Motorists should consider buying a spare wheel if their car doesn’t have one

Eight-in-ten drivers would prefer a spare wheel to an inflation kit

Motorists should consider buying a spare wheel if their car doesn’t have one
Photo: Bigstock

A motoring organisation is calling on car buyers to fork out for an optional spare wheel if their car doesn’t have one as standard.

This comes after the AA surveyed 11,959 of its members to gather their views on spare wheels.

It found that 82 percent of drivers would prefer to carry a spare wheel than a tyre inflation kit, while 49 percent said they would be willing to pay extra for something that previously would have been fitted as standard.

Around a third (35 percent) said they would reconsider buying a car if it didn’t come with a spare wheel.

At the end of 2023, research carried out by the RAC, found that just 3 percent of the 300 cars it looked at were fitted with a full-size or space-saver spare wheel as standard.

The cars in question were the Fiat Tipo, Ford Focus, INEOS Grenadier, Land Rover Defender, Hyundai Santa Fe, Seat Ateca, Suzuki Across, Toyota Land Cruiser and Volvo XC90.

Last year, pothole-related damage accounted for almost half a billion pounds in vehicle repairs, and yet the AA says that more than half of the puncture-related callouts involved a car without a spare wheel.

Chris Wood, AA Patrol of the Year, said: “The condition of Britain’s potholed roads is leading to lots of damaged tyres. In previous times, if a vehicle suffered a punctured tyre, our patrols would simply fit the spare wheel and wave the member on their way.

“More recently, since manufacturers opted to fit an inflation kit instead of a spare wheel, it can take our patrols a couple of hours to resolve the same issue.

“Most of the members we attend say that they’d much prefer the peace of mind of having a spare wheel in the boot, even if they had to pay extra for it.“

Edmund King, AA president, added: “Having a spare tyre can save time and money. If you don’t have one, consider buying one. Four out of five drivers would prefer a spare so it should always, where practical, be offered as an option.”

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