[bblost]

Maybe they want owners to modify their cars like this:


Source.

Its so stupid. Are these cars to be driven in cities and not for long distance trips?

[Hayek]

Unfortunately, this is a uniquely Indian problem - people every where else seem fine with run-flats and no spare. All luxury car makers are moving in that direction, and I suspect it's a matter of time before other large cars move there as well.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Unfortunately, this is a uniquely Indian problem - people every where else seem fine with run-flats and no spare. All luxury car makers are moving in that direction, and I suspect it's a matter of time before other large cars move there as well.

Unfortunately not uniquely Indian.
Google "run flats suck". Generic strings will give you even more results.
That manufacturers are moving away from regular ones, is their prerogative. But I dont think any mass car manufacturer in India will ever move away from regulars or donuts. Luxury car makers in India had better see sense. Its a stupid solution. To what problem again?

[SmartCat]

If you can place the spare wheel vertically in the boot, and hold it in place with luggage, I think it will be more space efficient.

One question:

Let's say you have a puncture in front right tyre. Can you fix this space saver tyre there? Or do you have to fix the space saver only at the back from safety/handling point of view?

[navin_v8]

I was always intrigued and baffled by this stupid phenomenon of luxury German Car makers in particular BMW of not offering a spare wheel in their super expensive cars. Another very STUPID aspect is them German luxury brands not offering a full size spare alloy wheel similar to all the other four wheels. What makes them so stingy in giving a full size alloy wheel when a customer is paying so much. Same is the case with VW group cars including Skoda. It is really appalling to see a Skoda Superb with an ugly black steel spare wheel similar to the one posted of an Audi A4 in this thread. Now these cars ain't cheap they cost a LOT.

Comparing this to my Mitsubishi Lancer, which comes with alloy wheels as well and to my surprise the spare wheel is a full size alloy wheel as well. If a 10 lakh car can have a full size spare alloy wheel like all the other four wheels then why can't a luxury car costing 5 to 7 times or even more have a full size spare alloy wheel? Run Flat of whatever BULLSHIT!!! It Beats me hollow?

[createrkid]

Runflat! More like run away after your tire is flat! I don't understand why BMW has still stuck with runflats, the only upside I can think of is that runflats are pretty much immune to sudden air pressure loss which in turn makes them immune to blow outs? Why somebody would settle for a harsher ride with runflats is beyond me.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

The a3 I test drove didn't have a wheel well if I remember correctly.

The A3 has a spare wheel. The tyre is deflated for more space if I recollect

[VW2010]

Let's say you have a puncture in front right tyre. Can you fix this space saver tyre there? Or do you have to fix the space saver only at the back from safety/handling point of view?

Its just a space saver and can be fit at all four places. As always stick to sanity when you are on space saver. Insanity even in regular tyres cannot save a dime.

If a 10 lakh car can have a full size spare alloy wheel like all the other four wheels then why can't a luxury car costing 5 to 7 times or even more have a full size spare alloy wheel? Run Flat of whatever BULLSHIT!!! It Beats me hollow?

Part of being a luxury car. Its not about the cost of the car to have the spare wheel. You need to disconnect cost with spare wheel. VW till MKV used to give a full size, alloy spare wheel for its Jetta, Octavia, Laura series. Its with MKVI they dropped to space saver that saved them a whole lot of money both in manufacturing as well as spares. Thats the consumer segment in every other place other than India where this segment cars make fraction of major consumption.

From a manufacture point of view a luxury car should hardly stop for a puncture let alone be parked on the road while someone is changing tyres. One solution is to get to the nearest point from wherever they are to get an alternate mode of transport to move on or get them to a service station which is far safer. Second is to make this ordeal least impact-ful on the passengers. Most of the luxury brands offer that replacement car till the car is repaired which means the consumer hardly wastes time in changing the tyres. And that to me is luxury. I dont know how much it happens in India, but any developed nation where these cars are consumed more the run flats are exceptional value over spare wheels.

[vb-san]

Originally Posted by smartcat

If you can place the spare wheel vertically in the boot, and hold it in place with luggage, I think it will be more space efficient.

I think Audi is doing that with one of its new model (was it the new Q7?). Still eats up loads of boot space.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by ajmat

The A3 has a spare wheel. The tyre is deflated for more space if I recollect

No wonder - this was a donut with air sitting in the boot in a bag. Maybe they don't wish to project the deflated tyre bit to potential customers.

[.anshuman]

The problem now is same with all 3 German brands. The ones without this issue are soon to replaced old models. In fact some of the newer BMW cars including 7 Series and X1 have a dedicated space for a spare tire. Have a look at the photos from Auto expo 2016:

Originally Posted by vb-san

I think Audi is doing that with one of its new model (was it the new Q7?). Still eats up loads of boot space.

