[844PHW]

I have just been investigating in a bit more detail the underfloor area inside the xc40 boot. My example has the spacesaver spare wheel fitted. I was interested in whether the area would accommodate a fullsize spare wheel. The results were as follows: There is sufficient height. There is sufficient width (but only just). The length is too short by just a few centimetres. So near but so far ! The sparewheel pan seems to be a custom pressing that slots between the main body members. From a design point of view there is spare capacity around the edge so that it would seem possible to have a pan that accommodates the fullsize wheel without any messing with the main body work.

It is as though in the XC40 design, Volvo have allowed for accommodating a fullsize spare. The question then arises - if you don't have a spacesaver wheel factory fitted, is the spare wheel pan area any different? Can anyone elucidate on this?