto, Rio, Soul Sport and EV, Stinger, Stonic, | - |
Land Rover | - | Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Velar, Evoque £165 | Discovery Sport (seven-seater), Evoque, Range Rover Hybrid, Range Rover Sport Hybrid | Discovery, Discovery Sport (five-seater) |
Mazda | - | - | 2, 3, 6, CX3, CX5, MX5 | - |
Mercedes-Benz | - | - | A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, GLA, GLC, GLE 500e | S-Class, E-Class, GLE, GLS, GLA AMG Line, C-Class £595 with AMG alloys |
MG | - | - | GS, MG3, ZS | - |
MINI | - | £100 on Clubman, £100 on Countryman | Three-door, five-door, Convertible, Clubman, Countryman | - |
Mitsubishi | Shogun | Outlander (diesel) | ASX, Eclipse Cross, Mirage, Outlander PHEV | - |
Nissan | - | Juke Y N-Connecta and Tekna DIG-T 4WD CVT and X-Trail, Leaf £170, Qashqai £215 | Juke, Leaf, Micra, Qashqai | - |
Peugeot | 208 GTI Prestige, 2008 petrols, Traveller, 308 £98, 3008 £98 | 108, 208, 308, 2008 diesel, 3008, 5008, 508 | 108 Access/Active, 5008 2.0 HDI | - |
Porsche | - | £270 on Cayenne | 718 Boxster, 718 Cayman, 911, Panamera, Macan, Cayenne | - |
Renault | - | Captur £110, Clio £110, Kadjar £110, Koleos £110, Megane £110, Scenic / Grand Scenic £110, Twingo £110 | Captur, Clio, Kadjar, Koleos, Megane, Scenic / Grand Scenic, Twingo, Twizy, Zoe | - |
SEAT | - | Arona, Ateca, Ibiza, Leon, Toledo | Mii | - |
Skoda | Karoq (£250) | Citigo £55, Fabia £90, Karoq £150, Kodiaq £105, Octavia £105, Rapid £85, Superb £105 | Citigo, Fabia, Karoq, Kodiaq, Octavia, Rapid, Superb | - |
Subaru | Forester, Levorg, Outback, WRX STI | - | BRZ, Impreza, XV | - |
Suzuki | Jimny | Baleno £219, Celerio £219, Ignis £219 (4WD £249), S-Cross £219, Swift £219 (4WD £249), Vitara £219 | Baleno, Celerio, Ignis, S-Cross, Swift, Vitara | - |
Toyota | Land Cruiser | Auris, Avensis, Prius Active and Bus Ed, Prius+, Rav-4 | Aygo, Avensis Touring Sports, C-HR, GT86, Prius Excel and Bus Ed+, Verso, Prius plug-in | - |
Vauxhall | - | Adam £110, Astra £110, Cascada £110, Corsa £110, Crossland X £110, Grandland X £110, GTC £110, Insignia £110, Mokka X £110, Viva £110, Zafira Tourer £110 | Adam, Astra, Cascada, Corsa, Crossland X, Grandland X, GTX, Insignia, Mokka X, Viva, Zafira Tourer | - |
Volkswagen | Arteon, Passat GT & Alltrack, other Passat models £165 | Beetle, Golf, Golf SV, Passat, Polo, Tiguan, T-Roc, Touareg, Up £50 take Up, Up beats and Up GTI | Golf GTE and e-Golf, Passat GTE and GTE Advance, Polo beats, Sharan, Tiguan 2.0 BiTDI DSG, Tiguan Allspace, Touran, Up. | - |
Volvo | - | S60 £150, S90 £150 (not Twin Engine), V40 petrols £150, V60 £150, V90 £150 (not Twin Engine), XC60 £150 (not Twin Engine), XC90 £150 (not Twin Engine) | S60, S90, V40, V60, V90, XC60, XC90 | - |
Where can I buy a spacesaver or full-size spare wheel?
The first place to start is probably the most expensive - and that's your local franchose dealer. If you're buying new from them, you might be able to get either a full-size spare wheel or spacesaver added as part of the deal (if there isn't one fitted already).
If you've already bought the car and don't want to go down that route, then Amazon* is useful place to start, with many wheel sizes covered. For something like a Fiesta, you'll be looking at around £100. You can give a ebay* a go, too, and it will be cheaper, but you need to be sure about what you are buying. After all, will it be a false economy if the tyre turns out to have been used (so you don't know its history) or isn't up to scratch when you might need it.
Spacesavers "in a bag"
A number of specialists have cropped up in recent years who offer everything you need in a bag (spacesaver wheel and tyre), jack and tool kit. For a Fiesta, these are around £200, but as they come packed in a bag, can be kept in the boot of a car if it doesn't have a wheel well for a spare. One of those is Tyremen who kit includes a Continental tyre and two-tonne jack (prices vary from model-to-model). Another supplier offering a similar product is Road Hero. |
Should a spare wheel be smaller than the standard wheels?
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