Imagine the scenario: You're on the hard shoulder of the motorway, it's raining, you're twenty minutes late and one of your tyres is as flat as a pancake. It's every motorist's worst nightmare.
Now imagine your terror when you open the boot and discover that your car doesn't have a spare wheel. Well, you might be surprised to hear that if your car is new, the chances of it having a full-sized spare are slim.
According to a new report from Auto Express, only one in six new cars is supplied with a proper-sized spare wheel. Contrary to popular belief, there is no legal requirement to carry a spare wheel and many manufacturers are doing away with them altogether.
There are two main reasons for this: carbon and cost. A spare wheel can cost anywhere up to £150, and adds to the car's weight, increasing its CO2 emissions. Because of this, most manufacturers are opting to fit either space saver spare wheels or puncture repair kits.
A puncture repair kit consists of a bottle of sealant to fill the hole in the tyre and an electric compressor to re-inflate it. The problem with repair kits is that they only work on small leaks and completely destroy the tyre.
None of the major car manufacturers supply all of their vehicles with a full-size spare wheel; however, both Hyundai and Jeep fit either a full-size spare or a space-saver as standard. MINI, Skoda and Volvo, on the other hand, do not supply either type of spare wheel, offering a repair kit only on all of their vehicles.
