Default Tyres

WiltsPat said:

Thanks JB good to know. Without them is there a spare Tyre etc?

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In the UK, non-runflats are standard and runflats are an optional extra (except not on cars with 15" wheels).

A spare wheel (plus a jack) is a separate optional extra available on Cooper, One and D models, with either tyre type I think, but not available on S and SD models - the central exhaust of those prevents a spare wheel being carried.

Other countries may be different.

Spare tyres are like starting (crank) handles used to be - my grandfather would never have been happy in a car without one. But we all have learned to live with not having an instant cure for a flat battery, and not having an instant cure for a flat tyre will become the same. How often do we really get punctures? It's certainly not the twice a year that it was in my grandfather's day.

What proportion of drivers nowadays could actually change a tyre themselves? I'm betting more than 50% would have to call for roadside assistance in practice (even if many blokes said otherwise....).

It's a bit different in North America (and even more so in Australia) where the roadside assistance might be several tens of miles away.