Yes, it's on the new Q7. Its a bad design, the space occupying frame to hold the space saver has to be bolted to the chassis for safety reasons and wastes almost 30-40% of the boot space and one of the last row of seats is unusable with this.

Even with this much space compromised, the space saver spare tire is compressed in the storage bag, so it has to be inflated before mounting, and it is almost impossible to pack the space saver again.

Atleast for the SUV's there should be a full size spare.

[narendra.vw]

A flat low profile tire can be run for a some distance, a high profile is defiantly a no, no.
Most of the high end cars run with a very low profile tire.
Once tubeless was introduced,, it made life much easier for us. We can travel some distance before the tire becomes totally flat(unless it’s cut wide enough not to hold the air).
In my car(low end), I hardly use the spare. Once I ran a punctured front tire for two weeks just by putting air once in two days.
SUV defiantly needs a regular spare tire.

I’m neutral here.

[Epic]

We wanted to replace our Skoda Superb with either the E 250, 520d or A6 but in all cases the silly spare tyre in the boot was the only reason we differed from the purchase. The funniest part is on speaking to the sales guys of these brands and telling them our predicament of how boot space is important to us as we travel out of Mumbai a lot and the spare tyre leaves us no room for luggage, we are told with confidence to leave the spare tyre at home LOL!! What a shame for cars costing 60+ lakhs!

We decided to just book the 2016 Superb.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Part of being a luxury car. Its not about the cost of the car to have the spare wheel. You need to disconnect cost with spare wheel.

I am a bit lost, could you please explain why so?

VW till MKV used to give a full size, alloy spare wheel for its Jetta, Octavia, Laura series. Its with MKVI they dropped to space saver that saved them a whole lot of money both in manufacturing as well as spares. Thats the consumer segment in every other place other than India where this segment cars make fraction of major consumption.

What was the cost saving on a full size alloy wheel exactly? And how does it matter to save costs when their cars are already pricey?

From a manufacture point of view a luxury car should hardly stop for a puncture let alone be parked on the road while someone is changing tyres.

I didn't quite get this mate. Are you saying a luxury car with a puncture in the middle of nowhere in a country like India should not stop for a tyre change? If that is how these manufacturer's think, then no doubt the thread on flatbeds hauling German cars is REAL.

One solution is to get to the nearest point from wherever they are to get an alternate mode of transport to move on or get them to a service station which is far safer. Second is to make this ordeal least impact-ful on the passengers. Most of the luxury brands offer that replacement car till the car is repaired which means the consumer hardly wastes time in changing the tyres. And that to me is luxury.

If the driving was limited to cities then it is ok but there are dime a dozen stretches in India where it is even hard to find a petrol pump leave alone the service stations of these luxury cars. In that case wouldn't it be an ordeal for the passengers to wait till the replacement car arrives. Hell in some places there isn't even proper mobile network connection. Communication itself will be a challenge. If I were travelling with my family I would take all of this into consideration. I have not even added puncture during night driving as yet and also lady drivers. Case in point if I am on a trip to a beautiful hill station with my family which is about 150-200 kms away from the national highway and about 400-500 kms away from the nearest tier 1 or tier 2 city. If I have a puncture in this case what do I do?

Also all this while we are talking about mere punctures what if a tyre blow out happens when I am 300 kms away from the nearest Tier 1 city in India? what do I do in that case with no spare wheel in my boot?

I dont know how much it happens in India, but any developed nation where these cars are consumed more the run flats are exceptional value over spare wheels.

Nope not entirely, here's a link which will challenge this developed country perception vis a vis luxury car with run flats and no full size alloy wheel.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...cut-costs.html

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...and-dangerous/

http://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/aa...k-in-new-cars/

I can provide many other similar links like these, but I hope I am making my point clear with this one.

[Axe77]

I'm told the new X1 with the space saver below still leaves around 500 liters of usable boot space. That's not bad. I'm also curious though, if I'm traveling in the new X1 with a boot full of luggage and need to switch to the space saver in the boot well. Will your punctured full size wheel fit in the X1 space saver boot well? If not, where do I keep this?

I think the best way to manage with a puncture is to get a air inflator and keep inflating the punctured tire till you reach a tire wala. This is probably better than even switching to the space saver. Of course it assumes you have time to waste at a puncture wala instead of the much simpler option of switching to a full size spare.

In a perfect world, cheaper cars would have a full size spare wheel.
Expensive Germans would have run flats AND a run flat full size spare so the owner has full option to change wheel or drive on. That's a luxury car ownership differentiator.